Harold Camping’s group provides this ominous evening scene of his End Times caravan.

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.

Editor's note: This post is part of a series by Dr. Baker on Our Values about core American values. This week Dr. Baker is discussing the world's long-standing fascination with predicting The End, and why America may be particularly fertile ground for this obsession.

Are the End Times near? Some people think they’re arriving on Saturday, May 21! That’s the day Harold Camping, the 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, predicts the start of the End Times foretold in the Bible. He fixes this dated based on numerical insights he says are clear in his study of the Bible.

Camping told New York magazine: “When the clock says about 6 p.m., there’s going to be this tremendous earthquake that’s going to make the last earthquake in Japan seem like nothing in comparison. And the whole world will be alerted that Judgment Day has begun.”

This is the Rapture, when millions are swept away and the End Times begin, according to Camping’s interpretation.

Some of Camping’s followers have sold off their assets and our touring the country in a last-ditch effort to get out the alert. Perhaps you’ve seen their mural-covered campers? Or the movement’s billboards? A long line of these campers showed up in Washington D.C. last week, where they drew some chuckles during a seminary graduation at National Cathedral.

But this is no laughing matter for Camping and his organization. In addition to the slogan-covered campers, billboards and other roadside signs, Camping has been waging an active web campaign, including a website called wecanknow.com.

What are the signs of the End of Days? The Bible, of course, is a main source of apocalyptic prophesies and their signs. Camping, for example, bases his prediction on elaborate mathematical interpretations of numbers that appear in the Bible. But the signs are all around us, many believe.

On a long drive this weekend, my favorite radio stations faded, so I spun the dial to find something else. What I found was Prophecy Today, hosted by Dr. Jimmy DeYoung. The mission of this media site is to examine current events “in the light of God’s prophetic Word.”

Just about anything significant that happens today is interpreted as a sign of the End Times. During the program, DeYoung discussed the accord between Fatah and Hamas as a sign. The Royal Wedding, which we covered on OurValues as part of a celebrity theme, is significant because the British Royal Family has links to royalty at the time of ancient Rome. And, the International Monetary Fund is implicated in the creation of a one-world currency, another sign of things to come.

The fact is the world is oversaturated with events that have been or can be interpreted as signs. The financial collapse in 2008 was a big one, a harbinger of economic apocalypse. Today, the flooding of the Mississippi River and the inundation of towns upstream from Baton Rouge and New Orleans are signs.

The interminable wars in the Middle East are signs, with the conflagration in Libya the most recent addition. And, the belligerence of Pakistan following the raid that killed bin Laden is yet another sign of doomsday ahead.

End Times predictions span thousands of years. The book of Revelation in the Bible is just one of many pieces of apocalyptic literature in the ancient world. As we’ll discuss this week, we have plenty of modern examples as well — and I will share with you some of my own thoughts about why America is particularly fertile ground for this obsession.

But i want to make this clear: As a social scientist, I don’t judge these proclamations. Instead, I am eager to learn more by asking questions.

Why now?
What is fueling these apocalyptic predictions in the U.S.?
What do you make of Camping’s prediction?
Do you see significant patterns in these events?
Do you think a Judgment Day will come?

Dr. Wayne E. Baker is a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Baker blogs daily at Our Values and can be reached at ourvaluesproject@gmail.com or on Facebook.