That flatness reveals that what public health sci-comms has not done, and what conspirituality has done, with religious fervor, is mobilize what philosophy and religion scholar Alan Levinovitz calls “empowerment epistemology.” Levinovitz argues that helplessness and uncertainty can be managed in New Age contexts via simply choosing to believe what feels empowering, regardless of evidence to the contrary. It could be Jesus, juice fasting, crystals, angels, or alien messages. Talismanic objects and in-group beliefs keep anxiety at bay, while the dangers being denied multiply and fester.
