What is the “One World Religion”? Unpacking the History of a Controversial Idea -

Introduction

Few phrases in modern religious discourse are as polarizing or as evocative as “One World Religion.” For some, it’s a shorthand for an ominous prophecy – a harbinger of the end times and a loss of spiritual freedom. For others, it sparks curiosity about whether humanity could ever find common spiritual ground. The term carries heavy historical baggage: it originates in Christian apocalyptic teachings and has evolved into a cornerstone of contemporary conspiracy theories. Understanding this concept’s journey from scripture to internet forums is essential for anyone grappling with the fears and fascinations it inspires. This paper offers a neutral, academic overview of the term “One World Religion,” tracing its roots in Christian eschatology and its later adoption into secular and religious conspiratorial narratives. In doing so, we aim to provide context – emotional, historical, and intellectual – that will lay the groundwork for a thoughtful deconstruction of the idea in future analysis. Throughout, we will also consider the human needs and fears that underlie this concept’s enduring grip on the imagination, approaching the topic with both scholarly rigor and empathetic insight.

Prophetic Origins: The Biblical and Theological Roots

The notion of a “One World Religion” finds its genesis in interpretations of biblical prophecy. Christian eschatology, especially in evangelical and fundamentalist traditions, has long speculated about a future global religion that emerges during the “end times.” While the Bible does not use the exact phrase “one world religion,” the concept is extrapolated from passages in the Book of Revelation and other apocalyptic scriptures. In particular, Revelation chapter 17 describes a symbolic “great harlot” figure riding a beast, with whom “the kings of the earth” commit spiritual adultery. This harlot – bedecked in purple and scarlet, drunk on the “wine” of her immoral influence – is seen by many commentators as a false religious system dominating the world in the last daysgotquestions.org. The imagery is dramatic and unsettling, portraying a faith that has betrayed truth and is aligned with worldly power.

Christian theologians have long used the harlot of Babylon as a metaphor for religious apostasy. Throughout the Old Testament, infidelity to God (following false gods or idolatry) is likened to harlotrygotquestions.org. By the time we reach the New Testament’s apocalyptic vision, this metaphor has scaled up to represent an entire global religious movement that is unfaithful to the divine. Revelation 17–18 is rich in cryptic symbols, but many interpreters believe it points to a future unified religion encompassing “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues”gotquestions.org – essentially all of humanity under one spiritual umbrella. In the end-times scenario envisioned by these interpreters, this one-world faith is not benign. It is portrayed as intoxicating leaders and masses alike, trading truth for political influence and worldly luxurygotquestions.org. The prophecy also suggests this religious system will persecute those who resist it: it is “drunk with the blood of the saints”gotquestions.org, implying that faithful minorities (often presumed to be Christians who hold to their beliefs during the Tribulation) will be martyred for defying the new order. In short, within this theological framework, a single global religion becomes an instrument of oppression – the spiritual facet of the dreaded “beast system.”

It’s important to note that this concept developed in a specific interpretive tradition. The idea of a coming one-world religion is especially prominent in premillennial dispensationalism, a 19th–20th century theological movement that reads biblical prophecy in a very literal, futuristic way. Ever since the teachings of John Nelson Darby in the 1800s, many apocalyptic-minded Christians have expected a global conspiracy to impose a tyrannical world order fulfilling biblical propheciesen.wikipedia.org. In their view, an unholy trio – often identified as Satan, the Antichrist, and a False Prophet – will orchestrate an end-times empire featuring a single world government, a unified economy, and a syncretic world religionen.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org. The False Prophet, in particular, is described in Revelation as a religious leader who aids the Antichrist; this figure is commonly linked to the leadership of the coming one-world faith. According to these interpretations, the one-world religion will serve as the spiritual glue for global tyranny, preparing the masses to worship the Antichrist’s imperial culten.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org. In the narrative, this deception is so insidious that it would “deceive even the elect” if that were possible (cf. Matthew 24:24) – a warning of how emotionally compelling and need-satisfying this false faith might appear, even to sincere believers.

