Magic and Politics: Conspirituality and COVID-19

Abstract

Why do people find conspiracy theories attractive, convincing, or useful? In this article, I analyze conspirituality—that is, the relationships between New Age spirituality and conspiracy theories—in Italy during the COVID-19 lockdown. After distinguishing between conspiracy-believing and belief in conspiracies, I claim that conspiracy-believing could be understood as an aesthetic (sensory and artistic) practice. In doing so, I offer a novel interpretation on conspiracism that complements current scholarship while departing from the latter’s focus on the cognitive and emotional weaknesses of those who adopt conspiracy theories. By engaging with the thought of Jacques Rancière, in conversation with studies on contemporary Paganism and Western esotericism, I consider the adoption of conspiracy theories as an expression of dissensus by a community of sense that does not look only for visibility but, rather, wants to be fully acknowledged, recognized, and legitimized in their “participatory”—or “magical”—way of inhabiting the world.

God’s Wrath in the Era of the Digidemic: Religious Interpretations of Covid-19 in Ethiopia

“…Some of the reporting has highlighted how religious communities—in times of lock-down and strict social-distancing rules—have found alternative ways of worshipping. Others have focused on the supportive role religious communities have played for those who have been struggling during the pandemic 2 or, in this journal, on religious communities whose responses to the pandemic are characterized by conspirituality ( Parmigiani 2021 ). Few studies, however, have paid attention to religious interpretations of the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

Selling (Con)spirituality and COVID-19 in Australia

“…(Con)spiritual individuals and movements also identify themselves in opposition not just to elite authorities but to the mainstream more generally, including mainstream media, religious, medical, agricultural, scientific and political institutions, and the dominant culture of capitalism (Asprem and Dyrendal 2015;Bramadat 2017;Campbell 1972;Gauthier 2020;Harambam and Aupers 2021;Parmigiani 2021;Ward and Voas 2011). While these critiques of modernity and reason have historical antecedents in Romanticism and Western esotericism and occultism (Asprem and Dyrendal 2015), they intensified during the 1960s counter-culture movement, evident in the proliferation of new religious and spiritual movements, and again in the 1990s New Age.…”

“…While these critiques of modernity and reason have historical antecedents in Romanticism and Western esotericism and occultism (Asprem and Dyrendal 2015), they intensified during the 1960s counter-culture movement, evident in the proliferation of new religious and spiritual movements, and again in the 1990s New Age. In this way they form a 'dissensus'-'both cognitive and affective'-of those who exclude themselves from the 'common sense' of the majority (Parmigiani 2021: 511 quoting Rancière 1999, relying more on post-secular, experiential, 'ways of knowing' than rational beliefs (Harambam and Aupers 2021; Parmigiani 2021). This is evident in statements such as Pascoe/Max's view that the 'COVID scamdemic' is not real, and 'only really held together by the mainstream news… and fear'.…”

“…They provide a sense of meaning and belonging to groups of people whose shared worldviews, lifestyles, convictions, and commitment to societal transformation, are expressed through codes of language and certain aesthetics and brands. Such social norms include adherents and exclude others (Ammerman 2013;Gauthier 2020;Jain 2020;Parmigiani 2021). These 'spiritual tribes' 11 (Ammerman 2013) participate in online and 11.…”

“…We have chosen to refer to Ammerman's research on 'spiritual tribes' given its insights on the collective nature of contemporary spirituality but have used quotation marks whenever we use this phrase to indicate its problematic nature, and prefer the term 'spiritual movements'. offline rituals and practices, challenging the common misconception of a private, individualized and non-political spirituality (Ammerman 2013;Jain 2020;McGuire 2008;Parmigiani 2021). 'Spiritual tribes', according to Nancy Ammerman (2013: 293), are significant drivers 'for power, agency, and action' and also of conformity.…”