Skip to main content

12 Things to Know About Christians and Devils

 


Demons, Spirits, and Scary Spirituality

Evangelical Christians are warned against activities that invite Satan or evil spirits into their lives. “Don’t read Harry Potter.” Stay away from the Ouija board.” “Yoga is a pathway to spiritual evil.” 

Christians who read the Bible in a literal or near literal way have plenty of texts to give them reasons to believe they are in the midst of millennia-old spiritual warfare and the battle is getting more intense as some see the end of the world in sight.

In 2020, I completed writing a textbook on Counseling and Psychotherapy with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. One topic that struck me as unique is the subject of Chapter 14, “Devils, Demons, and Deliverance.” 

When I looked at books that offer approaches to Christian Counseling, I noticed a gaping hole when it came to helping Christians troubled by what they understand as demonic influence or the work of the devil in their lives.

12 Things to Know About Christians and Devils

1. Most Americans believed in the existence of the devil (61%, Gallup poll- Newport, 2017). And 44% believe they can meet Satan in the afterlife (Pew, 2021).

2. About half of Americans believed someone can be possessed by the devil or an evil spirit (51%; YouGov poll- Jagel, 2013).

3. Nearly half of Americans believed in the power of exorcism to free a person from the devil or evil spirits (46%; YouGov poll- Jagel, 2013).

4. According to Poloma and Green (2010), 98% of Assemblies of God pastors believed the devil is real. They, of course, are not alone because the teaching is part of many Christian traditions.

5. Young Americans who believe in demons score lower on measures of wellbeing (Nie & Olson, 2016).

6. Christians have distressing experiences attributed to the devil or demonic influence. Examples can be found in scientific studies such as Wilkinson and Althouse (2014), Brown (2012), and Luhrmann (2012).

7. Counselors and psychotherapists do not read about the demonic in widely used academic textbooks. This is true for those using Christian counseling texts as well as those using general texts. Siang-Yang Tan mentions the demonic in his 2011 text.

8. Catholics have experienced a demand for more exorcists (Mariani, 2018).

9. Mental health professionals generally consider biblical stories about demonic influence and deliverance to be prescientific ways to write about mental illness.

10. Traditional Christian teaching declares that Christians ought to focus on God and avoid an unhealthy preoccupation with the devil and the like. Essentially, God’s power is stronger than that of the devil to protect people from evil. People who feel troubled should consult their clergy.

11. Deliverance ministries may be worse than exorcisms, according to Janet Fifle (2020). She notes that deliverance ministries have a broader view of Christians who can be "routinely troubled" by evil spirits in contrast to the focus of exorcism on possession.

12. Recent studies document large percentages of Christians who attribute the cause of mental health conditions like depression and schizophrenia to the demonic (Lloyd, 2021).

Implications for Both General and Caring Relationships


Based on the statistics, it is likely people you know

 believe in the devil, demons, and spiritual warfare.

It is possible that some people you know experience some degree of fear or anxiety about activities thought to be related to supernatural evil; but don’t jump to conclusions about the demonic.

Beliefs in the devil or evil do not necessarily mean a person is upset or distressed. For example, they may have confidence in God’s protection or their beliefs may view the language of scripture as metaphorical. The point is, don’t jump to conclusions.

Understanding a person’s distress may mean understanding their view of supernatural beings and the possible negative influence of those beings on their life. Thus, supernatural evil is a possible concern. 

For those who appear unable to gain relief from what they view as spiritual warfare, it’s best to refer them to their clergy or a counselor who is acquainted with the subject of mental health and supernatural evil. Sorting out mental illness from spiritual matters can be complicated.

Regardless of personal beliefs about the reality of the devil, demons, and the like, the fact that so many people hold such beliefs and some are troubled by their experiences, requires clinicians, healthcare workers, and educators to learn more about this aspect of spirituality when helping people in distress. See for example, Exline et al. (2021).

Christian clinicians who have studied the integration of Christianity and counseling or psychotherapy may wish to consider how their model integrates supernatural evil. In my experience, the models could be improved in this area.

 

Buy Counseling and Psychotherapy With Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians   

           from AMAZON or GOOGLE





Cite this post

Sutton, G.W. (2022, October 29). 12 Things to Know About Christians and Devils. GeoffW.Sutton Blog. https://geoffwsutton.blogspot.com/


Learn more about the psychology of spiritual struggles.