Identifying the “Harlot”: Evolving Speculations

For centuries, believers and commentators have debated who or what this one-world religion might be. The symbolism in Revelation is cryptic – the “woman” is called Mystery Babylon – leaving room for wide speculation. Early Protestant reformers in the 16th and 17th centuries had no hesitation in offering a candid answer: many identified the corrupt “world church” of prophecy with the Roman Catholic Church, which they dubbed the “Whore of Babylon.” This was more than mere theological guesswork; it reflected the intense needs and fears of that era. Protestants, struggling for survival and religious identity, perceived the powerful Catholic Church as a monolithic threat to true faith and individual conscience. Casting the papacy as the prophesied evil religious unifier met a need to explain their oppression and to warn others – it gave them a dramatic narrative in which they were on the side of good resisting a nearly ubiquitous evil. Indeed, the imagery of a bejeweled harlot in league with emperors resonated with Protestant experiences of corrupt church officials in bed (sometimes literally, often figuratively) with secular rulers. Thus, one of the earliest “one world religion” theories was that Catholicism would eventually dominate or absorb all other faiths, enforcing a false creed on the entire world.

In the 20th century, as history and geopolitics shifted, so did the candidates for the end-times religion. The identity of the predicted one-world faith became a moving target, often reflecting whatever spiritual movements or institutions were viewed as most threatening at the time. By the mid-1900s, some evangelical prophecy teachers began to think beyond a single existing church and looked to broader trends. There were “convincing arguments” made for numerous possibilities – Catholicism, Islam, the New Age movement, even a faith not yet inventedgotquestions.org. Each hypothesis said more about contemporary anxieties than about any literal scriptural description. For example, during the Cold War and post–1960s era, many conservative Christians were deeply worried about the rise of New Age spirituality and Eastern mysticism in the West. The New Age movement’s talk of global consciousness and religious syncretism was easily cast as a prototype of the one-world harlot religion. Authors in the 1970s and 1980s – such as Hal Lindsey and Constance Cumbey – speculated that a kind of ecumenical New Age pantheism (possibly facilitated by the United Nations or other “globalist” entities) would become the prophesied false religiondiscoverrevelation.com discoverrevelation.com. Their reasoning was that only a totally new, syncretic faith could unite people of many beliefs. Indeed, as one analysis noted, the end-times religion would need to “bring together atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and… unbelieving Christians” under one tentdiscoverrevelation.com – a feat no traditional religion like Catholicism alone could accomplish. Lindsey and others argued that a watered-down, feel-good “global spirituality” might do the trick, something broad enough to appeal to secular people yet spiritual enough to entice the religiousdiscoverrevelation.com. In essence, they foresaw a kind of all-inclusive religious amalgam, perhaps operating under slogans of peace and unity, but ultimately serving the Antichrist’s deadly agenda.

This evolving hypothesis – from a single church (Rome) to a vague syncretism (New Age “mystery Babylon”) – illustrates a key point: the one-world religion concept has always been adaptive to the cultural context. It acts as a receptacle for whatever a given community of believers most fears at a given time. The common denominator, however, is fear – fear of deception, fear of oppression, fear of one’s cherished beliefs being subsumed by a lie. Underlying that fear is a very human need: the need for identity and truth. The specter of a fake universal faith is terrifying precisely because it threatens to invalidate personal convictions and deprive people of the authentic spiritual nourishment they require. In the language of needs-based morality, one could say that believers perceive an end-times world religion as maximally immoral because it would frustrate some of the most foundational human needs: the need for genuine meaning, for spiritual integrity, for freedom of belief. From this perspective, the passionate insistence that “I will never take the mark or bow to the beast” is not just doctrinal posturing – it is an anguished defense of human dignity and spiritual autonomy against a scenario that would strip both away.

