EXORCISM 2927

tence, while Heidegger sees “being-with-others” as an ines- gent being (the en soi) of the physical world; there are mysti-
capable dimension of the human being. Critics of existential- cal elements both in Heidegger’s talk of “being” and Jaspers’s
ism have reckoned its individualism as a defect, on the of “transcendence.” Existentialist theologians have also
ground that it prevents the development of a political philos- found that the reconstruction of Christian theology in terms
ophy, but others have praised the stress on the individual as of human possibilities is inadequate and needs the supple-
a defense of human freedom in face of the totalitarian preten- mentation of a theistic philosophy.
sions of the modern state. Nietzsche and Heidegger have
both sought to go beyond the biography of the individual BIBLIOGRAPHY
to the outlines of a philosophy of history. In this, they op- An introduction to existentialism is provided in my book Existen-
pose the so-called scientific history that seeks to establish ob- tialism (Baltimore, 1973). Major existentialist texts include
jective facts. Nietzsche speaks scornfully of the “antiquarian” So⁄ ren Kierkegaard’s Philosophical Fragments, translated by
type of historian who seeks to reconstruct the past. He pre- David F. Swenson (Princeton, N. J., 1936); Martin Heideg-
ger’s Being and Time, translated by me and Edward Robin-
fers the “monumental” historian who goes to some great cre-
son (New York, 1962); Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothing-
ative event of the past in order to discover its power and to ness, translated by Hazel E. Barnes (New York, 1956); and
learn its lessons for the present and future. Heidegger like- Fritz Buri’s Theology of Existence, translated by Harold H.
wise is uninterested in the history that confines itself to the Oliver and Gerhard Onder (Greenwood, S.C., 1965).
analysis of past events. History, he claims, is oriented to the
New Sources
future. The historian goes to the past only in order to learn
Cotkin, George. Existential America. Baltimore, 2003.
about such authentic possibilities of human existence as may
be repeatable in the present. This view of history was very Fulton, Ann. Apostles of Sartre: Existentialists in America, 1945–
1963. Evanston, Ill., 1999.
influential for Rudolf Bultmann’s existential interpretation
of the “saving events” of the New Testament, an interpreta- Hardwick, Charley. Events of Grace: Naturalism, Existentialism,
tion succinctly expressed as “making Christ’s cross one’s and Theology. New York, 1996.
own.” Low, Douglas Beck. The Existential Dialogue of Marx and Merleau
Ponty. New York, 1987.
The stress on human freedom together with the bias to- Murdoch, Iris, and Peter Conradi, eds. Existentialists and Mystics:
ward individualism raises the question of the significance of Writings on Philosophy and Literature. London, 1998.
existentialism for ethics. The existentialist has no use for an
Pattison, George. Anxious Angels: A Retrospective View of Religious
ethic of law, for the requirement of a universal law ignores Existentialism. New York, 1999.
the unique individual and conforms everyone to the same
pattern. So one finds Kierkegaard defending Abraham’s deci- Solomon, Robert. From Rationalism to Existentialism: The Existen-
tialists and Their Nineteenth-Century Backgrounds. Lanham,
sion to sacrifice Isaac, for although this meant the “suspen-
Md., 1992.
sion” of ethics, only so could Abraham be true to his own
self and be “authentic.” Similary Nietzsche is found claiming JOHN MACQUARRIE (1987)
that the “superman” must create his own values to supersede Revised Bibliography
traditional values, while Heidegger claims that what is ordi-
narily called “conscience” is only the voice of the mediocre
values of society and that the true conscience is the deep in- EXORCISM. The English word exorcism derives from
ward summons of the authentic self. In each case, the value the Greek exorkizein, a compound of ex (out) plus horkizein
of an action is judged not by its content but by the intensity (to cause to swear, or to bind by an oath). Whereas in Greek
and freedom with which it is done. Such an ethic is too form- the word sometimes is used simply as a more intensive form
less for human society and represents an overreaction against of the root, meaning “to adjure,” English derivatives usually
the cramping restraints of legalism. Nevertheless, this ex- designate a “swearing out” of invasive spiritual forces from
tremely permissive ethic has seemed to some Christian think- the body in a formal rite of expulsion. Thus exorcism cannot
ers to be compatible with Jesus’ teaching that love rather fully be understood without reference to the concept of spirit
than law must guide one’s conduct, and it is reflected in the possession, the state that it redresses.
