Articles and Blog Posts

I write for a variety of online outlets including Religion Dispatches, Sightings, The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog, The Conversation, and others.  See below for links!

2024

• “Response to “Ethnopsychiatry of the Devil: Demonic Possession as a Cultural Language for Subjective Suffering in Contemporary Italy” by Tiago Pires,” Cultural Analysis 21.2 (2024): 90-91.

• "7 Questions with Joseph Laycock," Sacred Matters Magazine (April 9, 2024).

• "LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL’ REFLECTS THE ROLE OF TALK SHOWS IN THE SENSATIONALIZING THE SATANIC PANIC OF THE 1980S," Religion Dispatches (March 26, 2024).

• "AMID ANTICIPATION OF GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE, ‘WE ARE NOT ALONE’ FOLLOWS THOSE WHO CLAIM ALIEN CONTACT THROUGH MEDITATION," Religion Dispatches (January 24, 2024).

2023

• "HAIL SANTA! WAR-ON-CHRISTMAS OUTRAGE OVER SATANIC TREE REVEALS THE SELF-SERVING AMBIGUITY OF ‘RELIGION’," Religion Dispatches (December 5, 2023).

• (with Natasha Mikles) "What a biannual gathering of 1967 Impalas reveals about the blurry line between fandom and religion," The Conversation (November 19, 2023).

• "ECUMENICAL ‘EXORCIST’ SEQUEL REFLECTS PROFOUND CULTURAL CHANGES SINCE THE CATHOLIC ORIGINAL," Religion Dispatches (October 24, 2023).

• (with Eric Harrelson) "HELL IN A CELL: ‘THE POPE’S EXORCIST’ REFLECTS THE GROWING BELIEF THAT COCKSURE MEN WILL SAVE US IN THE BATTLE OF GOOD V. EVIL," Religion Dispatches (May 19, 2023).

2022

• (with Eric Harrelson) "PARANORMAL VODKA, EXORCISTS AND A DEMONIC DOLL: WELCOME TO PARACON, BASED ON THE WORK OF THE DEMON-HUNTERS WHO INSPIRED THE ‘CONJURING’ SERIES," Religion Dispatches (November 7, 2022).

• "LA CARMINA, AUTHOR OF ‘THE LITTLE BOOK OF SATANISM,’ TALKS ‘SATANIC PANIC,’ QANON, JAPANESE SATANISM, AND MORE," Religion Dispatches (October 20, 2022).

• Erica Hernandez, "Explaining satanic panic: South Texas Crime Stories," KSAT.com (October 18, 2022).

• "What the Study of New Religious Movements Can Tell Us About QAnon," Church Life Journal (July 18, 2022).

• "What’s behind the enduring popularity of crystals?" The Conversation (July 6, 2022).

• "How dehumanizing language fueled the Satanic Temple arson attack," OnlySky (June 20, 2022).

• "The Catholic Church’s views on exorcism have changed – a religious studies scholar explains why," The Conversation (May 24, 2022).

• "BLACK SATANIST CANDIDATE FACES LA SHERIFF SHAKEDOWN," Religion Dispatches (May 2, 2022).

• "Why are people calling Bitcoin a religion?" The Conversation (February 3, 2022).

2021

• "How the Satanic Temple is using ‘abortion rituals’ to claim religious liberty against the Texas’ ‘heartbeat bill’," The Conversation (September 22, 2021).

• "WILL ‘CONJURING 3’ INFLUENCE REAL-LIFE EVENTS VIA THE ‘EXORCIST EFFECT’?," Religion Dispatches (July 1, 2021).

• "Profile: Oom the Omnipotent," World Religion and Spirituality Project (April 9, 2021).

2020

• "What if Satanists Want to Pray in Public Schools? 7 Questions for Joseph P. Laycock," Sacred Matters (n.d.).

• "SATANIC TEMPLE’S ‘SATANIC ABORTION RITUAL’ MAY CHALLENGE STATES’ ANTI-ABORTION LAWS," Religion Dispatches (August 8, 2020).

• "Satanists want you to respond to the pandemic with compassion — and reason." Rawstory.com (March 25, 2020).

• "What The Satanic Temple is and why it’s opening a debate about religion," The Conversation (March 5, 2020).

• "SATANIC TEMPLE ATTORNEY DISCUSSES CANCELLED SCOTTSDALE PRAYER INVITE," Religion Dispatches (January 20, 2020).

2018

• "Satanic Temple’s IRS Recognition Rekindles Fierce Debate Over What Is ‘Really Real’ Church," Religion Dispatches (May 3, 2019).