Before moving on, it’s worth mentioning that the idea of a one-world religion gained popular visibility through fiction as well. What theology students debated in seminars, many laypeople first encountered through novels and movies. A prime example is the best-selling Left Behind series (1995–2007) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which dramatizes a Protestant dispensationalist vision of the end times. In those books – which sold tens of millions of copies – the Antichrist character establishes an international faith merger called Enigma Babylon One World Faith, described as a “Global Community Faith” that unites all remaining religions under one hierarchycatholic.com. Tellingly, Left Behind portrays the Pope (renamed “Pontifex Maximus of the Global Faith”) leading this syncretic super-church, after the “true” Christians have been raptured awaycatholic.com. Only two groups are excluded from the Enigma Babylon coalition: Orthodox Jews and born-again Christians – that is, those who will not compromise on their original faith convictionscatholic.com. This fictional depiction echoed the prophecies and theories circulating in non-fiction form: it taught an entire generation to expect that in the last days all belief systems will collapse into a single monstrous entity, false and dangerous to true believers. The cultural impact of these narratives should not be underestimated. By weaving the one-world religion concept into entertainment, they planted it in the imagination (and nightmares) of millions who might never read a dense prophecy commentary. The story format also met emotional needs: it provided heroes and villains, giving readers the vicarious satisfaction of standing firm for truth against an overwhelmingly powerful lie. In a sense, these novels themselves fulfilled a need for meaning and courage among readers – they allowed people to rehearse (in their minds) the moral scenario of resisting the ultimate religious deception.

From Prophecy to Conspiracy: The One-World Religion in Modern Myth

What began as an internal Christian concern has, over the last century, spilled into broader conspiracy culture. Today, talk of a “One World Religion” is not confined to church pews or revival tents; it is a staple of internet forums, talk radio, and YouTube channels that traffic in conspiracy theories. This transition from pulpit preaching to pop conspiracism represents an important evolution of the idea. As the concept left its strictly biblical context, it fused with secular fears and political narratives, becoming less a point of doctrine and more a catch-all explanation for perceived global threats.

By the late 20th and early 21st century, the One World Religion had become a pillar of the sprawling “New World Order” (NWO) conspiracy theory. In this worldview, a hidden cabal of powerful elites (“globalists”) is allegedly plotting to eliminate national sovereignty and establish a single world government. Crucially, conspiracy theorists argue that this scheme has not only political and economic components, but spiritual ones as well. A common claim is that the would-be architects of the New World Order plan to abolish all existing religions and replace them with a unified belief system that will make the population easier to controltimesofindia.indiatimes.com. For example, one infamous conspiracy narrative known as Project Blue Beam posits that government or shadowy forces will use advanced technology to simulate a fake divine event (like an artificial Second Coming or alien arrival), the goal being to discredit traditional faiths and usher in a new global religion. According to a summary of this theory, the endgame of the New World Order is: “1. To abolish all Christian and traditional religions in order to replace them with a one-world religion based on the cult of man”timesofindia.indiatimes.com. In other words, humanity would be tricked or coerced into worshipping humanity itself (or a deified leader), instead of God – a literal cult of man as the ultimate form of idolatry. This chilling notion repackages the theological prophecy in more explicitly anti-authoritarian, secular terms: it imagines the elimination of religious freedom and diversity as a deliberate policy of tyrants, rather than (or in addition to) a fulfillment of scripture.