various types of “situation ethics” that flourished for a short
time. The spirits to be exorcised most commonly are con-
ceived either as demons or as restless ghosts. These evil spirits
Finally, although existentialism turns away from the at- penetrate into the bodies of their victims and completely
tempt to formulate any detailed and inclusive metaphysic, control, or at least strongly influence, their actions. Possess-
its adherents seem to find it impossible to avoid assenting to ing spirits may also cause physical illness by interfering with
some ontology or theory of being. Kierkegaard and other the body’s normal physiological processes or mental illness
Christian existentialists assume (but do not seek to prove) a by affecting the will, intellect, and emotions. Yet in many
theistic view of the world as the setting of human existence; cultures, spirit possession is diagnosed only retrospectively.
Sartre is frankly dualistic in opposing the free but fragile That is, the victim often must display abnormal behavior for
being of humankind (the pour soi) to the massive unintelli- some time before friends and family diagnose her as pos-

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2928 EXORCISM

sessed by a spirit. Both cross-culturally and transhistorically, In the earliest gospel, Mark, an exorcism is Jesus’ first
spirit possession afflicts women more often than men. This miracle:
pattern has been the subject of much discussion among spe-
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man
cialists who study the phenomenon.
with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, “What have
The forms and prevalence of exorcism within a given you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come
culture are intimately related to the question of how the in- to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of
God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and
vading spirits are conceived. In certain contexts, possession
come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing
by neutral or beneficent spirits is highly valued, and in these him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
settings exorcisms are unlikely to be an important constitu- (Mk. 1:23–26)
ent of the local culture. Within other religious contexts,
however, spirit possession is understood as the work of evil Mark subsequently presents Jesus as famed for his exorcism
spirits or demons dedicated to the downfall of humanity, and ability, pairing this miracle with Jesus’ eloquence in preach-
exorcism thus is viewed as a vitally important form of heal- ing as his two main sources of appeal throughout his travels
ing. Lastly, many cultures, both historically and worldwide, in Galilee (Mk. 1:39). Mark’s gospel thus uses exorcism as
consider possessing spirits to be the ghosts of the dead. Re- a way of demonstrating Jesus’ uncanny power as a comple-
sponses to possession in these cases may involve ambivalent ment to his teaching: Jesus is shown as battling against ma-
attitudes toward the invading spirit. Communities invariably lign spiritual forces both physically and pedagogically.
wish to heal the victim through exorcism but also may feel
The most complete account of exorcism is that of the
compassion toward the dead spirit that has invaded the liv-
Gerasene demoniac, recounted in all three synoptic gospels
ing. Moreover witnesses to exorcisms of ghosts frequently use
(Mk. 5:1–20; Mt. 8:28–34; Lk. 8:26–39). The tale concerns
the occasion to interrogate the spirit about the details of the
Jesus’ encounter with a man possessed by a multitude of evil
afterlife.
spirits. The man was living in the cemetery on the edge of
Exorcisms vary widely. Whereas some rites are purely a city—among the tombs of the dead—because his disor-
verbal formulae, many employ objects, gestures, and actions dered state of mind and superhuman strength rendered him
thought to be of particular power against invasive spirits. In unfit for the society of the living. Jesus interviews the spirits
some contexts, exorcism may be accomplished simply inside the man, which speak through his mouth, and elicits
through the charismatic power of a particularly powerful or their collective name, Legion. Jesus then commands the spir-
righteous individual. Many cultures use dance and music as its to depart from the man but gives them permission to
essential elements of exorcism rituals. In this article, the word enter into a herd of pigs foraging nearby. The possessed pigs
exorcism may refer either to the procedure itself or to its end then plunge themselves into the sea and drown, prompting
result, the liberation from spirits that it accomplishes. the local herdsmen to flee and tell the story throughout the
city. A group of people then come out to Jesus and ask him
CHRISTIAN EXORCISM. From its origins, Christianity has in- to leave. The passage reveals much about conceptions of pos-
cluded a strong belief in spirit possession by demons, under- session and exorcism in this time period, including the dis-
stood as primordial forces of evil and followers of the devil. ruption of identity and of bodily control characteristic of de-
Thus exorcism has a long history within Christianity, partic- moniacs; the importance of learning the demons’ names in
ularly (though not exclusively) among Catholics. These tra- order to gain power over them; and Jesus’ charismatic use
ditions continue to the modern day. of a simple verbal command to accomplish the expulsion.
