Propaganda:
Information or ideas that are spread by an organized group or government to influence people’s opinions, esp. by not giving all the facts or by secretly emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts. Cambridge Dictionary
The systematic dissemination of information, esp. in a biased or misleading way, in order to promote a particular cause or point of view, often a political agenda. Also: information disseminated in this way; the means or media by which such ideas are disseminated. Oxford English Dictionary
“No lie is of the truth….” 1 John
The New York Post last week reported[i] on a new bill passed in the city’s legislature that erases the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from parental and child custody laws, inserting some inane ‘gender neutral’ terms instead. More than sexual revolution silliness, this is reality denying craziness that is becoming a hallmark of our times, as if human beings could just be magically relabelled to remove all reference to biological and generational reality. Nor, as we know, are some sections of the Church of England far behind. The Diocese of Exeter in its manifold wisdom has issued a menopause policy[ii] for clergy — including men who identify as women.
But why do ordinary people get swept up in irrational behaviour, why do seemingly intelligent people believe blatant falsehoods? In a previous article[iii] on the rapid growth of antisemitism in contemporary culture, I referenced Bonhoeffer’s analysis that concluded it was basically a spiritual fault. Others have advanced more nuanced analyses which point to powerful psycho-social dynamics that are behind much of what we see in contemporary political culture. Of course, spiritual and psychological dynamics are not mutually exclusive.
In the same article, I also noted the views of Jonathan Alpert who outlined some of the psycho-social dynamics he observed in recent hate marches and rallies. Many of the participants took part because it gave them a sense of solidarity, of participation in something greater and altruistic, and a sense of purpose and meaning.
Mattias Desmet a professor of psychology at the University of Ghent has made a deep analysis of our current situation in a recent book[iv], in which he warns of a collective psychosis called “mass formation” and of how it can take hold of a society. Using historical examples such as Stalinist Russia and Hitler’s Third Reich, he deconstructs the societal conditions that provide fertile ground for this collective psychosis to take hold and be used as a means of manipulating a vast proportion of a population into believing irrational, or blatantly untrue ideologies and narratives.
Mass formation and the manipulation of public opinion through propaganda
Propaganda is the deliberate perversion of political discourse to gain and maintain control of a society. It is used to mislead and manipulate people so that they willingly give up their own independent thought and submit to the state’s version of reality. However, as Desmet points out, human beings are ethical creatures and to pervert speech and language is to pervert society. Telling someone a lie disrespects their humanity – as we are made in God’s image, and God is absolute truth.
Mass formation is when a group that is formed on the basis, not of people connecting to each other, but when they all separately connect to a collective ideal. As Desmet describes,
People fall prey to mass formation to escape a pervasive feeling of loneliness and disconnectedness, induced by the rationalization of the world and the ensuing industrialization of the world and the excessive use of technology. They merge together in fanatic mass behaviour because this seems to free them from their lonely, atomized state.[v]
These are the very conditions that are prevalent in our contemporary world, and explain why currently, we see how usually rational, intelligent people are led astray by propaganda, by false and misleading narratives. People who are in the grip of mass formation are unable to maintain a critical thinking distance from a collective belief. Thus, people can be led to believe irrational and absurd things (e.g. that men can become women, or nazi theories of racial superiority) or immoral things (like killing an unborn child being a blessing, or that encouraging suicide is an act of compassion).
Essentially, mass formation is the development of a type of collective mind, or Orwellian Groupthink, in which people are manipulated such that they become intolerant to dissident views and hostile to anyone who may hold those views. That would include those in power most threatened by counter narratives who will attempt to silence opponents by free-speech restrictions and two-tier policing.
One of the more counter-intuitive of Desmet’s findings is that the more educated people are, the more likely they are to fall prey to mass formation[vi]– one would not expect this of those trained in critical thinking. This may explain why Universities and other institutions of higher learning have been captivated by ‘woke’ ideology, just as German universities fell under the thrall of national socialism in the 1930’s and absorbed its antisemitic tropes.
