Dark Religion and Conspiracy Theories

Abstract

ABSTRACTConspiracy theories have infiltrated increasingly larger areas of cultural and political life. Conspiracism seems to replace or supplement fundamentalist religious beliefs while also supplying material that is, in turn, used for endorsing political and ideological agendas. Similarities between conspiratorial thinking and fundamentalist creed can be explained by examining the dynamics of inferiority of consciousness and the subsequent inflation of the ego by the “contents” of the unconscious. Inadequate and noncredible representations of numinous energies in consciousness unwittingly contribute to the creation of structures with notable mythological parallels. Jung referred to this phenomenon as an “axiom of psychology,” which can explain both the archetypal nature of conspiracism and its resistance to rational correction. Thinking is free from the unconscious influence of the Self only to the extent that it is able to recognize and to relate to numinous contents, on one hand, and to withdraw projections from the object, on the other. A symbolic perspective offers a nondismissive understanding of the reasons for strong adherence to conspiracy theories. Exploring conspiracy theories as symbols rather than rational constructs offers more fruitful solutions to our current social problems.