Articles by Chip Berlet

Since the 1970s, right-wing Christian identity groups and apocalyptic survivalists have spawned militant, quasi-underground formations, including some that call themselves patriots or militias. During the height of the rural farm crisis in the early 80s, for example, one such group, the Posse Comitatus – a loosely knit, armed network that spread White supremacy and anti-Semitism throughout the farm belt – captured a small but significant number of sympathizers among farmers and ranchers. Other extremists such as Aryan Nations and the Lyndon LaRouche group were also active. Soon a network linked tax protesters to organizations as far to the right as various Ku Klux Klan (KKK) splinter groups and neo-Nazis. read more

The approach of the year 2000 has stimulated widespread discussion of apocalyptic fears and millennialist expectations. Yet, often lost in the discussion is the important ongoing role that specific types of apocalyptic and millennialist thinking play in shaping the demonization, scapegoating, and conspiracies used by various right-wing political and social movements.

A remarkable number of myths and symbols in Western culture flow from Christian Biblical prophecies about apocalyptic confrontations and millennial transformation. The Book of Revelation warns that the end of time is foreshadowed by a vast Satanic conspiracy involving high government officials who betray the decent and devout productive citizens, while subversive tools of the Devil gnaw away at society from below. read more