However, the conclusion of the tale suggests that Jesus’ ac-
In the New Testament. The Greek verb exorkizein ap- tion is regarded with considerable fear and ambivalence by
pears only once in the New Testament, in Matthew 26:63, the local community.
where the high priest “adjures” Jesus to reveal whether he is
the Christ. Yet the action of expelling demons frequently The Synoptic Gospels report that during his lifetime
does appear in the New Testament canon. Exorcism is Jesus empowered his disciples to cast out demons as well. Yet
among Jesus’ favorite miracles in the Synoptic tradition, upon occasion this power failed them, as in the case of a
comprised of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, yet dumb and deaf spirit that had entered a child, tormenting
no exorcisms appear in the latest gospel, John. The Acts of him with convulsions. After the disciples proved unable to
the Apostles, by the same author as the Gospel of Luke, also heal the boy, Jesus successfully completed the task through
recounts exorcisms by Jesus’ followers after his death and em- prayer and fasting (Mt. 9:17; Mt. 16; Lk. 9:40). Jesus’ follow-
ploys the noun exorkistes to refer to some Jews who attempt ers continued to perform exorcisms after his death. The Acts
to cast out demons using Jesus’ name (Lk. 19:13). Indeed in of the Apostles describes several cases accomplished through
respect to exorcism, the emerging Jesus Movement was much a noteworthy diversity of means. Paul exorcises a slave girl
in accord with developments in other Jewish sects of the peri- through a verbal rebuke similar to those used by Jesus (Acts
od, many of which had begun to place a greater emphasis 16:18), but Peter heals the possessed simply by having them
upon exorcisms and charismatic forms of healing than had gather in his shadow (Acts 5:16). Paul also exorcises spirits
been the case in earlier Jewish tradition. through handkerchiefs impregnated with his power of super-

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 EXORCISM 2929

natural healing (Acts 19:11–12). Simply invoking the name CE) provided detailed advice on how to exorcise a possessed
of Jesus was considered a powerful method of exorcism, one woman in one of her letters. Some of the best surviving ac-
even employed by non-Christians, according to Acts. Chap- counts of exorcisms during this time period are set at saints’
ter nineteen describes some Jews in Ephesus who attempt to tombs, and certain shrines became known as centers of exor-
cast out demons in Jesus’ name, though without success. cistic healing. The arm relic of John Gualbert of Florence
(999–1073 CE), for example, was famed for its exorcistic
Late antiquity and the Middle Ages. As in Jesus’ own properties, and the miracle accounts recorded at his shrine
early career, exorcism was an important element in winning in the later Middle Ages include a number of healings of the
new converts for the early generations of the Jesus Move- possessed. In some cases, families traveled considerable dis-
ment. The second-century Christian apologist Justin Martyr tances for an exorcism of a relative, vowing particular devo-
characterized exorcism as a particularly impressive gift tion to the saint if he or she provided aid to the possessed
among Christians, noting that any demon, no matter how at the end of the pilgrimage.
powerful, became submissive when conjured in Jesus’ name.
Indeed exorcism became a competitive arena in which Exorcisms by living saints or their relics were not the
Roman Christians claimed triumph over Jewish and pagan only means of casting out demons, however. Medieval peo-
rivals, suggesting that their conjurations of demons were ple also employed a number of other techniques, often in a
more efficacious than any other form of healing. Peter Brown somewhat improvisational manner. Friends, family, and reli-
has shown in “The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in gious professionals might try to cast out the demon through
Late Antiquity” (1982) that the essential mark of the early prayer and fasting; by showing the demoniac religious paint-
Christian holy person was his or her charismatic ability to ings; by placing relics or books of Scripture on the victim’s
exorcise, and Christian saints became closely associated with head or body; through anointing with holy water, holy oil,
this activity. Thus when a little girl in fourth-century Syria or blessed salt; or by giving the demoniac a consecrated Eu-
wished to parody a monk in order to entertain her compan- charistic wafer.
