Richard Abanes

Richard Abanes (/əˈbɑːnɪs/) (born October 13, 1961) is an American evangelical writer and actor. As an author/journalist, Abanes specializes in the area of socio-religious issues, cults, the occult, world religions, the entertainment industry, and pop culture. Since 1994 he has written/co-written twenty books (as of 2009) covering a broad range of topics.

In 1997, for his work on "intolerance" in North America (see American Militias: Rebellion, Racism, and Religion, InterVarsity Press, 1996), he received an award from The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. Also in 1997, Abanes won the Evangelical Press Association's Higher Goals In Journalism Award for his article on various religions in America.

As a lecturer on diverse social, religious, and historical topics, he has been a guest speaker at various institutions, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Caltech, Mensa, California Baptist University, and Biola University. Abanes also has been interviewed on hundreds of radio/TV programs and networks including the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, Extra, and Hard Copy as an authority on cults,religion, pop culture, and the entertainment industry.

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