Is ‘Dr.’ Lance Wallnau Really a Doctor or Just Using a Phony ‘Honorary Degree’?

Prominent charismatic teacher Lance Wallnau is under fire for claiming to be and repeatedly promoting himself as a ‘Doctor’ despite holding only an honorary degree from a diploma mill University.

We’ve written about Wallneau in the past after demonstrating how he’s been thoroughly discredited as a false prophet. A key player in the New Apostolic Reformation, he is a driving force behind the Seven Mountain Mandate that seeks to take “dominion” over seven designated areas of culture, including religion, family, education, government, media, arts & entertainment, and business.

We last wrote about him after he repeatedly tried and failed miserably to control a hurricane.

In a series of posts on X, Jedidiah Harltey unveils the truth behind Wallnau’s suspect academic title. (Adapted with permission)

“One of the under discussed tactics of NAR grifters is their use of phony academic titles. Many parade the title “Dr.” but very few have done anything to earn it. Instead, they build fake institutions to hand out fake degrees.

Wallnau, a key figure in Christian nationalist circles, rose to prominence by declaring Trump a divine agent. On his books, podcast, and website, Wallnau proudly uses the title “Dr.” but his doctorate doesn’t come from any real university.

On his linkedin, Wallnau says he earned a D. Min, M.A., and a “Research Doctorate” from Phoenix University of Theology (now called Primus University of Theology).

But this “university” appears to be nothing more than a phony degree mill with no academic credibility.

Primus website explicitly states that it grants credit for “life experience”: Bible studies, volunteer work, self-published books and “self taught knowledge.”

Primus claims a “partnership” with Arizona Christian University, but I was not able to find any documentation of this affiliation, and ACU’s website makes no mention of Primus at all.

Meanwhile, Primus’s website features ACU campus photos as if they’re their own.

Primus lists 11 faculty members, ten of which go by “Dr.” All ten of them earned their doctorates from Primus itself.

Primus claims to be accredited, but only through an organization called the “University Accreditation Association”.

A body unrecognized by the Dept of Ed or CHEA, and, get this, Wallnau himself is one of the directors of the UAA!

It gets worse. According the UAA’s tax filings, the three directors of the organization are:

1. Lance Wallnau (Primus Alumnus)
2. Karen Drake (the president and founder of Primus University)
3. Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (Also a Primus Alumnus)

To summarize:

Karen Drake founds Primus University.

She, Wallnau, and Boykin all receive doctorate degrees from Primus with no public evidence of academic coursework.

Then, the three of them establish a phony accreditor, the UAA, to “legitimize” Primus. 

To me, this isn’t just a conflict of interest. It’s a fraudulent structure built to manufacture legitimacy for a phony university that is handing out degrees to public ministry figures for their “life experience”. 

This isn’t just resume padding. These titles are used to sell products, build influence, and gain trust. Karen Drake, for example, uses her “Dr.” title to market books on health and healing.

This is just another way NAR leaders are manufacturing authority. Creating their own institutions, accrediting them with fake bodies they control, and using those titles to sell Christian nationalism under the guise of scholarly or spiritual expertise.

Wallnau’s entire public persona is built around a degree he awarded to himself, via a university he’s tied to, “accredited” by a body he directs, with other directors who also received fake doctorates. The very definition of a con.”

Following this thread, Wallnau himself responded to the allegations, writing on X: that “i can’t help it if someone recognizes 40 years of my work with an honorary degree.”

Hartley responds:

“Lance Wallnau responded to my thread about his phony degree, now claiming it’s an honorary doctorate. This is the first time I’ve seen him call it that. On LinkedIn, he still lists it as a “research doctorate.” The two are not the same.

And even if it were a genuine honorary degree (and granted by a legitimate, accredited institution and not one accredited by a body he directs), academic norms are clear: You don’t use “Dr.” for an honorary degree.

He also claimed he doesn’t use the title “to his advantage like a grifter would”. Yet on his website, books, and e-courses, the branding is consistently “Dr. Lance Wallnau.” Seems like he uses quite a lot when he is trying to sell something.”

The same is true of his multiple businesses, where he lists himself as a doctor in the promo and about material:

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