Weird Religion

A religion in the news roundup with some surprising stories. Mother Theresa a cult leader. Interpreting the Torah. Your face will become a skull. Rachel Hollis is out of touch. Zaprudurian. This UFO thing is not going away and Brian is getting excited. A lot going on. Links below to each story. Some covered more in depth, and some in the lightning round.

Was Mother Theresa a cult leader? https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2021/5/25/another-trial-by-media-in-defense-of-mother-teresa-why-she-is-a-saint-not-a-cult-leader

Rachel Hollis who is something of a guru is saying dumb things: https://aninjusticemag.com/the-rachel-hollis-drama-is-why-i-dont-trust-influencers-586eef3c2a15 

White evangelicals, Hispanic Protestants, Mormons most likely to believe in QAnon: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/27/survey-white-evangelicals-hispanic-protestants-and-mormons-most-likely-believe-in-qanon/

The 18 mile secret wire above Manhattan: https://historyofyesterday.com/why-theres-a-secret-tiny-wire-above-manhattan-4dc3f364330e 

How pop culture set the stage for coming ufo report: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/movies/how-pop-culture-set-stage-coming-ufo-report-better-or-n1268673

Nun telling us we are goin to die: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html 

Mark Driscoll / Mars Hill podcast from CT: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/teaser-trailer-mars-hill-podcast.html

Proud to be an American: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/27/king-james-saves-the-god-bless-the-usa-bible-lee-greenwood-elite-source-kirkpatrick/

Wuhan lab leak conspiracy theory (Leah’s choice): https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000780650/every-possible-explanation-for-covid-19-should-be-investigated-expert-saysWuhan lab leak conspiracy (Brian’s choice): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57267729 

Remembering the Satanic Panic re: D&D: https://medium.com/belover/the-1980s-hoax-that-dungeons-dragons-killed-kids-d6e155939062

1984 happening in 2024 now: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57122120

Atheist says let’s get rid of BC/AD and BCE/CE: https://ephromjosine.medium.com/atheist-against-c-e-3446e0c05069 

Young Evangelicals have changing views on Israel: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/26/survey-young-evangelicals-largely-backed-biden-and-have-shifting-views-on-israel/ 

God told me to put money down: https://www.wsj.com/articles/god-told-me-to-put-money-into-hertz-how-small-investors-are-upending-wall-street-11622113200

We’re talking about conspiracies: Is the world only what it seems to be on the surface, or is there some theory about what is really happening behind the scenes? Are Americans particularly into conspiracy theories, or do we just think we’re the best at everything? We interview psychologist Dr. Michael Wood (at the time a lecturer at the University of Winchester in the UK) about who has the best conspiracy theories and why people believe in them at all. And in the Kitsch Corner: We elevate the human spirit and aural imagination with a song about how a certain president is the leopard king prophesied in the book of Revelation.

Aliens on 60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-military-intelligence-60-minutes-2021-05-16/

Dr. Michael Wood: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wood-research/?originalSubdomain=uk

QAnon: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/

Hans Wormhat on Why Toucans are FAKE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f--6BBIl7aY

Third Eagle of the Apocalypse: “It’s Prophesied”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLT66yJBYbA


The core of this episode was released on December 3, 2018, as 017 THE CONSPIRACY: https://www.weirdreligion.com/seasonone/2018/12/3/the-conspiracy

The Mark of the Beast strikes again. We break down a 53-second Facebook rant by congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in which the claim is made that vaccine passports are Joe Biden’s satanic plot. And we affirm the enduring power of the Book of Revelation.

The video: https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1376900032184586245?s=20
The Late Great Planet Earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late,_Great_Planet_Earth
Marjorie Taylor Greene: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Taylor_Greene

A new segment on recent religious-themed stories in the news! Fasting, Foxmania, halal tacos, mummified bodies, Trump worship, exvangelicals, the spiritual weirdness of airports, politics as religion, the Gates divorce, ancient goddesses and emotional men.

