Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations : on the co-occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests

Abstract

In Western democracies, commentators have noted an unprecedented diversity in protest movements opposing ecological and health regulations, including traditional right-wing authoritarians alongside conspiracy and spiritual believers. Some of these beliefs appear to be incompatible with one another, since authoritarianism is a hallmark of (extreme) right-wing movements, while spirituality is typically expected to be more prevalent in liberal alternative milieus. This research aims to examine the co-occurrence of these attitudes and their connection to the endorsement of illegal and violent protests. The study employed Latent Profile Analyses and moderated regressions on four extensive quota-based datasets from Germany (total N = 8202), demonstrating that while most participants did not adhere to any of these beliefs, they often co-occurred. Each of these beliefs was found to independently predict support for illegal and violent protests, even when controlling for anger. The findings suggest that political authoritarianism, conspiracy beliefs, and spirituality can exhibit a high degree of alignment in Western democracies. Moreover, the study discusses the potential implications of these beliefs as a threat to the democratic system, positing that they could legitimize violent protests.