It’s striking how closely these conspiracy theories mirror the biblical storyline, even when propagated by people who may not be traditional Christians at all. We see again the trinity of fears: a one-world government (political tyranny), a one-world currency (economic control), and a one-world religion (spiritual control) working in tandem. In conspiracy lore, these are often spoken of in the same breath, as a package of impending threats that together constitute the “Beast system.” The term Beast system itself comes from Revelation’s depiction of a satanic Beast that rules over all tribes and nations – conspiracy enthusiasts have adopted it to mean the entire anticipated infrastructure of global totalitarianism, including surveillance technology, cashless payment systems, and a universal religion demanding allegiance. The “mark of the Beast”, a biblical reference to a required mark on the hand or forehead to buy and sell (Revelation 13:16–17), is frequently interpreted in conspiratorial subcultures as a microchip implant or digital ID, and as a pledge of worship to the new regime’s belief system. In other words, these theorists believe that someday your bank account and your belief system could both be co-opted in one fell swoop: if you don’t swear fealty to the approved one-world creed (spiritual submission) and carry its mark or credentials (material submission), you will be shut out of society or worsegotquestions.org. It’s a fearsome image of absolute domination, one that resonates with anyone who values freedom of thought as dearly as life itself.

One reason the One World Religion conspiracy has gained traction is that globalization and interfaith efforts in real life provide tantalizing “evidence” for those already inclined to be suspicious. Whenever world leaders or religious figures make moves toward religious cooperation or dialogue, conspiracy-minded observers interpret it as proof that the prophecy is coming to pass. To them, every interfaith prayer service or call for “unity among religions” is not a step toward peace but a step toward the Antichrist. A vivid contemporary example is the reaction to the Abrahamic Family House project in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). This initiative, inspired by a 2019 Catholic-Muslim joint declaration, built a complex with a church, a mosque, and a synagogue side by side – a monument to tolerance among the three Abrahamic faithsst.network. International media described it as a “cultural and interfaith complex” meant to foster coexistence, with clear statements from organizers that it does not intend to merge religions or create a new doctrinest.network st.network. Yet in the fevered imagination of conspiracy forums, this project quickly became “evidence” of a headquarters for Chrislam, a purported one-world syncretic religion combining Christianity and Islamst.network. Fringe blogs and videos declared that a One World Religion Headquarters was opening in 2022, and that Pope Francis and other leaders were actively forming “Chrislam” as the nucleus of the end-times faithst.network st.network. The fact that mainstream sources never used such terms did not matter; a significant number of people were convinced that this interfaith center was the literal embodiment of Revelation’s harlot – the first brick in Babylon’s temple, so to speak. In reality, representatives of the involved faiths explicitly reassured their communities that the aim was understanding, not doctrinal fusion or relativismst.network. They emphasized that each religion retains its distinct beliefs and that the project stands against extremism, not against orthodoxy. Nonetheless, the narrative of a looming world religion proved stronger than facts in many circles – so much so that Catholic officials had to publicly debunk the “Chrislam” rumor as “fake news”st.network.

This pattern has repeated itself over time. In the 1980s, when the Vatican and Protestant denominations began having formal dialogues, conspiracy pamphlets cried foul of “ecumenical propaganda” and called church unity efforts “a plan of the Devil”discoverrevelation.com. In the 1990s, when global organizations and NGOs promoted interfaith cooperation for peace, books like New World Religion (Gary Kah) and others claimed the United Nations was quietly fostering a Luciferian, all-religions-in-one agenda. And in the 2000s and 2010s, each Papal interfaith prayer meeting or World Council of Churches assembly would be scrutinized as if it were a step toward electing an eventual world religious leader. It’s telling that every Pope since (and including) John Paul II has been eyed with suspicion by someone in this milieu: if he reaches out to other faiths, they call him the False Prophet; if he doesn’t, some call him the Antichrist – the narrative adapts to cast virtually any global religious goodwill as treachery. Even completely secular or cultural phenomena get roped in. For instance, the popularity of Yoga or meditation practices worldwide has been interpreted by a few conspiracy theorists as “soft preparation” for a one-world spirituality (the argument being that such practices blur religious boundaries and could ease people into accepting a unified faith). No aspect of global culture that touches on spirituality is free from suspicion.

