Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review © 2023 ISSN 1946-0538 doi: 10.5840/asrr2024522112 Online First: May 23, 2024 A Troll Religion: From Humor to Gnostic Neo-Nazism Shane Dussault Ovadia McGill University ABSTRACT: This study examines the role of internet trolls in contemporary cul- ture. It argues that an digital culture primarily based in anonymity and defined by sadistic humor took two ideological turns. As many others have noted, troll culture has become associated with violent right-wing extremism. However, much less attention was given to Gnostic religious language and behaviors amongst internet trolls. To illustrate this change, we examine Andrew “weev” Auernheimer’s political and religious history to show that he was influenced by the Christian Identity movement, Miguel Serrano’s “Esoteric Hitlerism,” and other extremists. We then analyze the sense in which trolls have formed a community, believe the religious ideas they circulate, and how conversion oc- curs—how people are drawn from spaces primarily dedicated to humor into a violent esoteric ideology which I call Gnostic Neo-Nazism. KEYWORDS: internet trolls, esoteric extremism, Neo-Nazism, Gnosticism, irony, satire, new religious movements, memes, digital culture, anonymity, QAnon Introduction e internet gave everyone an easily accessible public space where absolute ano- nymity is the baseline. e “growth of these anonymous spaces marks the first wide-scale collective gathering of those who are alienated, disaffected, voiceless, and just plain unsocialized” (Auerbach 2011). One of these social interactions, known as “trolling,” started off as a somewhat sadistic humor known to disrupt social spaces. Behavior that would quickly isolate a person from all social life could now be practiced eight hours a day. As researchers have noticed, trolls have become “connected by a subcultural style and politics that has recently become