In Christian texts, people may be possessed
by demons. When possessed they act in ways that scare others and cause harm.
The demons speak to other humans. And in response to Jesus Christ, or the
apostles, the demons may be “cast out” of a person. In contemporary Christianity,
the “casting out” has been known as deliverance or exorcism.
Some groups believe that a place may be
possessed by evil spirits thus, deliverance or exorcism may apply to both
people and places. In general, protestant Christians use the term deliverance
and Catholics use the term exorcism and follow a particular process (a rite) of
exorcism.
The term possessionists has been
used to refer to people who believe in the phenomenon of people possessed by
evil spirits even if they are not possessed (Giordan
& Possamai, 2016).
About Devils and Demons
A 2016 Gallup
poll report indicated that 89% of Americans believe in God, but this is
lowered by 10% if given the option that they are not sure about their belief,
thus, the belief number is 79%. But what about the devil? The devil comes in with
61% believers, 12% unsure, and 27% unbelievers.
A few years earlier (2013), a YouGov
survey asked Americans about possession. The results for belief in a
devil are close to the Gallup results (57% believe in the existence of the
devil). When asked if they believed “someone can be possessed by the devil or
some other evil spirit,” 51% responded “yes” (“No” 28%, “Don’t Know” 20%). For
the most part, the participants rarely thought people were possessed (45%) but
29% did endorse the thought “occasionally.” What about exorcism? Nearly half
believed in the power of exorcism (46%) to drive out the devil or evil spirits—only
19% did not believe in exorcism and 36% reported “don’t know.”
More Exorcists Needed
In 2014, the Vatican officially recognised the International Association of Exorcists, which grew in response to a
gathering of priests interested in sharing their experiences. The association grew when early leaders
brought exorcists together in response to an increase in satanism and the
occult (ncronline,
2014). Giordan and Possamai (2016) estimated there were as many as 300
exorcists in Italy.
In the United States, Bob Larson founded an
International School of Exorcism having various levels, each with its own
curriculum: Apprentice, Warrior, and Exorcist (https://internationalschoolofexorcism.org/enrollment/
).
Over-Policing Effect
We might wonder why there is an increase in
demand for exorcists or at least reports of possession by evil spirits. Giordan
& Possamai (2016) employ an explanatory concept known as over-policing.
Here’s a quote from their article.
The more the
over-policing of the devil is practiced, the more people are likely to believe
in possession and exorcism (that is, become possessionists) and in the increase
of the presence of the devil. (p. 453).
Case Files
An interesting set of data became available
to Giordan and Possamai (2016). A Catholic priest who was asked to serve as an exorcist
by his bishop kept data on calls for nearly 10 years. The number of
consultations totaled 1,075. Most people only came for one visit (648), 215
came for two consultations and another 97 came for three. When they graphed the
data, they found an increase in visits near two holidays: Easter and All
Saints’ Day / Halloween.
This particular exorcist suggested a
variety of interventions to callers. He recommended 140 see a psychologist and
5 obtain medical treatment. He also recommended other faith interventions such
as blessings (206), confession (16), religious homework (500), prayers (188),
and rituals of liberation (142). His records showed a broad approach to understanding
people’s needs. For example, he included their drug therapies and family
history.
So, how many needed an exorcism? He
identified 55. Of these, 21 were taking medication for a mental disorder during
their spiritual treatment. The records also include considerable details about their
encounters with supernatural evil such as Voodoo and Wicca rituals, black
masses, blood pacts, satanic music, and so forth. Interestingly, 18 reported “a
strong and violent repulsion to the sacred (p. 458).” For example, they
reported feeling sick if trying to pray.
How effective was exorcism? What is
impressive here is the record of results rather than the success rate. Recovery
was noted for 22 people (40%). Other notes document how many exorcisms were
performed and what various outcomes.
Some Thoughts for Psychotherapists and Clergy
The survey data suggest that some form of
spirituality could be important to Americans. Although less believe in supernatural
evil, about one in two do believe in the devil and close to half believe in the
value of exorcisms. Thus, regardless of their personal beliefs, clinicians and
clergy ought to consider consultees’ spiritual worldviews when they are seeking
counseling or guidance.
The article by Giordan and Possamai (2016)
is valuable for its summary of the work of the exorcist. The over-policing
concept is somewhat interesting, but I don’t find sufficient evidence to
support the concept as an explanatory idea.
Although the authors offer a sociological
perspective, there are sufficient details about the people seeking an exorcism for
psychotherapists and clergy to seriously consider the concerns of people
seeking help for what they identify as problems caused by a supernatural evil
agent.
The priest’s recognition of multiple causes
for personal distress such as medical and psychological concerns is noteworthy.
Too often clergy and mental health professionals fail to account for multiple
sources of distress as I have witnessed in years of reading mental health
treatment records. Spiritual concerns are rarely given much space in clinical
notes. Helping people includes a multimodal theobiopsychosocial approach to
assessment and treatment (e.g., Sutton,
2017) even if the result ends up being a fairly restrictive diagnosis and
treatment protocol.
The glimpse of collaboration between the
priest and a psychiatrist also shows an appreciation of different approaches to
different needs.
Thinking of conducting a survey? Check out Creating Surveys on AMAZON and other distributors around the world.
References
Click on the hyperlinks to locate the
articles cited in the text.
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