Why does this idea persist and flourish, even without concrete proof of any nefarious “world church” being built behind the scenes? The answer lies as much in psychology and deep social needs as in theology. The belief in a one-world religion conspiracy satisfies several emotional and cognitive needs for those who adopt it. First, it provides a clear external enemy on which to project diffuse anxieties. In a rapidly changing world – where pluralism is increasing, traditional religious authority is waning in some places, and new spiritual movements pop up constantly – it can be unnerving to navigate one’s faith. The idea that there is a deliberate, malevolent plot behind these changes can perversely be comforting, because it imposes a sense of order and intentionality on what might otherwise seem like chaotic cultural shifts. It is easier to fight an enemy (even a shadowy one) than to grapple with uncertainty. Thus, the need for clarity and certainty finds an outlet in conspiracy thinking.

Second, the one-world-religion narrative taps into the profound human need for meaning and significance. By casting oneself (and one’s faith community) as the potential resistance against a virtually all-powerful evil, believers derive a heroic sense of purpose. They are not simply one community among many in a pluralistic world; they are the last bastion of truth in a world racing toward deception. This dramatic self-concept can be very gratifying. It imbues daily life and moral choices with epic importance: choosing where to worship, what ideologies to reject, even which products to boycott or which technologies to avoid (such as a microchip implant) all become part of a grand battle between good and evil. In terms of needs-based morality (NBM), this worldview offers strong fulfillment of the need for meaning, identity, and efficacy – adherents feel they are part of a consequential struggle, that their actions truly matter on a cosmic scale. In a world where many people feel powerless or marginalized, that is a powerful draw.

Third, we must recognize the role of fear and the need for security. Many who fear a One World Religion are genuinely concerned about religious freedom and truth. Their alarm can be seen as the flip side of a noble desire: the need to protect the sacred. If you deeply believe that your faith is a lifeline to truth and salvation, the thought of it being diluted or outlawed is terrifying. That terror is an emotional alarm bell signaling, “My foundational needs are under threat!” The need for spiritual security (knowing one’s soul is safe in the truth) and for communal security (being able to raise one’s family in one’s faith without persecution) are among the strongest motivators for humans. Thus, even if the details of a conspiracy theory are questionable, the emotional reality driving it is very real: people fear being cut off from what they most need. In this case, those needs include connection to God, integrity of conscience, and the fellowship of like-minded believers. The one-world religion idea, in their minds, threatens to sever all of those lifelines – replacing God with a false idol, conscience with coercion, and genuine fellowship with a forced collective. Seen in this light, the vehemence with which some oppose the idea (or even the remote possibility) of a global religion makes sense: it is proportional to the immensity of the needs at stake.

Between Fear and Hope: Unity vs. Uniformity

While the phrase “One World Religion” is nearly always invoked with dread, it’s worth mentioning that not everyone views global religious unity as a terrible thing. In fact, outside of conspiracy rhetoric, many religious and philosophical movements have yearned for a form of spiritual unity among humankind – though crucially, most imagine it very differently than the one-world religion of prophecy. For example, the Bahá’í Faith, since the 19th century, has taught the unity of all religions, seeing them as different chapters in the same divine book. Likewise, proponents of interfaith dialogue often speak of a coming era of mutual understanding where all faith traditions coexist peacefully and collaborate for the common good. Even certain Christian leaders (across Catholic, Protestant, and other lines) have mused about a future where Christians are unified and perhaps the whole world acknowledges one truth (though voluntarily, not by force). These visions are typically optimistic, emphasizing unity without uniformity. They use words like harmony, cooperation, and brotherhood rather than amalgamation or submission. The Dalai Lama, for instance, has called for a “universal approach to ethics” transcending religious boundaries (which is a far cry from establishing a single new religion, but it shows an impulse toward unity of values). In the Christian realm, the late theologian Hans Küng famously said, “There will be no peace on earth until there is peace among the world religions.” Such voices are driven by the hope that humanity’s need for peace, connection and shared purpose can be met by greater spiritual unity.

