Last week I was in Salem, Massachussetts, the site of the infamous witch trials of 1692. I have direct ancestors who were Puritans, including some on the Mayflower, and a number of them who lived in the Massachussetts Bay Colony. One of these ancestors even signed a covenant in the town of Dedham, a requirement to live in that community, even though he hadn’t been part of their group originally (which I blogged about here). As on some previous trips there, we did a walking tour with a local historian (who also hosts a really great podcast here). Anyone who contemplates the tragedy of the lives lost during the hysteria in which young girls and even some adults used “spectral evidence” to convict their neighbors of being in league with the devil which led to 25 people being executed, tortured to death or dying from horrible prison conditions should have pause when they hear contemporary Christian Nationalists throwing around terms like “spiritual warfare” or calling other people “demonic.” If you had told me in 2010 that this type of talk would be common enough that I’d see people I went to high school with using these terms on Facebook, I would have had a really hard time believing it could happen, but here we are.

Both spectral evidence and spiritual warfare involve the belief that unseen, supernatural forces actively interfere in the physical world. The Salem court specifically permitted accusers to claim that the plaintiff’s specter (spirit) was attacking them or harming them, even when the person was demonstrably doing nothing at all. This type of testimony was impossible to refute because you can’t have an alibi if the unseen world is given equal creedence. During the trials, the afflicted girls would scream, fall down or convulse when the accused did anything innocuous like looking at them, standing near them, or in the case of Martha Corey, biting her lip or moving her hands. One of the accused was knitting quietly while the girls hysterically writhed in pain, claiming her specter was harming them. This type of evidence could also claim that someone could harm another while they were sleeping, even if a witness saw their physically body sleeping. The reason this type of evidence was permitted in the first place is that the most educated and learned scholars of the day were convinced that witchcraft and demons were active threats in the physical world, and those who lived in Salem and the surround towns were in an increasingly hostile, dangerous frontier that they continued to expand further into. Any hardship was often understood as originating in demonic opposition to them as God’s chosen people.

This should sound familiar to those of us familiar with the religious groups claiming that they are doing spiritual warfare, that the Bible should be taught in public schools, that their flavor of Christianity should run secular life, including the government (the Seven Mountains Mandate [1]). They are right that the nation was founded by people who think like them, but they are also wrong. The Massachussetts Bay Colony was not the US; it preceded the US, and the constitution was specifically written after these events to counteract the problems created by a religious supremacy. The colonists were so appalled by what happened during the Salem witch trials that restitution and apology were offered within mere decades, something that we still haven’t managed to do for slavery.

So why do these things keep happening? It’s basic psychology, although these are not traits that everyone shares equally. Conservative religions do tend toward these distinct psychological markers. When we observe these in ourselves or others, we are at risk of repeating some pretty awful history.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism. This is a personality characterized by a high degree of submission to established authorities, aggressive behavior toward out-groups (usually led by those leaders), and strict adherence to societal norms. There is an almost linear relationship between Christian nationalism and right-wing authoritarianism; 84% of Christian nationalism adherents score exceptionally high on the RWA scale. A belief in literal demons serves as the ultimate justification for this rigid thinking. Political, cultural or social preferences are not just opinions, but an extension of divine authority. Anyone who criticizes their preferences are therefore tools of evil, led by Satan or demons. This eliminates the need for compromise and shuts down any discussion.

Low Tolerance for Ambiguity. Those with a high need for closure or clearcut rules find gray areas to be stressful or threatening. They may rely heavily on rule-based mental shortcuts (e.g. Biblical literacy or authority-based precedent) when dealing with new, unfamiliar concepts or situations. By considering these contradictory ideas as being engineered by Satan, they can immediately shut down any questions that threaten their worldview.

Collective Narcissism. Christian Nationalists view the United States as a shining city on the hill, a “New Jerusalem,” a place where God’s chosen people will create a society just as he wanted it. These ideas are in the Book of Mormon where Columbus is described (though not named) as being led by God to pave the way for white settlers to come in and subdue and redeem the “filthy & loathesome” natives, lifting them up from their low status. If your group is led by God, that means that anyone opposing it is led by, you guessed it, Satan. Any failures of that in-group are therefore entirely the fault of this external demonic opposition, not a result of human errors or motivations. This protects the narcissism of the group from any need for self-examination.

The Empathy Gap. When an individual’s pschological profile prioritizes dogmatic “truth” over interpersonal empathy, it is much easier to advocate for aggressive policies against outsiders. If you characterize the outsiders as being under a demonic influence, showing them empathy can be re-cast as compromising with evil or at minimum, spiritually weak.

The throughline here is that the supernatural frameworks have been elevated to the same level (or even higher) than the physical reality we all share. While this may help an individual avoid the distress of uncertainty, understand setbacks in a way that don’t require personal growth, or feel justified in unjust acts, it tears apart a pluralistic society when enacted at scale. When the unseen world is more important than what’s in front of your face, whatever you imagine the enemy to be is so, and you can rationalize almost anything to fight that enemy you’ve imagined into being.

From an LDS perspective, the percentage who hold Christian nationalist views is probably only increasing given the demographic of those who are leaving. LDS people have continued to become more like white evangelical protestants in terms of personality traits and political views, which at least to me feels like a substantial downgrade, and something that will backfire because those other groups consider them to be a cult, part of the demons who have to be defeated. A 2022 study showed that 49% of LDS people hold Christian nationalist views. I always thought when people were talking about literal Satan or evil spirits that they were mostly just speaking figuratively, but that is not really the case.

In fact, a 2023 Pew poll shows that roughly 70% of Americans believe in spirits or unseen supernatural forces. Only 33% of Americans qualify as Christian Nationalists (making the 49% of Mormons who do seem particularly out there). Now, obviously that might not translate into a belief in spiritual warfare. It could also be people who believe in ghosts or intuition. 58% of white evangelical protestants report having personally experienced a direct spiritual attack. Which puts Joseph Smith’s pre-first vision attack in comfortable grounds with the Christian Nationalists when it comes to spiritual warfare.

I remember people joking when we were in the MTC that if you set foot off the grounds, you were vulnerable to a spiritual attack, but I thought it was for laughs. I guess not everyone thought so.

  • Do you see Mormonism as becoming more Christian nationalist?
  • Do you see the BOM or JS as being Christian nationalist?
  • Do most of the LDS people you know believe in spiritual warfare?
  • What examples of spiritual warfare have you heard in an LDS context?
  • Do any of these other descriptions resonate for you in your experience with the church?
  • Do you see this as extremism that leads to violence and power grabs, or is it more limited in terms of keeping people on the straight and narrow?

Discuss.