Mass formation is a powerful psychological tool in the hands of political elites, and as Desmet explains, lays a foundation for totalitarian systems, and warns it has the same potential today,
The creation of long-lasting lonely masses through propaganda was the psychological basis for the emergence of the large totalitarian systems of the twentieth century. Only if a mass formation exists for decades can it be made the basis of a state system. The emergence of lonely masses led to Stalinism and Nazism in the beginning of the twentieth century and now it might lead to technocratic totalitarianism[vii]
A further point Desmet emphasises is that the longer the state can sustain a mass formation, the more that individuals feel connected to the communal ideal and the less they feel connected to other people. That is why, he explains, in the end stages of totalitarianism, mothers can betray their children to the state and children their parents. It is clear then, that families can become divided, and churches disunited, even at an early stage of mass formation.
The conditions that mass formation thrives in according to Desmet are the very conditions pertaining now across many developed western nations –
- An overall sense of loneliness and lack of social connections and bonds
- A lack of meaning and purpose including unsatisfying jobs
- Free-floating anxiety and discontent that arise from loneliness and lack of meaning
- A resulting manifestation of frustration and aggression from anxiety
The Christian response
It should be obvious to a Christian believer that the lonely human predicament due to this end-of-enlightenment culture is one that can be powerfully alleviated by God’s gospel and God’s Church.
Here, I believe are some of the ways the Church can answer the needs of contemporary society now showing signs of mass formation.
- The importance of speaking the truth. This is fundamental to personal health and well-being, also to social health and stability. In Ephesians Paul mandates several times the speaking of truth in love.
“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love…”[viii]
Thus, speaking truth counters falsehood, deliberate deceit and human cunning which would lead people astray. It counters both unchristian beliefs and ideologies, and false teachings.
Secondly, speaking the truth is constructive of relationships and community life, while falsehood destroys both interpersonal relationships and the unity of the body, thus he says, “Therefore, put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another.”[ix]
This totally counters, for example, the assertion that individuals who dare to challenge the government’s narrative are being divisive merely by speaking out or taking part in demonstrations. On the contrary, suppression of the truth engenders suspicion and division. It is also illustrative of the fact that doctrinal division in the Church on important issues – those of soteriological consequence such as false sexual ideologies, are destructive when allowed to flourish in the church – because they confuse people.
- The Importance of bringing people into a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ and into the life of a local Christian community, worshipping in a local church. This is the real and lasting solution for the ‘lonely masses’.
A real relationship with God and others gives meaning and purpose to life, in contrast to the atomised existence of western culture where people are bound by materialism and understand their existence in a purely utilitarian way. As Pope Leo in his latest encyclical has warned about the potential risk of regarding technology (specifically AI) as a ‘solution’ to human frailty through enhanced powers. He has rightly observed, “What saves humanity is not enhanced self-sufficiency, but a relationship that liberates, a communion that transforms.”[x]
- The importance of giving sound teaching by Christian leaders to their congregants on Biblical discernment which is instrumental in exposing falsehoods and propaganda.
Finally, there will always be a cost to be counted for those unafraid to speak the truth, because as Orwell noted, “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” There are further issues pertaining to the very concept of truth that are exploited to confuse and deceive people which I will explore in Part 2.
___________________________________________________________________________________
[i] https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/us-news/dems-replace-mother-with-gestating-parent-in-latest-woke-rewrite-of-nys-law/
[ii] https://anglican.ink/2026/06/04/diocese-of-exeter-issues-menopause-policy-for-clergy-including-men-who-identify-as-women/
[iii] https://anglicanmainstream.org/editorial/a-dark-captivity-parades-in-full-view-the-rise-in-antisemitism-within-western-nations/
[iv] Mattias Desmet, The Psychology of Totalitarianism, Chelsea Green, LONDON, 2022.
[v] https://words.mattiasdesmet.org/p/my-speech-in-the-parliament-of-romania
[vi] Also described by Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind; and Jaques Ellul, Propaganda.
[vii] https://words.mattiasdesmet.org/p/my-speech-in-the-parliament-of-romania
[viii] Ephesians 4:14.
[ix] Ephesians 4:25.
[x] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html