I think it’s important to keep in mind that these individuals aren’t regular. They often have a skewed view of things including their own religion often coupled with conflict and confusion. So regular Catholic or Protestant anything just won’t apply the same way. However I would expect them to have an interest in elements of it fused with their own subjective interpretation of things.

There are quite a few cases of conflicts within however since we can’t read their minds, we just don’t know. I’d say it just makes good cover but I think conflict can also be real.

I’ll give examples of some.

Dennis Rader – Active Christ Lutheran. I’d pick cover here. Not real.

Gary Ridgway – Active Christian. I’d pick real and conflicted here.

Herbert Mullin – Active Catholic. I’d pick real and conflicted here.

Peter Sutcliffe – (don’t know)? Claimed God told him to do it. I’d say there is a strong possibility he is lying about it.

I am sure there is whole study unto itself here. Maybe someone has done it already in the criminology literature. Forensic psychology of serial killers and their religious beliefs or something like that.

On a completely unrelated note to that, I have been following some things on the Pythias sisters that can be found here. viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4950

Peter Sutcliffe – (don’t know)? Claimed God told him to do it. I’d say there is a strong possibility he is lying about it.

Sutcliffe was held in a secure hospital for many years so it was probably real delusions in his case.

Also, Ted Bundy joined the Mormons while he was killing.

Peter Sutcliffe – (don’t know)? Claimed God told him to do it. I’d say there is a strong possibility he is lying about it.

Sutcliffe was held in a secure hospital for many years so it was probably real delusions in his case.

Also, Ted Bundy joined the Mormons while he was killing.

That’s a good point. I read Michael Bilton’s book (great book) and it makes the case for him lying about his condition. However he is in the most highly secure criminal hospital in the UK and would need to blindside every professional to maintain the hoax. So it looks like your probably right.

Ted Bundy a Mormon. That’s interesting. So what do you think? Real or cover?

By the way it was Ted Bundy who clued us into how serial killers were actually probably not as motivated by pornography magazines as true crime detective magazines of the 50s and 60s. I think someone did some research in the shop Bundy said he was getting pornography from. They never stocked any but they did stock those true crime magazines. A lot of the artwork was horrific, especially abusive to women. There is no way you would see that on the newsstand today.