An ex-pastor who left the US for Scotland after the Capitol riot is working to debunk conspiracy theories that have “radicalised” religion and politics in his homeland. Jared Stacy decided to leave America after armed groups invaded the government building in Washington following Donald Trump’s defeat in the White House election.
The 32-year-old blames right-wing religious groups for spreading false claims generated by the shadowy political movement QAnon. He is now working on a PhD at Aberdeen University on how conspiracy theories gripped Americans – and why many wanted the US presidential election result overturned.
Jared, who no longer identifies as an evangelist, said rioters used Christianity as justification for violent behaviour – and he became concerned when church colleagues failed to condemn it. He added: “It was all predicated on God’s will that this election be overturned and their candidate installed in office. That is dangerous.
“Men who feel like God is on their side and can’t be questioned have, throughout history, been the ones who have done a lot of damage. It’s the church’s job to perform an autopsy on itself. We can do better than say those people weren’t really Christians.”
Jared and his family lived just 40 miles from Washington and saw church “supporters” pile on to buses to join the marchers on January 6, 2021. Less than a week later, he moved his family to Aberdeen. He said he felt worn down by a church leadership which refused to debunk conspiracy theories and Christian nationalism from the pulpit.
A key moment for Jared came when Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Washington DC were forcibly cleared by tear gas and Trump held up a Bible as he posed for a photo in front of the parish house St John’s Episcopal Church, which had been damaged by a fire during protests the night before.
He said: “I want to argue for a new configuration of Christianity in America which doesn’t necessitate political violence and identity politics.”
Jared hopes by understanding the deep-rooted need of people to believe in conspiracy, he can help the church in the US find a place in the fight against such dangerous disinformation. He added: “Democracy needs to be continually maintained.”
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