ions, she did so by pretending to exorcise them with all due Medieval popular culture included its own notions of
solemnity. spirit possession and of appropriate remedies as well. Many
With the Christian community growing in numbers, contemporary texts attest to the northern European belief
the church began to require the exorcism both of adult con- that demons could invade dead bodies, animate them, and
verts and of infants at baptism. The earliest Catholic baptis- use them for nefarious purposes. In such cases, the preferred
mal liturgy incorporated exorcisms; one function of godpar- solution to the problem was to destroy the corpse as fully as
ents, in cases of infant baptism, was to answer for the child possible. In Mediterranean regions, the spirits that possessed
when the exorcist asked, “Do you renounce the devil and all the living were often identified as ghosts rather than as de-
his works?” In consequence of this development, by the third mons. As for cures, the possessed sometimes were immersed
century a designated exorcist was required in every Christian in a running body of water as a form of cure. In some areas
community. Documents from this time period make note of local men made names for themselves as secular exorcists and
a formal order of exorcists that constituted a lowly step on healers, each with his own unique formula, rhyming jingles,
the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Fourth Council of Carthage and other procedures. Thus medieval cultures held diverse
in 398 CE is the first surviving text to prescribe the rite of notions of spirit possession and exorcism in addition to pure-
ordination for an exorcist: “When an Exorcist is Ordained: ly ecclesiastical definitions.
Let him accept from the hand of the priest the little book The emergence of a liturgical rite in the fifteenth cen-
in which the exorcisms are written, and let the priest say to tury. The fifteenth century marked an important turning
him, ‘Take this and memorize it, and may you have the point in the history of exorcism within the Catholic Church.
power of laying on hands upon an energumen, whether bap- At this time, as Caciola (2003) has shown, the church began
tized or a catechumen’” (Caciola, 2003, p. 229). to use formal scripted, liturgical exorcisms, numerous exam-
ples of which are preserved in manuscripts. The change likely
As Christianity spread into northern Europe and be-
stemmed from a desire on the part of the Catholic hierarchy
came a dominant institution in the medieval west, exorcism
to standardize practices of exorcism at a time when the num-
practices continued to evolve. Whereas the order of exorcists
ber of reported possessions remained high. In so doing the
slowly declined in importance and eventually disappeared
church also arrogated control over the process of exorcism
from view, descriptions of exorcisms performed by saints
to the ecclesiastical hierarchy rather than allowing decentral-
vastly increased. Medieval hagiographies frequently mention
ized and improvised practices of exorcism to persist.
exorcisms performed during their subjects’ lifetimes as well
as postmortem exorcisms accomplished by the saints’ relics Liturgical exorcisms are a species of clamor, a family of
or tombs. This development accelerated after the twelfth ritual forms that cry out to God for aid against oppressors.
century, when accounts of demonic possession saw an expo- Other examples of this kind of ritual include excommunica-
nential increase in hagiographical texts. Bernard of Clairvaux tions, humiliations, and maledictions. These exorcisms also
(1090–1153 CE), for example, was credited with many per- are intimately related to the baptismal liturgy, repeating ver-
sonal exorcisms, whereas Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179 bal formulations from the baptismal rite as well as other ele-

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2930 EXORCISM

ments, such as the blessing of salt and water. A third textual estant texts satirized the splashing of holy water and frequent
precedent for these rites is Jewish conjurations, particularly crossing of demoniacs performed by Catholic exorcists, de-
the inclusion of exhaustive compendia of the names of God. riding them alternately as “superstition,” “empty rituals,” or
Indeed liturgical exorcisms are rife with lists of all kinds: “magic.” Yet beneath this general atmosphere of rejection lay
those that recount events from the life of Jesus; that call upon a diversity of attitudes toward exorcism. Some reformers, like
the aid of all the saints and the hierarchy of angels; that cast John Calvin (1509–1564) and Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531),
the demon forth from each body part; and that imagine vivid rejected all ritual exorcism; others, however, were less radical
apocalyptic scenarios of demonic defeat and eternal torment. in their approaches. Martin Luther (1483–1546), for exam-
Several manuscripts of exorcism suggest the use of demonic ple, defended the use of traditional rites of exorcism during
language in order to gain control over the possessing spirit, infant baptisms, deeming them a kind of prayer on behalf
incorporating brief spells composed of unintelligible words of the infant for divine protection. Most Protestant groups
that are said to have been personally composed by the devil. eschewed liturgies of exorcism for adults but did not reject
After conjuring the demon in its own language, the exorcist simpler forms of exorcism through prayer and fasting, view-
may then proceed to inquire into its precise status, its reason ing them as acceptable pleas for divine aid against possessing
for invading the victim, and its requirements for a successful demons.
