Bible-believing Christians and Christian nationalists are more likely than the general population to embrace conspiracy theories, according to a new study that asked individuals their beliefs on eight conspiracy theories, including ones related to 9/11 and mass shootings.

The study found that Christians who consider themselves “biblical literalists” and believers who hold to Christian nationalism are “more likely” than the general population to believe conspiracy theories. The study defined Christian nationalism as a belief that places “Christianity at the center of the American story.”

“We find that both Christian nationalism and biblical literalism have an impact on an individual’s likelihood of adopting generalized conspiracy thinking,” the authors wrote. “As people express both higher levels of Christian nationalism and higher levels of biblical literalism, they are more likely to express conspiracy thinking.”

The study was based on the 2019 Chapman University Survey of American Fears, which asked individuals their beliefs about seven conspiracy theories and one that was fictional. Specifically, it asked Americans how strongly they agree or disagree that the government is concealing what it knows […]