A clinician's resource to measure Religious and Spiritual Struggles




Additional References

(Click on the text links in the post for additional information.)

Exline, J. J., Pargament, K. I., Wilt, J. A., & Harriott, V. A. (2021). Mental illness, normal psychological processes, or attacks by the devil? Three lenses to frame demonic struggles in therapy. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 8(3), 215–228. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000268

Jagel, K. (2013, September 17). Poll results: Exorcism. YouGov. https://today.yougov.com/topics/philosophy/articles-reports/2013/09/17/poll-results-exorcism

Lloyd C. (2021). Contending with Spiritual Reductionism: Demons, Shame, and Dividualising Experiences Among Evangelical Christians with Mental Distress. Journal of religion and health, 60(4), 2702–2727. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01268-9 

Newport, F. (2017, September 8). On moral issues, not all protestants are created equal. Gallup.com. https://news.gallup.com/poll/218204/ moral-issues-not-protestants-created-equal.aspx

Nie, F., & Olson, D. V. A. (2016). Demonic Influence: The negative mental health effects of belief in demons. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 55(3), 498–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12287

Tan, S-Y. (2011). Counseling and psychotherapy: A Christian perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. See review.

 Photo credit- Edge search- free to share and use.


Links to Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

  

My Books  AMAZON          and             GOOGLE STORE

 

FOLLOW   FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

 

PINTEREST  www.pinterest.com/GeoffWSutton

 

Articles: Academia   Geoff W Sutton   ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SPIRITUAL ABUSE: An Investigation

Investigating Spiritual Harassment and Abuse  WP Post Article In an exclusive article, Ian Shapira reported on problems within the US Anglican Church (2025, October 24). Two leaders in the Anglican church are identified early in the WP report.    [Ruch, who has been a bishop for 12 years, is one of two top leaders in the continent’s Anglican denomination confronting allegations of wrongdoing. The other is its senior-most official, Archbishop Stephen Wood. A married father of four sons, Wood, 62, has been accused by a former employee of trying to kiss her last year inside his church office in South Carolina, according to a new church presentment, which The Washington Post obtained in advance of its Monday submission. The accusations, which include plagiarizing sermons and demeaning colleagues, could prompt an ecclesiastical trial against Wood and his removal from ministry, according to the denomination’s laws. (Shapira, 2025).] ***** My concern is for people who have exper...
Post a Comment
Read more

Marriage Under Reconstruction

The 1950s imaginary sentimental love man as protein-carbs winner (bring home the bacon & breadwinner) marriage has ended for most people in most Western cultures. Some folks retain that image, or some photoshopped version of it, as the ideal traditional marriage.  Picture the happy couple at church with King James Bibles under their arms and you get the Protestant Christian version of this traditional marriage. Changes are a constant The changes in marriage and romantic relationships in the last few decades are staggering for anyone alive before the 1960s. Human behavior is my business. I am a psychologist. The counseling advice offered to couples seems to reflect the mythology of the decade rather than recommendations sourced in science. I would like to say that the nature and extent of the changes in marriage and romantic relationships have never been seen before in human history. But I am no historian. Nevertheless, the changes call for some consider...
4 comments
Read more

EASTER: VARIATIONS IN BELIEF

Differences in Religious & Spiritual Beliefs Relevant to the Easter Story By Geoffrey W. Sutton, Ph.D. at suttong.com Like most Christians, my wife and I attend an Easter Service. And, a s usual, the media rise to the Spring occasion with Bible stories, comments from various religious leaders and a few atheists—just to keep things balanced. Other religions are on the back burner until Monday. So many statements of beliefs come from the Easter events.  For now, here’s a sample of some core beliefs from various sources. God: 51% believe in God as in the Bible Statista (May, 2023) reported US belief "in God as described in holy scriptures" at 51%. Another 22% reported a belief in a higher power or spirit. Pew researchers from 2021 find 58% believe in God as described in the Bible and another 32% believe in a God or Higher Power.  Belief in God is obviously a core belief. U.S. belief has declined to 58% having no doubt God exists and another 17% have do...
Post a Comment
Read more