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Whitney Phillips

@whitneyphillips.bsky.social

540 followers 120 following 31 posts

Assistant Prof of Information Politics and Ethics at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication. I write about quasi-religion & politics at http://populardemonology.substack.com

populardemonology.substack.com

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 15

Today my new @mitpress.bsky.social book with Mark Brockway publishes! It explores the historical forces that gave rise to a shapeshifting, amalgamated figure of the liberal devil mapped onto a very broad conceptualization of “the left” and the Democratic Party mitpress.mit.edu/978026255227...

The Shadow Gospel

When people talk about the chaotic, increasingly precarious political landscape in the United States, they often blame polarization and the culture wars. In ...

mitpress.mit.edu

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Aug 19

That is a dynamic we talk about in the book yes!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Aug 19

I'd be so curious to hear more about your experiences but don't want to put you on the spot! For now, again, this is so appreciated, thank you for reading and posting about the book!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Aug 19

Oh thank you Chris! I'm just seeing this message and the responses -- I actually just submitted the full follow-up manuscript to the press, which is why I wasn't checking inboxes/notifications due to overwhelmed editing brain, what a nice surprise to see this! I'm so glad the book resonated

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Aug 10

Awesome, thank you!! I'd love to know what you think!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 21

It was so great talking with you, thanks Hagen!! (also the @adriandaub.bsky.social book you recommended was so unbelievably helpful!!) (that should also be a thank you aimed at Adrian himself, I have scribbled excited notes from cover to cover!)

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 21

I got to have a great conversation recently about Evangelical political influence and the strange global flows of anti-liberal demonology, thanks @ausnahmsweise.net! (the audio interview is in English)

hagen terschüren @ausnahmsweise.net · Jul 20

es hat nur acht monate oder so gedauert, aber ich habe eine neue podcastfolge veröffentlicht! ich habe mit @whitneyphillips.bsky.social über evangelikale und wie sie unsere medien beeinflussen gesprochen. ausnahmsweise.net/podcast/how-...

Podcast: How Evangelicals Influence Media

https://ausnahmsweise.net/content/media/2025/07/How-Evangelicals-Influence-Media-and-Right-Wing-Politics.mp3

ausnahmsweise.net

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 11

*Things like trollish style WERE

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 11

Yeah there were a couple times in this where things like trollish style was being framed as nascent/emergent within conservatism and I caught myself saying "...New?" Michael Bluth style ("...Her?")

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 4

That's really cool! Send me an email to UO address and we can schedule something!!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

Oh goodness do I have thoughts on that! That conversation is also part of this book, related to the popularization of demonology. I'd be happy to chat about it sometime if you wanted!

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

Oh interesting! Our follow-up book (which will be finished this summer) looks at what happens when demonology becomes POPULAR i.e. jumps those walls and starts traipsing through everybody's gardens which is...disorienting to think and write about. What's your dissertation topic?

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

Hey thank you! What was the focus of the comp list?

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

Hey awesome! I'd love to know what you think about it

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

If anybody is puzzled why Mike Johnson's celebratory BBB speech included references to scripture, the radical woke leftists, "common sense," trans people, and why we need to fight the godlessness of Communism/Marxism, have I got a book for you: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255227...

The Shadow Gospel

When people talk about the chaotic, increasingly precarious political landscape in the United States, they often blame polarization and the culture wars. In ...

mitpress.mit.edu

1 5 17

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · May 1

Oh awesome, thanks for ordering! (and for your patience with the mixup!)-- I'd love to know what you think!!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 28

Well, it depends on what you/a person thinks threatens those things. Not every use of those terms is demonological; it is when the threats are attributed to a nebulous definition of "liberal" that is actually a bunch of disconnected things lumped together and made to seem partisan

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 28

The piece also highlights how corrosive *demonological* Christianity ("Revelation Lite," where the point is to fight the liberal devil and that's it) is to theological Christianity and how corrosive *demonological* conservatism (same thing, devil devil everywhere) is to ideological conservatism

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 28

An excerpt from my new book w @markbrockway.bsky.social that highlights the three different modes of demonological thinking. For example pro-family, pro-speech, pro-America talk sounds positive/common sense but is ultimately pointing to the liberal devil thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-demonolo...

How Demonology Won the 2024 Election

The rise of a “shadow gospel” reveals how deeply the language of demons and deliverance has shaped American politics.

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 22

But no rush/pressure, only if something seems immediately relevant or easy to link. I'm always curious about how people are engaging with/framing these issues around the globe -- we're facing similar challenges and sometimes the approaches are similar, sometimes very different. Always interesting!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 22

Oh that's really cool! Thank you, I'd be interested to know what kinds of conversations you're having/what those discussions focus on, how they translate into educational contexts, what the fights are about, etc. Do you have any recommendations of folks to follow or things to read?

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 22

Tack för delningen! (Jag pratar inte svenska men det gör översättningsappen!)

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Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 16

Hi I've been meaning to reach out!!! Thank you, how are you doing? I cannot wait to read yours!!!!

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 15

Oh that's really cool to hear, thank you! What kinds of things have you explored?

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 15

It is you who are lovely and smart! Big big hug to you & thanks

Whitney Phillips @whitneyphillips.bsky.social · Apr 15

Ooh thanks for the intro!! Lots of fun with the devil here