Hitler successfully pushed his agenda of racial purity and national superiority (which may have drawn from the eugenics ideas of Margaret Sanger, founder of what came to be called Planned Parenthood). He employed a cunning mix of propaganda to “normalize” his agenda, thus cultivating social paranoia and inculcating a sense of isolation among those who did not concur with his ideas. Dissent came to feel dangerous, and many censored their own words.

Images from the films I saw in my elementary school days still scroll through my mind: huge crowds of uniformed people marching and saluting der Führer; children encouraged by the Nazis to inform on their parents; the fear of those suffering persecution by the government.

As I look back on those Nazi images and ideas, it seems incredible to me that anyone would go along — much less entire groups of people. Back then, though, living in that moment, it must have been different. The uncertainty, the fear, the sense of social isolation must have been overwhelming. In fact, one of Satan’s biggest lies is to tell us that we are all alone in our circumstances, opinions, and life. This lie is devastating because it not only isolates but also silences us. We become afraid to speak out, even when the truth is evident, for fear of being further ostracized or even killed.

Former CIA analyst Stella Morabito conducted an interview with Dr. Jennifer Morris, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, to talk about government weaponization of loneliness and social isolation. Morabito’s 2022 book, The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer, features Dr. Anthony Fauci on the cover.

Morabito boasts strong credentials when it comes to understanding governmental use of isolation as a control tactic: She earned a graduate degree in Russian and Soviet history, and she worked at the CIA during the Cold War years, exploring communist media analysis, propaganda, and disinformation.

As subversive ideas against biblical concepts began spreading and taking root (such as attacks on marriage and sexual identity), Morabito searched for a common thread among them. “In order to get people on board with these kinds of agendas, you have to cultivate that very primal human fear of being ostracized or socially rejected for speaking your mind on certain issues,” she said.

Successfully harnessing those fears is what enables tyrannical governments and individuals to isolate people, even when those people are in a crowd. According to Morabito, social “atomization” is what can occur when someone feels alone within a group — that is, alone in his or her feelings, opinions, and behaviors. “And it’s … extremely destabilizing to be put in that state of isolation,” Morabito said. “So when I say ‘the weaponization of loneliness,’ I mean the exploitation of that fear to push through agendas that wouldn’t see the light of day otherwise.”

Such fear drives people to self-censor, Morabito says, creating “a spiral of silence where the majority opinion gets sidetracked or ridiculed, so you create the illusion that it’s a minority opinion.”

This spiral of silence creates a vacuum into which bad actors then leap, introducing what Morabito calls “the three-legged stool of tyranny”: identity politics, political correctness, and mob agitation. Identity politics establishes a significant social benefit to identifying with the narrative; political correctness is the favorite enforcement tool of tyrants, since it does the censorship work for them; and mob agitation is the heavy-handed enforcement mechanism.

These dynamics constitute what Morabito calls the machinery of loneliness — the hijacking of a healthy public square of robust but cordial debate and turning it into a fearful, one-narrative environment. America’s machinery of loneliness no longer counts on political correctness for enforcement: A collusion between big tech and the legacy media now flogs the narrative and actively censors differing viewpoints. Moreover, media trolls can grab more than their “15 minutes of fame” to destroy the reputation or career of anyone daring to dissent.

America is deep into mob agitation. Consider how competitive swimmer Riley Gaines was hounded and even physically attacked for merely exercising her constitutional right to free speech; she has openly objected to allowing biological “trans” men to compete in women’s sports.

These dynamics and a breakdown in community values and standards have plunged our country into an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” as U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy put it in a report published this year. According to Murthy, almost half of all adults reported feelings of loneliness — and this was prior to the COVID-19 quarantines.

The negative health effects of loneliness correlate to a host of ills from cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, and premature death. Those who feel gravely lonely can be as much at risk of death as those who smoke 15 cigarettes a day, according to Murthy. The emotional dangers of loneliness include depression, anxiety, and suicide.

But loneliness is more than a human tyrant’s tool. It is a satanic strategy for crippling the saints and retarding the progress of God’s kingdom. The Lord (Himself part of the “community” of Father, Son, and Spirit) created us to be in relationship with Himself and with each other. Satan’s very first attack on humans (the successful temptation of Adam and Eve to sin) resulted in a breaking of both those relationships — and alienation and loneliness were born.

Throughout the Scriptures, we see loneliness afflicting God’s people. Even the mighty Elijah came to suffer overwhelming loneliness following his spiritual victory over pagan forces on Mount Carmel, after an enraged Queen Jezebel made death threats against him. Elijah fled for his life and complained to the Lord: “ … I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10).

But in Christ, a mending of any broken relationship with our God is accomplished. The Scriptures attest to the Lord’s presence with His followers:

… “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age … (Matthew 28:20).

… for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

… “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God” … (Isaiah 41:9–10).

Satan will attempt to lie to us about the Lord’s presence, even sending demonic spirits of loneliness and isolation to try to gain a foothold in our lives and afflict us. This war against evil principalities and powers is fierce, but winnable.

Last year IFA contributing writer Rich Swingle and I reported on one of Kirk Cameron’s public-library events in which he reads his Bible-supporting book to children. That piece, “Kirk Cameron: “There’s More of Us than We Thought,” racked up more than 14,000 views, a significant number for IFA — and a lesson to me: that we need to know we are not alone in our views and biblical stance.

I came to Christ being broken and lonely. My salvation felt wondrous, until I settled into the hard work of being remade into the image of Christ. That hard work — dying to my own desires — plunged me deep into loneliness again. Against my every impulse, I carried on with the Lord — grumbling, yes. But also reading the Scriptures; praying; and talking, talking, talking to God.

One day, I was complaining about my loneliness, when the Lord asked me, in His quiet way: “Are you really lonely? Or are you afraid to be lonely?” This took me aback. When I was honest with myself, I realized that I wasn’t actually lonely, but only afraid that I might be lonely. And spending time being afraid of something that only might be happening seemed like a terrible waste of energy. Instead, I made the decision to tuck myself into my faith community, to cultivate relationships, and to deepen my understanding of God and His ways.

Pray with me:

Lord, equip us to fight the satanic and human tyranny and weaponization of loneliness. Teach us to war using the sword of Your truth to combat every lie. Give us courage to stop self-censoring when lies and evil are shouted at us. Give us confidence that our views are heard in the public square and that they can be adopted by increasing numbers of people. Bind up the demonic spirits of isolation and loneliness, and cast them into the abyss. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Share the verse and prayer you use to combat loneliness and isolation below.

New York City–based Joyce Swingle is an intercessor and a contributing writer for IFA. With her husband, Rich, also a contributing writer for IFA, Joyce shares the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through theater, speaking, writing, and film. Prior to going into full-time ministry, Joyce worked for about 20 major magazines and now works in pastoral ministry and Christian counseling. Photo Credit: Canva.