However, those hopeful visions often crash against the hard wall of apocalyptic expectation. To the person wary of a one-world religion, all this high-minded talk of unity can sound like exactly the deception the prophecy warned of – the wolf in sheep’s clothing. The distinction between unity and uniformity becomes crucial. Advocates of interfaith harmony insist that what they seek is unity: a voluntary coming together of diverse peoples in friendship and mutual respect, each maintaining their unique identity. But conspiracy believers hear uniformity: an imposed sameness, a system that will demand abandonment of one’s particular beliefs. This divergence in understanding is profound, and it speaks to a deeper question: Can the human longing for oneness be fulfilled without destroying the equally human longing for individuality and truth? In more need-based terms: How can we satisfy the need for community and global harmony without violating the need for authenticity and freedom?

This paper cannot resolve that grand question, but our historical analysis does shed light on it. The “One World Religion” of end-times lore is essentially a caricature of unity, unity’s dark shadow rather than its light. It represents what unity looks like when deprived of love and truth – when it’s enforced by power and serves only the interests of a tyrant. It’s important to realize that even in the Christian prophetic texts, the counterfeit nature of this world religion is emphasized. It is an impostor, mimicking the idea of a harmonious global faith but twisting it into authoritarian idolatry. One might say that the very notion of a false one-world religion tacitly acknowledges that a true unified spirituality of humankind would be a beautiful thing – which is why the devil in the story tries to get there first, so to speak, and pervert it. There’s an implicit recognition that human beings do yearn for spiritual unity. After all, if we did not have that need, a one-world religion would have zero appeal and the Antichrist’s strategy wouldn’t work. The prophecy acknowledges that the harlot will hold great sway over “peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages”gotquestions.org. Why would so many go along with it? Possibly because it will promise to fulfill some deep desires: an end to religious wars, a sense of brotherhood, a simple answer to spiritual questions – in short, peace and certainty. Those are legitimate needs. The tragedy, in the prophecy, is that people are misled about how to fulfill them, trading truth for a comforting lie.

Conclusion: Context Before Confrontation

Looking back over this complex history, we can see that “One World Religion” is not a static or simple idea. It is a multi-faceted, emotionally charged construct that has morphed over time, absorbing the hopes and fears of each era. It began as a warning within scripture – a vivid caution to early Christians about the allure of corrupt religion and power. It evolved through the lenses of Reformers and revivalists, each adding their interpretation of who the end-times deceiver might be. In the modern age, it jumped the fence from theology to conspiracy theory, taking on a life of its own in the secular sphere while still drawing sustenance from its religious roots. Across all these transformations, it has remained controversial. To proponents of the idea (whether prophecy teachers or conspiracy influencers), the One World Religion is imminent and real – a dire threat against which they must remain vigilant. To critics, it ranges from dubious misinterpretation to outright paranoia, often sowing unnecessary fear and distrust among people of different faiths.

Crucially, even Christian scholarship is divided on the validity of one-world-religion scenarios. Many respected theologians and pastors have cautioned that an obsessive focus on such conspiracies can do spiritual harm. They argue that twisting biblical prophecies into a nightmare narrative of “global religion = pure evil” misses the original point of those prophecies. As religious studies scholar Richard T. Hughes observes, the New Testament’s vision of the future Kingdom of God was meant to be comforting, not a code for worldly conspiracy – to turn it into a fear message is not only unbiblical but “fundamentally anti-Christian,” he contendsen.wikipedia.org. Likewise, figures like Peter J. Gomes have warned that a “spirit of fear” can pervert interpretation, leading believers to marry scripture with prejudice and paranoia in ways that betray the gospel’s core message of hopeen.wikipedia.org. Evangelical historian Gregory Camp noted the very real danger that Christians “pick up some extra spiritual baggage” by credulously embracing conspiracy theoriesen.wikipedia.org. In plainer terms, focusing on a speculative one-world religion threat can distract from positive faith and breed a mindset of suspicion that is at odds with the trust and love central to Christianity. These critiques urge believers to, in effect, tend to present needs – living out faith through love and service – rather than becoming consumed by future fears.

