America's Obsession with the Apocalypse: Nostradamus

Why is America so obsessed with the apocalypse?

The apocalypse is one of the central myths that Americans have been fixated on. 59% of Americans believe the predictions in the Book of Revelations will come true (Archer, p. 2). Evangelical Christians are one of the main groups who believe in these apocalyptic stories. They believe that the Book of Revelations predicts many of the world’s events, with 25% of Americans believing the Book predicted the 9/11 attacks (Archer, p.2). In addition to the Book of Revelations, Nostradamus, a 15th century French doctor, is one of the people Americans look to for predictions about the end of the world. Nostradamus’s Quatrains have been cited by some people as predicting September 11^th and other disasters. On the other hand, doubters have said that his Quatrains are so vague that a single Quatrain could be used to “predict” many events. Like other myths, Nostradamus’s predictions are vague enough to be interpreted in many ways. Is It Real?, a television show on the National Geographic Channel, looks at the veracity of his predictions and comes to the conclusion that Nostradamus’s predictions, especially the “ones” on the apocalypse, are too vague to actually be predicting anything (using the example of his "prediction" of 9/11 being also potentially interpreted as predicting to Holocaust).                                     

So why do Americans believe in these prophesies?



 Elaine Pagels looks at what themes prophecies attempt to tackle and why people believe stories about the apocalypse. She states that apocalyptic stories" appeal not only to fear and desires for vengeance but also to hope.” (p.3) Most apocalypse stories do appeal to some sense of hope, and people are attracted to that feeling. In fact, most apocalypse stories do not end with the end of the world “but in a glorious new world.” (p.3) Nostradamus’s apocalypse prediction starts with “a fire from the North,” a prediction that can be construed in many different ways, but also has the survivors building a new world. Apocalypse stories allow people to hope that even in the end, we can find “the astonishing gift of new life.” (p. 3) This sense of hope in his apocalyptic stories, along with supposed accuracy of his prophecies, has made Nostradamus a household name in the United States.