Exorcism:
Beliefs and Practices

Introduction
Exorcism, by definition, is ‘the expulsion or attempted expulsion of an evil spirit from a person or place’ (Dictionary.com). For this research paper, I have chosen to research exorcism and the beliefs, history and practices that go along with it. This is a topic that has always interested and been fascinating to me. There have been numerous movies, documentaries, and stories written and performed relating to exorcism- both claiming to be true and fictional- and it was a topic I was deeply curious to learn more about. This paper will explore the history and beliefs of exorcism and will also explore the role of the exorcist, which is the person who is intended to rid the affected of their demon(s) (Toner).

History
Exorcism, by definition and history is a strictly religious act or rite. It has strongly been related to the Catholic Church and Christian ceremonies and rituals. However, since there is the matter of demons and non-living beings involved, many consider exorcism to be a very superstitious belief as well and not necessarily just a religious one. In addition, there is history of exorcism present in Jewish tradition, ethnic religion and in the New Testament. Many believed (and still believe) that there was magic and superstition present during early exorcisms; however, this was not the case in the early years of exorcisms. According to a religious research article by Patrick Toner, “As is clear from testimonies referred to, no magical or superstitious means were employed, but in those early centuries, as in later times, a simple and authoritative adjuration addressed to the demon in the name of God, and more especially in the name of Christ crucified, was the usual form of exorcism” (Toner). According to Toner, exorcism can take on two different meanings. One is that exorcism is ‘the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice’ (Toner). The other definition is that exorcism is ‘the means employed for this [previously listed] purpose, especially the solemn and authoritative adjuration of the demon, in the name of God, or any of the higher power in which he is subject’ (Toner). In the New Testament, Christ pledges his belief in demonic possession by the scripture that ‘He cast out demons, He declared, by the finger or spirit of God, not, as His adversaries alleged, by collusion with the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 19); and that He exercised no mere delegated power, but a personal authority that was properly His own, is clear from the direct and imperative way in which He commands the demon to depart’ (Toner). In addition, the New Testament includes scripture that ‘Christ also empowered the Apostles and Disciples to cast out demons in His name while He Himself was still on earth’ (Toner). Exorcism beliefs and practices have been around for thousands and thousands of years and there are still people today who believe in demonic possession and the ability to exorcise those demons by way of exorcism. It is believed by many that Christians cannot be possessed by a demon and, if they can, there is a certain extent to which they can be possessed. This is not believed by all Christians. Many believe anyone can be possessed regardless of religious affiliation. According to an article on demonology, some Christians believe demon possession did occur in the early church. The article states, “For instance, Wayne Jackson -- in referring to Bible stories about Jesus casting out demons -- says the purpose of demon possession in the first century was to establish the comprehensive and supreme authority of the Son of God” (Demonology). The article goes into more depth on whether believers can be possessed by demons. It states that ‘tthe good angels are the holy ones, the bad angels are the evil ones, which the Bible calls demons, and the ugly angels are demons disguising themselves as good angels. These ugly angels have deceived many people in a culture that has embraced "angel mania”’(Demonology).