expulsion. The following quotation from a manuscript held
in Munich gives a sense of how a typical liturgical exorcism Among Catholics, belief in the benefits of ritual exor-
begins: cism continued to flourish unabated. Many elements of the
liturgy that was formulated in the fifteenth century were cod-
Take the head of the possessed person in your left hand ified in 1614 in the official Roman Ritual. Also during this
and place your right thumb in the possessed person’s time period, plural possessions and group exorcisms became
mouth, saying the following words in both ears: ABRE a common Catholic form of the phenomenon, usually in a
MONTE ABRYA ABREMONTE CONSACRA- convent setting. The most famous case is the 1634 account
MENTARIA SYPAR YPAR YTUMBA OPOTE ALA- of possessed nuns of Loudon studied by Michel de Certeau
CENT ALAPHIE. Then hold him firmly and say these
in The Possession at Loudon (1996), but plural possessions
conjurations: I conjure you, evil spirits, by the terrible
name of God Agla. . . . I also conjure you by the great also occurred in Spain, Italy, the Low Countries, and France
name Pneumaton and by the name Ysiton, that you as- from the mid–sixteenth century through the early seven-
cend to the tongue and give me a laugh. If they do not teenth century.
respond, then know that they are mute spirits. The ex-
Some possession cases became closely bound up with
orcist should diligently discover and require whether it
is incubi, or succubi, or even dragons that possesses the the witchcraft persecutions; demonological literature taught
obsessed person; whether they are attendants of Pluto, that witches could send demons to possess their enemies.
or servants of Satan, or disciples of Astaroth; if they are The priest of Loudon, Urbain Grandier (1590?–1634), ulti-
from the east or the west; from noonday or evening; mately was convicted of having bewitched the nuns. For this
from the air, earth, water, fire, or whatever kind of crime, he paid with his life. Likewise the eighteenth-century
spirit. (Caciola, pp. 248–249) Puritan witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, originated
with charges that the witches had caused their young accusers
It was believed that once the demon was made to answer
to be possessed.
questions about itself (either through use of the demonic lan-
guage or through some other constraint) it would be easier A significant aspect of exorcism in this time period is
to exorcise. the degree to which spectacular cases of possession and exor-
cism entered into public discourse and became causes célè-
The liturgy continues with insults to the demon, com-
bres. Due to the spread of print technology, for the first time
mands for it to depart, and prayers for divine aid, as well as
such events could be widely known about and discussed. The
Bible readings interspersed with lists of body parts, saints, an-
publicity provided by pamphlets and broadsides, combined
gels, and the names of God. Throughout the rite, the exorcist
with the fractious confessional politics of the day, made exor-
is frequently directed to make the sign of the cross over the
cism a vehicle of Catholic polemic against Protestants and
victim or to sprinkle him or her with holy water. The rite
Jews. This dynamic was first noted by Daniel Pickering
usually concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving and a plea
Walker in Unclean Spirits (1981). Thus Nicole Obry, a
for future protection against similar attacks. This basic tem-
young Catholic woman who became possessed in 1565 and
plate was to persist as the basis for the liturgy of exorcism
was publicly exorcised in the city of Laon, regaled the vast
for centuries.
crowds attending the event in the voice of her possessing
The Reformation and beyond. The Reformation peri- demon, which confessed that it was close friends with the
od saw a notable increase in demonological phenomena, Huguenots (preferring them even to the Jews) and that it sus-
most notably the witch hunts that came to a peak in this time tained the greatest torment when young Nicole was given the
period. Whereas the reformers accepted the possibility of de- Eucharist. Here insults to other religious traditions were
monic possession, they nevertheless opened a vigorous de- combined with an endorsement of the Catholic doctrine of
bate over the efficacy of liturgical exorcism as a remedy. Prot- transubstantiation.