• "What the Hail: Satanists Got Busy in 2018," Religion Dispatches (December 21, 2018).

• "Will Infamous ‘Candy Cane Memo’ Resurrect Flailing ‘War on Christmas’?," Religion Dispatches (December 19, 2018).

• "40 Years Later: How We Talk About Jonestown And Why It Matters," History Matters (November 11, 2018).

• "Should Satanic Temple Have Threatened Netflix Over Baphomet Statue in ‘Sabrina’ Series?," Religion Dispatches (November 5, 2018).

• "Satanist Religious Freedom Rally Successful Despite Neo-Nazis and Christian Heckler," Religion Dispatches (August 20, 2018).

• "Neo-Nazis Call on ‘White Christians’ to Oppose Satanic Temple Rally," Religion Dispatches (August 14, 2018).

• "Satanic Temple Organizing a Rally for Religious Liberty," Religion Dispatches (August 13, 2018).

• "The monster festival: A pilgrimage to small town America," The Conversation (July 6, 2018).

  • • "A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America: How monster festivals became American pilgrimage sites,"   Smithsonian.com (July 11, 2018).

• "Name it and Disclaim it: A Tool for Better Discussion in Religious Studies," Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (May 24, 2018).

• "Profile: Michelle Belanger," World Religion and Spirituality Project (April 5, 2018).

• "Evangelizing the Ufologists," Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (January 23, 2018).

2017

• "Teaching Demonology, Possession, and Exorcism in Texas," Religious Studies News: Spotlight on Teaching (October 23, 2017).

• "SATANISTS TAKE AIM AT SCHOOL SPANKING," Religion Dispatches (March 20, 2017).

• "What's in Your Religion Syllabus: Joseph Laycock," Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (January 31, 2017).

2016

• "ENCOUNTERING KRAMPUS: CAN TERROR KEEP THE HOLIDAY SACRED?," Sacred Matters (December 19, 2016).

• "How the Ouija board got its sinister reputation," The Conversation (October 18, 2016).

• "Profile: Necedah Shrine," World Religion and Spirituality Project (September 30, 2016).

• "CERN: WHERE PARTICLE PHYSICS COLLIDES WITH HUMAN SACRIFICE (APPARENTLY)," Religion Dispatches (August 23, 2016).

• "Reply to “Do We Always Practice What We Preach? Real Vampires’ Fears of Coming Out of the Coffin to Social Workers and Helping Professionals.” Critical Social Work 17:2 (2016).

• "Why I Write About Satanic Panic," University of Toronto Press Journals Blog (July 5, 2016).

• "Why are people starting to believe in UFOs again?," The Conversation (July 5, 2016).

  • • Intellectualtakeout.org (July 8, 2016).

    • The Wire (July 10, 2016).

    • "Aliens in the 21st century: More and more people are starting to believe in UFOs again," Salon (July 11, 2016).

    • Norman Byrd, "Zoe Saldana Believes Are Out There: 'Star' Trek Actor is Part of Growing Belief in UFOs and Aliens," The Inquisitr (July     20, 2016).

• "SATANISTS INFILTRATE A RITUAL ABUSE CONFERENCE IN OAKLAND: YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY," Religion Dispatches (June 16, 2016).

• "Can a burgeoning satanic movement actually effect political change?," The Conversation (April 19, 2016).

• • The New Republic (April 19, 2016).

  • "Is the Satanic Temple for real?," Houston Chronicle (May 10, 2016).

• "SATANIC TEMPLE PROTESTS PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC THERAPIES FOR SATANIC ABUSE AND WITCHCRAFT," Religion Dispatches (April 6, 2016).

• "Why so many Americans think they’re #blessed," The Conversation (April 1, 2016).

  • • The Raw Story (April 1, 2016).

    • The New Republic (April 1, 2016).

    • The Houston Chronicle (April 3, 2016).

• "Is Eli Roth's Quest for the Real in 'The Green Inferno' Successful?," PopMatters (January 27, 2016).

2015

• "Purging daily demons: what’s behind the popularity of exorcisms?," The Conversation (November 30, 2015).

  • • The Raw Story (November 30, 2015).The New Republic (December 28, 2015).

• "WHY HAVE SO MANY FALLEN FOR THE RUNE STONE HOAX?," Religion Dispatches (November 3, 2015).

• "Who Believed There Was A Bomb and When Did They Believe It? What Ahmed Mohamed’s Clock Says About Belief and Moral Panic," Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (September 21, 2015).

