Conspiracy theories split faith leaders
A local minister was shocked when a TikTok video he posted went viral, but by the time the second one scored exponential social media buzz, he realized that he’d struck a nerve.
What drew so much attention to the Rev. Jeremy Coleman’s words?
He presented counter-arguments to unfounded conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.
Coleman, of Oklahoma City, said he’s heard theories that the vaccines change people’s DNA or they contain tracking mechanisms so the government can keep tabs on individuals. Another rumor advances the idea that COVID-19 vaccines represent the “mark of the beast” – the notion that the immunizations are a way people unknowingly pledge loyalty to the Antichrist described in biblical scripture.
“My concern is about pastors and faith leaders who are spreading conspiracy theories,” Coleman said during a recent interview.
“There are people who follow these faith leaders and take them at their word and in turn they are not getting the vaccine. We should be letting people make good decisions based on the science because a good God and good science are not mutually exclusive. It doesn’t have to be one or the other – it can be both.”
Numerous doctors and scientists across the world have debunked the ideas that COVID-19 vaccines change human DNA or contain tracking mechanisms. Also, an internationally known Bible prophecy scholar, the Rev. Mark Hitchcock, of Edmond, has said he does not believe COVID-19 vaccines represent an oath of allegiance to the Antichrist prophesied by scripture.
Not exempt
Coleman may have been surprised that his videos about vaccine conspiracy theories drew so much interest from people belonging to Christian faith groups, but several surveys have shown that Christian faith communities are not exempt from spreading unfounded theories and misinformation.
Survey findings from an Ipsos online poll were released in May showing that QAnon conspiracy theories have become deeply ingrained in some American churches, so much so that pastors are expressing concerns. Ipsos conducted the online poll in March for the Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith Youth Core.
The Public Religion Research Institute wrote in its survey report that QAnon’s core theory “revolves around Satan-worshipping pedophiles plotting against former President Donald Trump and a coming ‘ storm’ that would clear out those evil forces.”
In another survey, this one conducted earlier this year by Lifeway Research, half of U.S. Protestant pastors said they were hearing conspiracy theories in their churches.
The study from Lifeway, the Southern Baptist Convention’s research arm, found that 49% of U.S. Protestant pastors said they frequently hear members of their congregation repeating conspiracy theories they have heard about why something is happening in America. “Around one in eight (13%) strongly agree their congregants are sharing conspiracy theories, defined by Merriam-Webster as ‘a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators,’ ” stated a Lifeway Research survey report.
“Christian churches resolve to be places focused on the truth,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in the report. “Yet, half of pastors hear the spread of assumptions about plots often. This is a startling disconnect.”
An echo chamber
In Oklahoma, the Rev. Todd Fisher, senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee and president of Oklahoma Baptists (the state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention), said he wasn’t surprised at all by Lifeway Research’s findings.
Fisher said a solution to this is for Godly leaders to encourage their flocks to keep their eyes on the main thing: the truth of God.
The Rev. Walter Mullican, longtime lead pastor of Portland Avenue Baptist Church, said much the same thing.
Both he and Fisher said they noticed that conspiracy theories were mostly being discussed on social media platforms.
Corey White is senior vice president of intelligence at Future Point of View. The metro area resident helps leaders navigate the digital landscape and he often studies algorithms for his Oklahoma City technology strategy firm.
He said conspiracy theories and misinformation have been around for a long time (think “Elvis isn’t dead, the Earth is flat, the Holocaust never happened”) but they become more widespread on social media platforms.
“The problem with social media is that it’s designed to attract you and they designed these social media algorithms to feed you what you want to see,” he said. “Because of that, it reinforces your world view and it reinforces your beliefs. You believe that you are better, that you are more right and you’re not seeing the contrary viewpoints.”
White said this is an echo chamber and people often get stuck in them.
“You’re bombarded with information that reinforces your beliefs, therefore it strengthens your beliefs and the righteousness of them,” he said.
‘We prayed for this’
Coleman, whose social media handle is “That Pastor From Oklahoma,” said he’s hoping his messages countering COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories will spread just as quickly as any misinformation.
His videos are definitely reaching others, first through TikTok and then on other platforms like Facebook, where they are consistently being shared. Coleman said one of his videos currently has 1.2 million views and other got 540,000 views in the TikTok app.
He said the attention to his vaccine posts can be traced as far back as the 2020 presidential election.
Coleman said as the vaccine rollout began under the new Biden Administration, the anti-vaccine conspiracy theories began to ramp up.
“It became a politicized issue and that’s unfortunate that we are looking at the health of Americans as politics. That’s dangerous,” he said.
The minister said he has taken a faith approach to the matter, reminding Christians that they asked the Lord for a speedy remedy to the global COVID-19 health crisis.
“I think that a lot of folks of faith prayed for and asked God to intervene and end the pandemic. And we were given a vaccine in a timely fashion,” he said.
“So I think as people of faith, when we pray for something and we got it, I think that we should trust God for it and we should be thankful for his answers for our prayers.”
Coleman, who is vaccinated, said he began speaking out in favor of the vaccines and against the misinformation surrounding them first from a spiritual perspective but also as someone whose wife is a trauma nurse.
“On top of that, we have a vaccine that has proven to keep people healthier and to keep people safer,” he said. “When we talk about loving our neighbor, the health and safety of our communities matter, so I think it’s really important that people of faith are getting the vaccine, keeping their communities safe, because it’s a good way to love their neighbor.”
His message has cost him, too. “It’s cost me friendships, relationships and professional opportunities,” he said.
He recently parted ways with the church where he worked after he did an interview with a local news station. Coleman said he resigned as the vision and worship pastor at West Metro Community Church in Yukon on good terms.
He said opponents of the COVID-19 vaccines were sending emails to church staff “saying horrible things” about him and his pro-vaccine message.
“I wish only the best for them,” he said of his former church. “It was becoming difficult for them to take.”
Coleman is moving forward into a new season of ministry. He is launching an online community called The Speakeasy Project on YouTube.com.
Other ways to get information
White said many people have become isolated during the pandemic “and they don’t trust those institutions that have been the backbone of our country.”
“They believe that those institutions are working against them,” he said.
The executive said he thinks more isolation has made it easier for social media communities to become more important in people’s lives.
White said social media platforms were designed primarily to make money. Yes, he said, Facebook wanted to fulfill a mission to connect the world but its designers didn’t put any thought into how their algorithms and the technology would impact individual people.
He said Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said in a podcast that he would have had an ethicist on staff if he could go back and design his popular social media platform differently.
White said the way to combat misinformation circulating via social media is to seek other ways besides social media to stay informed about the world.
“If I get all my news on Facebook from the same five people, then I probably should seek other sources,” he said.
Also learn to recognize bias in posts, whether it is political bias, spiritual bias or some other form of bias, he said.
And if you are a Christian, “read the word, go to the word (of God),” White said.