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 EXORCISM 2931

Nicole’s case was widely copied, most notably in the Some modern American Protestant groups have become
subsequent generation by the famous demoniac Marthe interested in possession and exorcism as well. The beginnings
Brossier (1573–16??). Protestant groups were unable to en- of modern Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century fos-
gage in widespread counterpropaganda, however, because tered a broad, interdenominational movement of Christian
they rejected exorcism for the most part. In England, the charismatics who placed direct spiritual interventions at the
Protestant minister John Darrell became famed in the 1590s center of their theology. Some modern charismatics practice
for exorcisms achieved through prayer and fasting, but the exorcism or “deliverance,” as documented by Michael Cuneo
accounts of these cases lack the explicitly propagandistic ele- in American Exorcism. Although deliverances can take many
ments of the Catholic cases. In a slightly different polemical different forms according to the individual practitioner, the
vein, a sixteenth-century Catholic exorcist conjured the de- majority are simple prayer sessions for the victim’s relief. The
mons afflicting a group of young Roman girls who had been most extensive deliverances include a clairvoyant discern-
converted from Judaism. These demons explained their pres- ment of spirits, in which a specialist intuits what type of
ence as the result of a curse laid upon the girls by their fathers demon is afflicting the individual: a demon of lust, stubborn-
who, angry at the loss of their children, summoned forth de- ness, greed, or other sin. In rare cases, the demon may be
mons to possess them. identified as an entity of “intergenerational evil,” an inherit-
Exorcism declined in Europe during the eighteenth cen- ed demon dedicated to afflicting a particular bloodline; such
tury, though it never entirely disappeared. Indeed profes- a diagnosis is particularly likely when the individual request-
sional exorcists like German Johann Joseph Gassner (1727– ing deliverance has a family history involving violence or
1779) continued to appear. Among the educated classes, mental illness. More formal rites of deliverance often begin
however, symptoms that traditionally had led to a diagnosis with a binding of the devil, in which the indwelling demon
of demonic possession increasingly came to be regarded as is adjured, in the name of Jesus, to remain calm and desist
indicators of natural pathologies like hysteria, epilepsy, or from thrashing about inside the victim. Next is the prayer
melancholia. Although naturalistic diagnoses for “possessed phase, which may be accompanied by fasting and a laying
behaviors” had been available since the twelfth century, the on of hands. As with Catholic traditionalists who practice ex-
eighteenth century saw a more definitive shift in favor of orcism, Protestant charismatics interested in deliverance tend
medical epistemologies. In consequence exorcism was less to be social conservatives opposed to the increasing theologi-
frequently indicated as a cure. cal liberalism of the mainline churches.
The contemporary Christian Churches. Perhaps the JUDAISM. Judaism does not have a strongly attested focus on
best-known modern image of the rite of exorcism derives spirit possession and exorcism before the middle of the six-
from the 1973 film The Exorcist, based on the 1971 novel teenth century. At that time belief in possession by reincar-
of the same title by William Peter Blatty (b. 1928). Though nate spirits of the dead began to emerge in the Sephardic
the account is fictionalized, Blatty’s story of a demonically Jewish community of Safed in the Galilee. These ideas even-
possessed little girl was based upon a 1949 case of prolonged tually were disseminated to eastern European Jewish com-
exorcism of a young Lutheran boy by a Catholic priest. The munities, becoming particularly vigorous among eighteenth-
film spurred a revival of interest in exorcism in the United and nineteenth-century Hasidic groups. The most familiar
States, and Catholic bishops began receiving more and more term for the possessing spirit, dybbuk, came into use only in
requests for the procedure. Only a small proportion of such the late seventeenth century, but it is employed by scholars
requests were granted because twentieth-century Catholic of- of Judaism to refer to possession by a ghost even in earlier
ficials regard genuine demonic possession as an extremely epochs.
rare phenomenon that is easily confounded with natural
mental disturbances. In recognition of this stance, the Vati- Early history. The earliest account of an exorcism in
can in 1999 updated the ritual of exorcism for the first time Jewish tradition is 1 Samuel 16:14–23. The text recounts
since 1614, advising consultation with doctors and psycholo- how after the spirit of YHWH departed from King Saul, an
gists in order to rule out organic pathologies; however, the evil spirit began to torment him. Saul’s counselors suggest
twenty-seven-page exorcism ritual was left largely intact. that music may be able to soothe his affliction, and David
is brought to him to play the lyre. The sweet strains of the
Whereas the Catholic hierarchy preaches restraint in re- music succeed in exorcising the spirit from Saul whenever he
gard to exorcism, certain Catholic communities reject this feels invaded by its presence.
stance along with many other features of the modern church.
