The Benefit of the Doubt: How Institutionally Protected Narratives Shape Belief

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Abstract

In the present paper I explore the social nature of belief and protected narratives through comparison of two "moral panics". First, I examine the decade long social anxieties over Satanism and other occult activities. In the period, a long list of improbable claims about satanism and satanic ritual abuse proliferated. These claims were broadly believed, despite absence of any evidence. Then, I turn to a contemporary "moral panic" over drink-spiking to demonstrate that the same mechanisms and processes appear to be at play. Both panics involve widespread belief in social problems that rest on claims and assertions of questionable credibility. I use the older panic which has largely been discredited to establish theoretical propositions. I then apply these propositions to the contemporary panic to demonstrate how these broader mechanisms work in the sustenance of belief. In both cases, we find that treating belief as binary (one should believe or not believe) forces both logical and empirical errors which could be avoided.

Author

• Corey J. Colyer, West Virginia University