QAnon and other far-right conspiracies are significant fixtures within contemporary American culture. Through a series of interviews with two highly engaged QAnon conspiracy theorists who are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I analyzed QAnon as an epistemic formation characterized by critique of social conditions, modern standards of rigor in research, and a highly accelerated online information economy. Framing my subjects’ participation in QAnon culture alongside their Latter-day Saint identity allowed for further investigation into dynamics of competing epistemic authority and the role of Mormon identity in shaping conspiracy theory. Finally, I compare the epistemology of conspiracy theory to that of academic research, noting similarities and highlighting the role of legitimating authority within academic institutions.
","abstract_html":"<p>QAnon and other far-right conspiracies are significant fixtures within contemporary American culture. Through a series of interviews with two highly engaged QAnon conspiracy theorists who are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I analyzed QAnon as an epistemic formation characterized by critique of social conditions, modern standards of rigor in research, and a highly accelerated online information economy. Framing my subjects’ participation in QAnon culture alongside their Latter-day Saint identity allowed for further investigation into dynamics of competing epistemic authority and the role of Mormon identity in shaping conspiracy theory. Finally, I compare the epistemology of conspiracy theory to that of academic research, noting similarities and highlighting the role of legitimating authority within academic institutions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chapman, Indra Jean Louise"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"History, MA","degree_level":"Open Access Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Arts and Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Nicola Denzey Lewis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:49Z","subjects":["Anthropology","Anthropology of religion","Conspiracy theory","Mormon studies","Mormonism","QAnon","Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/867","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Nicola Denzey Lewis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chapman, Indra Jean Louise"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-11-15T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Arts and Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["History, MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Anthropology","Anthropology of religion","Conspiracy theory","Mormon studies","Mormonism","QAnon","Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/867"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["QAnon and other far-right conspiracies are significant fixtures within contemporary American culture. Through a series of interviews with two highly engaged QAnon conspiracy theorists who are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I analyzed QAnon as an epistemic formation characterized by critique of social conditions, modern standards of rigor in research, and a highly accelerated online information economy. Framing my subjects’ participation in QAnon culture alongside their Latter-day Saint identity allowed for further investigation into dynamics of competing epistemic authority and the role of Mormon identity in shaping conspiracy theory. Finally, I compare the epistemology of conspiracy theory to that of academic research, noting similarities and highlighting the role of legitimating authority within academic institutions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Epistemology and Authority in Two Latter-day Saint QAnon Conspiracy Theorists"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Nicola Denzey Lewis"],"dc:creator":["Chapman, Indra Jean Louise"],"dc:date.available":["2024-11-15T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["QAnon and other far-right conspiracies are significant fixtures within contemporary American culture. Through a series of interviews with two highly engaged QAnon conspiracy theorists who are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I analyzed QAnon as an epistemic formation characterized by critique of social conditions, modern standards of rigor in research, and a highly accelerated online information economy. Framing my subjects’ participation in QAnon culture alongside their Latter-day Saint identity allowed for further investigation into dynamics of competing epistemic authority and the role of Mormon identity in shaping conspiracy theory. Finally, I compare the epistemology of conspiracy theory to that of academic research, noting similarities and highlighting the role of legitimating authority within academic institutions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/867"],"dc:subject":["Anthropology","Anthropology of religion","Conspiracy theory","Mormon studies","Mormonism","QAnon","Religion"],"dc:title":["Epistemology and Authority in Two Latter-day Saint QAnon Conspiracy Theorists"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Arts and Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["History, MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:49Z"}