Links to our stories:
Orange County mosques, tacos, and vaccinations: https://religionnews.com/2021/04/28/how-a-halal-taco-truck-is-helping-vaccinate-muslims-in-orange-county/
Mummified body in Colorado home: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amy-carlson-remains-found-love-has-won-colorado-home-arrests/
Lawyer says capitol-rioter client had “Foxmania”: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anthony-antonio-foxmania-capitol_n_60946e8ee4b0ae3c687c07f1
Chaplains in America: https://www.vice.com/en/article/epnd8e/why-chaplains-are-in-high-demand-in-an-increasingly-secular-america
Secular redemption through politics: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/04/america-politics-religion/618072/
Pastors are quitting: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/07/for-some-pastors-the-past-year-was-a-sign-that-it-was-time-to-quit/
Biden communion stories are stupid: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/04/the-biden-communion-stories-are-stupid/ 
Svengali-like executive coaches: https://hbr.org/2002/06/the-very-real-dangers-of-executive-coaching
John Piper’s son’s exvangelical TikTok: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/us/abraham-piper-tiktok-exvangelical.html; https://www.tiktok.com/@abrahampiper/video/6932509054828825861
White evangelicals don’t want the vaccine: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/us/covid-vaccine-evangelicals.html 
Gates divorce: https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-prenup-settlement.html 
Lindsay Graham cannot live without Trump: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lindsey-graham-trump-future_n_6094c57ce4b0f73e530b56d0; https://twitter.com/ericswalwell/status/1390486318568726529?s=20

To celebrate the end of the academic year in the university calendar, we discuss student evals, internet review culture, negativity bias, the Iran Contra Affair, depression, and religious authority in an age of reviews.
Footnotes:
(1) Ronald Reagan’s Oval Office address on the Iran Contra Affair: https://youtu.be/rYdvBZxPhLY
(2) Gottman research on magic ratio of good vs. bad interactions between partners (5:1): https://bit.ly/3h6l0UO
(3) Erik Gilbert articles on assessment on the Chronicle: https://www.chronicle.com/author/erik-gilbert
(4) @subparparks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/subparparks/?hl=en
(5) Bad Yelp reviews of churches: https://observer.com/2016/04/bad-yelp-reviews-of-churches-are-as-hilarious-as-youd-expect/
(6) Scene from the BBC show Rev where fashionable young people take over church: https://youtu.be/mGfsd03KZAQ

A Weird Religion mystery: Why does a particular episode of the X-Files, “Beyond the Sea,” have subtitles for a song playing in the background that are actually from a different but similar song? We investigate.

The X-Files, S1E13, “Beyond the Sea”: https://www.hulu.com/watch/17db9bbb-aa0e-4973-8099-b277c2bd1312

Spoiler alert (only read this after listening to our ep!!): Calum Marsh, NYT (23-April-2021), “Why Don’t Some TV Shows Sound the Way They Used To?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/arts/television/tv-soundtracks-dawsons-creek-freaks-and-geeks.html

Here we discuss the Netflix series The Crown (https://www.netflix.com/title/80025678). And: The religious dimensions of monarchy, etiquette rituals, and our social class insecurities.
The Crown, Season 3 finale scene (Queen Elizabeth walks to the carriage): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpUSil0_0zU
Etiquette expert reacts to The Crown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWo6pG9AXQ4
The Kennedys meet Queen Elizabeth (on The Crown): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWNXZFvs-w

The 2020 election and the inauguration have come and gone, leaving the predictions of the QAnon prophets…hanging in the air. What happens to a religious movement when its key prophecies fail to come true in real time? Are adherents disappointed? Is/was Q a “religion”? Did they ever care in the first place? And did the biblical prophet Ezekiel make a false prediction, and then try to correct it?
Chris Bader, “When Prophecy Passes Unnoticed”: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1387588?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Dr. Christopher Bader: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/christopher-bader
Cat Transcendence - limitless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwmeH6Rnj2E
NPR, “The QAnon ‘Storm’ Never Struck”: https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958907699/the-qanon-storm-never-struck-some-supporters-are-wavering-others-steadfast
Clips of Q adherents from: CNN reporting from 2018 at a Trump rally (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dGVXmuLmEM )
Clips from “Satanic Panic” reporting from: CBC/Radio-Canada (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plEImKEIRm8)

The spirit of Buffalo Man reveals himself as the leader of America at the dais of power.
”Buffalo Man” Jake Angeli
Buffalo Man flexing in the capitol
Viral video of Elizabeth who got maced (the opera version)

Our 2020 holiday special has arrived. Surprises and revelations abound.