The Role of the Exorcist
An exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out demons. By definition, they are “ a person who performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, or (sometimes) a building or even an object” (Dictionary.com). It was said in Toner’s article that ‘strolling Jews who professed to be able to cast out demons’ were the first ever exorcists (Toner). Toner’s article describes the role of exorcists by stating, “Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this [ridding the affected of their demons] may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power (Toner). Exorcists are not known to be able to only rid people of their demons or demonic possession but are also believed to have the power to rid demonically possessed objects or buildings of their possession as well. To this day, there are exorcists who perform exorcisms to rid people of their ‘demons’. According to an article on the history of exorcism, “While many Americans think of real exorcisms as relics of the Dark Ages, exorcisms continue to be performed, often on people who are emotionally and mentally disturbed” (Radford). There are a handful of exorcists in the world who have been sanctioned by the Vatican but there are also many self-styled exorcists around the world (Radford).
Practices
There are several varying practices involved during exorcisms and throughout its history. However, the basis premises are the same. An exorcism involves ridding an affected person of their demons. An exorcism is performed by an exorcist, which we have learned is someone who is believed to have the ability to cast away demons. When someone is exorcised of their demons, the demons that inhabit their body are cast from them by a higher authority. Radford states, "To exorcise means placing the possessing spirit under oath- invoking a higher authority to compel the spirit- rather than an actual 'casting out” (Radford). He states that the demon is commanded to leave the body not necessarily by the authority of a priest but "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Radford). Roman Catholic exorcisms are considered to be very elaborate. They are ‘carefully planned rituals that take hours to complete’ (Demonic). These rituals often involve holy water, crucifixes, and sacred ruins, as laid out by the ‘De Exorcismus et supplicationibus quibusdam’, an updated exorcism manual approved by Pope John Paul II in 1998 (Demonic). According to Radford’s article, the Vatican first issued official guidelines on exorcism in 1614, and went back and revised them in 1999 (Radford). There are specific signs of demonic possession, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and these signs include ‘superhuman strength, aversion to holy water, and the ability to speak in unknown languages, spitting, cursing, and excessive masturbation (Radford). According to an article on ReligiousTolerance.org, ‘The Vatican guidelines stress that most behaviors that appear to be caused by demonic possession are actually triggered by psychiatric illness’ (Demonic). The article states that the Vatican's previous chief exorcist, Monsignor Corrado Balducci, stated a rough estimate that only about ‘five or six out of every thousand people who seek help from an exorcist are really possessed by evil spirits’ (Demonic). In Radford’s article, he discusses the real affects exorcisms can have on people in the present day. While many people love watching scary movies and love the fear exorcism brings them, he states that ‘demons and of the efficacy of exorcism can have deadly consequences’ (Radford). He draws from several instances where exorcisms have caused death in recent years. A passage from his article is below:
“In 2003, an autistic 8-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wis., was killed during an exorcism by church members who blamed an invading demon for his disability; in 2005 a young nun in Romania died at the hands of a priest during an exorcism after being bound to a cross, gagged, and left for days without food or water in an effort to expel demons. And on Christmas Day 2010 in London, England, a 14-year-old boy named Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned to death by relatives trying to exorcise an evil spirit from the boy.” (Radford)
According to a book written by Michael Cuneo on the history and beliefs of exorcism, exorcisms do not happen as often as one might think. The Catholic Church documents official exorcisms without fail and these are always put on record (Cuneo). These records tell us that exorcisms are quite a rare occurrence. Cuneo talked to many priests who told him that they are approached fairly often with people who claim to be possessed by demons but only a few of them have actually been approved by the Catholic Church as being true (Cuneo). In order for a genuine exorcism to be performed by the Catholic Church, it must be legitimized and proven to be true before those measures will be taken. The Catholic Church is very careful about approving the procedure for an exorcism simply because there are many consequences that can result if it is not necessary. There are two ways that the Catholic Church teaches about demonic possession. They teach that demons can interfere in the lives of their victims in one of two ways. They can ‘cause an obsession, in which the demon fills the mind of its victim with evil thoughts’ or ‘they can resort to actual possession in which the demon physically takes over the human body’ (Demonic).

Conclusion Exorcism, the ancient rite of casting out Satan and his demons from the souls of the possessed is a religious and sometimes believed superstitious practice. It is strongly related to the Roman Catholic Church, but has roots in other religions and historical practices as well. While exorcisms are largely considered to be a thing of the past, they are also known to be thriving lately in the United States. The number of exorcisms has grown in recent years- strongly believed to be in relation to the 1970’s release of the movie ‘The Exorcist’ (Radford). They were performed in much higher numbers in previous years largely due to the stronger beliefs in witches, magic and superstition. While most people in today’s society do not believe in demonic possession or the practice of exorcism, there are still those who practice exorcism, whether with or without Vatican sanction.

References 1. Cuneo, Michael. “American Exorcism: Expelling demons in the land of the plenty.” New
York: Doubleday, 2001. Nov. 2014 2. "Demonic Possession & Oppression: Exorcism Roman Catholic Beliefs &
Practices." Religious Tolerance. ReligiousTolerance.org, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. 3. "Demonology, Demon Possession and Exorcism." Apologetics Index. Apologetics
Research Resources, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. 4. "Exorcism: Definition." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. 5. Radford, Benjamin. "Exorcism: Facts and Fiction About Demonic
Possession." LiveScience. Purch, 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. 6. Toner, Patrick. "Exorcism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1909. 2 Nov. 2014