A Small Online Group and the Death of Its Leader

Love Has Won was a small new-age group led by Amy Carlson, whom followers addressed as "Mother God" and regarded as a divine being guiding humanity toward a coming "ascension." The group was notable as a distinctly internet-era movement: it spread its teaching and sustained its community largely through online broadcasts and social media, livestreaming for hours and selling wellness products, and blended new-age spirituality with ascension beliefs and a good deal of contemporary conspiracy material. It came to wide public attention in 2021 under painful circumstances, when Carlson was found dead at a house in Colorado; her body had been kept by members for some time after death, and the discovery led to criminal charges against several followers related to the handling of her remains, and to considerable media coverage.

Reporting and former-member accounts described heavy dependence on the leader and concerns about members' health and finances. The group, small throughout, continued in reduced and splintered form afterward. Love Has Won is discussed as an example of how the dynamics long studied in charismatic movements now play out through streaming and online community, and it should be treated with care given the recency of events and the reliance on media and testimony rather than settled findings.