• "BACK TO SCHOOL AT THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY TO REQUIRE A WORLD RELIGIONS COURSE," Religion Dispatches (September 9, 2015).

• "CAN YOU MAKE A COMEDY ABOUT UFO CULT MASS SUICIDE?," Religion Dispatches (July 9, 2015).

• 'WHY DYLANN ROOF ACTED ON HIS RACISM," Religion Dispatches (July 23, 2015).

• "THE ‘CHARLIE CHARLIE CHALLENGE’ AND TEENAGE YEARNING FOR SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS," Religion Dispatches (June 15, 2015).

• "Rival fantasies: Dungeons & Dragons players and their religious critics actually have a lot in common," The Conversation (May 29, 2015).

• "WICCAN PRAYER IN IOWA HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PROBLEM," Religion Dispatches (April 16, 2015).

• "If we don’t teach religion in schools, Americans will never understand the rest of the world," Quartz (April 15, 2015).

• "IT’S NOT “INAPPROPRIATE” FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER TO TELL CLASS THAT OBAMA ISN’T CHRISTIAN," Religion Dispatches (April 8, 2015).

• "RAELIANS PUSH WHITE HOUSE FOR ALIEN EMBASSY TO SAVE HUMANITY," Religion Dispatches (April 6, 2015).

• "Create Your Own Religion (Out of Someone Else’s): A Class Exercise," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (March 4, 2015).

• "Moving Targets: Religious Studies and the Paranormal," Edge Science 21 (March 1, 2015).

2014

• "THIS YEAR IN SATANISM," Religion Dispatches (December 25, 2014).

• "Prophecy, demonology, and the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family," Oxford University Press Blog (December 4, 2014).

• "NETHERLANDS’ “WAR ON XMAS” IS “WAR ON ‘BLACK PETE’” Religion Dispatches (December 1, 2014).

• "DO WHITE PEOPLE THINK BLACK PEOPLE ARE MAGIC?," Religion Dispatches (November 20, 2014).

• "PAGAN OUTRAGE MACHINE FIRES UP IN RESPONSE TO TIME HALLOWEEN ARTICLE," Religion Dispatches (November 7, 2014).

• "IN OK, A “CHRISTIAN” AND A “MUSLIM” DECAPITATION CHALLENGE “RELIGIOUS” VIOLENCE NARRATIVE," Religion Dispatches (November 4, 2014).

• "THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS OF VODOU, NEW ORLEANS STYLE," Religion Dispatches (October 23, 2014).

• "RELIGION OR INSANITY? TWO UPCOMING MURDER TRIALS WILL ASK THE (BURNING) QUESTION," Religion Dispatches (October 13, 2014).

• "Two Exorcisms: The Narrative Functions of Consecrated Space," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (October 10, 2014).

• "WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE VIRGIN MARY DEPICTED AS A BARBIE DOLL?," Religion Dispatches (October 2, 2014).

• "CYCLOPS BABY OF THE APOCALYPSE? ANOTHER DAY IN ISIS FUNDAMENTALISM," Religion Dispatches (September 23, 2014).

• "IS THE STATE A RELIGIOUS ACTOR IN DEEMING TEEN’S CROTCH-RUBBING OF JESUS STATUE ILLEGAL?" Religion Dispatches (September 12, 2014).

• "SATANIC FOIA REVEALS DEEP CONFUSION ABOUT 1ST AMENDMENT," Religion Dispatches (September 9, 2014).

• "WAS STUDENT WHO CLAIMS SHE WAS SUSPENDED FOR SAYING, “BLESS YOU” MIMICKING GOD’S NOT DEAD?," Religion Dispatches (September 2, 2014).

• "RACIST RAMTHA TIRADE: THE QUESTIONS WE AREN’T ASKING," Religion Dispatches (July 23, 2014).

• "RAELIAN SWASTIKA CAMPAIGN CALCULATED TO STOKE CONTROVERSY," Religion Dispatches (July 15, 2014).

• "ROMANIAN EXORCIST RELEASED FROM PRISON, BECOMES NEW FOLK DEVIL," Religion Dispatches (July 10, 2014).

• "SHOULD WORLD RELIGION BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS?," Caring (2014).

• "BLACK MASSES CONTINUE TO TITILLATE CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS," Religion Dispatches (July 9, 2014).

• "THE PARANORMAL TO POP CULTURE PIPELINE," Religion Dispatches (July 8, 2014).

• "VATICAN OKS EXORCIST GROUP: CAN IT RECONCILE SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE?," Religion Dispatches (July 3, 2014).

• "NEW CREATIONIST MUSEUM UNDERMINES… RELIGION," Religion Dispatches (June 20, 2014).