As we conclude this overview, one thing is clear: the term “One World Religion” cannot be understood in isolation. It is entwined with a constellation of ideas about politics, economics, and spiritual authority, and with deeply human emotional responses. It has served as a barometer of what groups find threatening at any given time – from 16th-century popes to 21st-century interfaith initiatives. Importantly, the idea itself has no official champion; no government or bona fide religious coalition is openly working to establish a singular global faith for all. It lives largely in the realm of prophecy interpretation and conspiracy imagination. Yet, the impact of that imagination is real. It influences how millions view international events, how they feel about leaders of other faiths, and even how they respond to calls for global cooperation on issues like peace and justice. In a world that is increasingly interconnected, the fear of a One World Religion stands as a poignant paradox: it is a terror of unity that thrives in a time when, arguably, unity is what we desperately need to solve shared problems. That paradox should make us pause and reflect. Are we doomed to see every movement toward global understanding as a step toward Babylon – or can we imagine a different outcome?

This paper has sought to illuminate the history and context of the One World Religion concept without either amplifying its alarm or dismissing the underlying concerns of those who hold it. By unpacking its origins and evolution, we set the stage for a more critical evaluation. In subsequent analysis, one could ask: How likely is such a scenario, truly? What harm has the fear of it caused? And might there be a way to address the legitimate needs and fears driving this concept, without validating the conspiratorial worldview? Those questions lead into the realm of deconstruction and constructive alternative visions. For now, with the historical and psychological groundwork laid, we are better equipped to approach such questions rationally and compassionately.

In closing, “One World Religion” is a phrase that encapsulates an age-old human dilemma – the tension between our yearning for unity and our yearning for truth. It is a cautionary tale of unity gone wrong, a nightmare version of our hope that all people could find common spiritual ground. Understanding that double-edged nature is key. It allows us to empathize with the fear (for who truly wants a jackboot theology crushing conscience underfoot?) while also not losing sight of the hope (that perhaps one day, all nations could sing in harmony, each in their own language, a shared song of peace). Navigating between those extremes is difficult, but with context and empathy, we can do so wisely. Before we can dispel or confirm the specter of a One World Religion, we must know it – in history, in scripture, and in the human heart. We have now taken that first step of understanding, bringing the contours of this controversial idea into clearer view. In the end, such understanding is essential if we are to move from fearful prophecy into a future guided by informed, conscious choice – a future where humanity’s deepest needs for meaning, security, and unity might be met without surrendering what makes each tradition and each person uniquely precious.

Sources:

Christian Bible, Revelation 17:1–18 (New International Version) – symbolic depiction of a harlot representing a global false religion.
GotQuestions Ministries. “What will be the end times, one-world religion?” (GotQuestions.org) – summary of various interpretations of the end-times world religiongotquestions.org gotquestions.org gotquestions.org.
Wikipedia. “New World Order (conspiracy theory)” – section on end-times conspiracism describing the expected one-world religion as part of a global tyrannical systemen.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org and critiques by scholars of such interpretationsen.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org.
Times of India. “What is Project Blue Beam?” (Aug 17, 2008) – outlines a conspiracy theory that NWO plans to abolish traditional religions and enforce a “one-world religion based on the cult of man”timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Norel Iacob. “Chrislam: The syncretism between faith and fake news” (ST Network, Dec 5, 2021) – analysis of false reports about a so-called one-world “Chrislam” religion and the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabist.network st.network st.network.
Catholic Answers Magazine. “The Antichrist Had Greater Plans” (Carl Olson, 2001) – commentary on Left Behind, describing the fictional Enigma Babylon One World Faith that unites all religions under the Antichrist’s regimecatholic.com.