• "ANOTHER SLENDER MAN ATTACK?," Religion Dispatches (June 10, 2014).

• "‘SLENDER MAN’ MURDER ATTEMPT WASN’T MEDIA OR MADNESS," Religion Dispatches (June 4, 2014).

• "RUSSIAN MULTIMILLIONAIRE MAKES PEACE WITH ANTI-CHRIST MILK,"Religion Dispatches (June 3, 2014).

• "Do you believe in god? Like, god that isn’t Kanye West?," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (June 2, 2014).

• "Harvard’s black mass fiasco: A squandered opportunity for debate," Salon (May 25, 2014).

• (with Natasha L. Mikles) "Offerings for the Loch Ness Monster—a Sign of Buddhism’s Arrival in the West," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (May 15, 2014).

• "“True Detective” vs. H.P. Lovecraft’s “cosmic horror”," Salon (March 16, 2014).

• "SATANIC “BLACK MASS” AT HARVARD EXCITES CONSERVATIVES," Religion Dispatches (May 7, 2014).

• "WHY HIPSTERS MAY BE PERFECT SOURCE FOR BROOKLYN OCCULT REVIVAL," Religion Dispatches (May 3, 2014).

• "THE SECRET HISTORY OF EASTER," Religion Dispatches (April 21, 2014).

• "WHY SUCH OUTRAGE OVER STAR TREK ACTOR’S GEOCENTRISM?," Religion Dispatches (April 14, 2014).

• "SATANIC LEGOS THREATEN POLISH PRIEST," Religion Dispatches (April 7, 2014).

• "Profile: Our Lady of Bayside," World Religions & Spirituality Project (April 4, 2014).

• "KEEP THESE SATANISTS OUT OF CONGRESS!," Religion Dispatches (April 2, 2014).

• "RAELIANS’ “CLITORAID” MET WITH SUSPICION IN BURKINA FASO," Religion Dispatches (April 2, 2014).

• "WHY THE DISAPPEARED MALAYSIAN AIRLINER BRINGS OUT THE PARANORMAL," Religion Dispatches (March 19, 2014).

• "FINDING THE MISSING AIRLINER WITH COCONUT," Religion Dispatches (March 17, 2014).

• "GOAT HEAD FOUND IN BROOKLYN. WHO CARES?," Religion Dispatches (March 10, 2014).

• "QUIZ: WHAT’S THE MOST HEAVILY ATTENDED MASS OF THE YEAR?," Religion Dispatches (March 5, 2014).

• "KATY PERRY’S SIREN SONG TO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS," Religion Dispatches (March 3, 2014).

• "THE NEW MANSON FAMILY OR TEENS AT “PLAY”?," Religion Dispatches (February 14, 2014).

• "The Problem of “Social Justice Elitism,”" The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (February 14, 2014).

• "BOOKS MUST BE HARDBOUND, QUOTES WHOLE, AND GENITALIA SCRUBBED," Religion Dispatches (February 13, 2014).

• "CREATIONISM, CRYPTOZOOLOGY, & THE CULTURAL AUTHORITY OF NOAH'S MONSTERS," Floodofnoah.com (February 2014).

• "IS THE SATANIST BEHIND 10 COMMANDMENTS CHALLENGE SINCERE?," Religion Dispatches (January 8, 2014).

• "We Must Teach about Religion in High Schools," Religion and Politics (January 7, 2014).

2013

• "SATANIST MONUMENT SHINES LIGHT ON CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE," Religion Dispatches (December 12, 2013).

• "Parodies, the paranormal, and para-academics," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (October 16, 2013).

• "The Ongoing Legacy of a Satanic Panic," Religion in American History Blog (September 7, 2013).

• "Claiming the Land for Azathoth: Lovecraftian Pranks and the Post-Modern Sacred," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (September 4, 2013).

2012

• “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch:” Christmas and the Abject," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (December 13, 2012).

• "The Curious Case of John Errol Ferguson, Part 2," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (October 26, 2012).

• "The Curious Case of John Errol Ferguson: Part 1," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (October 25, 2012).

• "THE MASTER: “IT’S NOT THE L. RON STORY," Religion Dispatches (October 3, 2012).

• “West Virginia is one big portal!” Reflections on the Eleventh Annual Mothman Festival – Part 2,”" The Bulletin for the Study of Religion

• Blog (September 20, 2012).

• “West Virginia is one big portal!” Reflections on the Eleventh Annual Mothman Festival – Part 1," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (September 19, 2012).

• "Disenchantment and Re-enchantment on eBay," ReligionNerd (September 5, 2012).

• "Vampires, Gay Rights, and the Political Underpinnings of HBO’s True Blood," Religion and Politics (August 27, 2012).

• "RUSSIAN ZOMBIES FOLLOW IN PUSSY RIOT FOOTSTEPS," Religion Dispatches (August 24, 2012).

• "SANTORUM INVOKED SATAN," Religion Dispaches (August 8, 2012).

• "OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY AS SATANIC RITUAL," Religion Dispatches (August 3, 2012).

• "Imprisoned by Scientologists? Our Fascination with Captivity Narratives," Religion and Politics (July 17, 2012).

• "CLEANSING MONSTERS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER," Religion Dispatches (June 28, 2012).

• "MEXICO’S OWN SATANIC PANIC," Religion Dispatches (April 12, 2012).

• "Iraqi Emos," The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (April 10, 2012).

• "The Other Kind of “Apocalypse”: The Christian Worldview of “They Live,”" The Bulletin for the Study of Religion Blog (March 12, 2012).

• "HACKING THE VATICAN," Religion Dispatches (March 7, 2012).

• "NICKI MINAJ CALLED ‘POSSESSED’ AFTER GRAMMY PERFORMANCE," Religion Dispatches (February 13, 2012).

• "RETHINKING RELIGION AFTER LATEST HOLISTIC DEATH," Religion Dispatches (January 30, 2012).

• "DEATH OF AN OCCULT CRIME EXPERT REAWAKENS CONTROVERSY," Religion Dispatches (January 26, 2012).

• "JESUS V. RELIGION RAP-OFF," Religion Dispatches (January 24, 2012).

• "MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE WITCHES," Religion Dispatches (January 19, 2012).

• "Webs of Significance: The Real-Life Superhero Movement as a Model for Reality," Nomos  (January 1, 2012). 

2011

• "DEFINING “CULT,” DEFINING “CHRISTIAN," Religion Dispatches (October 13, 2011).

• "Mexican Guava Fairies and Crack-Head Leprechauns: Are We Living in an Enchanted World?," ReligionNerd (September 26, 2011).

• "AUSTRIAN COURT OKAYS HEAD-COLANDER IN DRIVER’S LICENSE: IS PASTAFARIANISM BECOMING A RELIGION?," Religion Dispatches (July 18, 2011).

• "CONTROVERSIAL MARY STATUE WEEPS BECAUSE ‘WE’RE KILLING THIS WORLD'," Religion Dispatches (July 7, 2011).

• "Mary's Late Arrival to the United States," Sightings (March 31, 2011).

• "THE VAMPIRE WHO BEAT WELLS FARGO," Religion Dispatches (March 21, 2011).

• "ROMANIA’S “WITCH TAX”: MAGIC MEETS BUREAUCRACY," Religion Dispatches (January 26, 2011).

2010

• "WHY DID VANDALS TRY TO DESTROY A HOLY TREE?," Religion Dispatches (December 15, 2010).

• "Muslims, Middle Schoolers, and Lawsuits," Sightings (October 14, 2010).

• "STRIPPERS VERSUS CHURCH: COSMIC BATTLE WITH CIVIC CONSEQUENCES," Religion Dispatches (August 26, 2010).

• "Modern Exorcism: Trading Autonomy for Demonology," Sightings (July 8, 2010).

• "‘MIRACLES’ REJECTS DISENCHANTMENT, NOT SCIENCE," Religion Dispatches (May 21, 2010).

• "YOUR HATRED WILL MAKE ME FAMOUS," Religion Dispatches (May 12, 2010).

• "BATTLING THE ANTICHRIST BY OUTLAWING MICROCHIPS," Religion Dispatches (March 16, 2010).

• "The Pandora's Box of James Cameron," Sightings (January 8, 2010).

• "VAMPIRES, COMMUNION, REDEMPTION," Religion Dispatches (January 27, 2010).

2009

• "Penitents Compete and the Future of Turkish Secularism," Sightings (November 16, 2009).

• "TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE ANTICHRIST: THE GEORGIA GUIDESTONES," Religion Dispatches (July 1, 2009).

• "MEXICO’S WAR ON SAINT DEATH," Religion Dispatches (June 23, 2009).

• "TRUE BLOOD: WHEN MARKETING GOES FOR THE JUGULAR," Religion Dispatches (June 10, 2009).

• "Hyper-Muscular Christianity," Sightings (February 19, 2009).

2008

• "The Creation Museum," Sightings (March 13, 2008).