The most active Catholic exorcists of the late twentieth cen- This is the sole account of spirit possession and exorcism
tury belonged to conservative groups that rejected the re- in the Hebrew Bible. By the Second Temple period, howev-
forms of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), especial- er, the invasions of demons and forms of spiritual healing
ly the abandonment of the Latin Tridentine Mass. These had become more prominent within Judaism. These phe-
exorcists contended that the new Mass left the faithful un- nomena were central features of the career of Jesus, for in-
protected against demonic attack and believed that as a result stance, as he traveled through the Jewish communities of
of Vatican II, the number of possessions had increased expo- first-century Palestine. The Qumran texts likewise place sig-
nentially. nificant emphasis upon demonic attacks and human coun-

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2932 EXORCISM

terattacks, often in the form of protective spells, whereas Already in the late fourteenth century, Spanish qabbalis-
scattered tales in rabbinic literature recount exorcisms by tic literature had begun to explore the notion of Eibbur,
particularly righteous Jewish teachers. “pregnancy,” as a form of spirit possession. The term was
used to designate the invasion of a living human being by
Surviving bits of material culture testify to the contem- the transmigrating spirit of a deceased person, thus suggest-
porary interest in exorcism as well, particularly a number of ing the coexistence of two souls within a single body. The
bowls inscribed with Aramaic exorcisms that utilize a legalis- sixteenth-century Safedian qabbalists expanded upon this
tic language of divorcing the spirit. Josephus (37–c. 100 CE) tradition significantly. Although Eibbur could involve either
provides a story about contemporary Jewish exorcism tech- benign or maleficent dead spirits, the concern here is with
niques that he ascribes to traditions originating with King the latter.
Solomon. According to this author, an exorcist named Elea-
zar gained fame for the efficacy of his cures and even was The qabbalists explained that the soul of a sinful person
called upon to demonstrate his prowess before the emperor might not be permitted to enter into Gehenna directly upon
Vespasian (9–79 CE) along with all his court and army. Elea- death but instead would wander, disembodied and subject
zar’s secret was to draw the demons out from the possessed to beatings from angels of destruction. Seeking refuge from
person’s body by employing a certain root, discovered by the angels, such a spirit would seek to enter into a physical
Solomon, which was encased in a ring. By holding the ring body—either animal or human—for shelter; human bodies
to a demoniac’s nose, he allowed that person to inhale the could be made vulnerable to such invasion through certain
scent of the root, then he extracted the demon from the vic- sins. Exorcism of the spirit should ideally be conducted in
tim’s body through the nostrils. the presence of witnesses, a minyan of ten men. Because the
ritual did not follow an invariant form, elements such as ex-
Accounts of exorcism are rare in medieval Jewish tensive suffumigation of the victim with strong incense, the
sources, although—as attested in the articles collected by blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) into the possessed’s ear,
Matt Goldish in Spirit Possession in Judaism (2003)—many and invocation of the names of God were used to force the
scholars believe that the practice itself persisted. Medieval dybbuk to reveal its own name and background. Once the
Catholic exorcisms include elements drawn from Jewish tra- identity of the spirit was established, the exorcist might con-
dition, such as the use of lists of the names of God and the verse with it, asking questions about its own former life and
acronym AGLA (for Atah Gibbor Le- Eolam Adonai, “You are sins as well as seeking information about the afterlife. The
mighty forever, my Lord”). This interreligious borrowing dybbuk was often adjured to exit the victim by the big toe,
may suggest that Jewish exorcism traditions remained in lest the victim choke if it left via the throat. After the depar-
common use. An early-sixteenth-century compilation of ture, the victim was to be given a protective amulet to wear
Jewish magical and exorcism texts, the Shoshan Yesod to fend off further spiritual infestations. Texts recounting fa-
ha- EOlam, testifies to a vigorous tradition of spiritual heal- mous exorcisms served hagiographic functions, glorifying the
ing; the book likely incorporates many older traditions that rabbi who performed a successful expulsion. This is true not
are not attested in surviving earlier literature. The exorcisms only of sixteenth-century Safed but of the later history of the
here are liturgical in character, involving verbal conjurations dybbuk phenomenon as well.
of demons and commands to depart. One formula adjures
the demon, by the seventy-two names of God, to reveal its It is notable that, in cases of dybbuk possession, the com-
own name and parentage, then requires it to depart from the passion of rabbinic exorcists was directed not only toward the
human body and enter into a flask that the exorcist is direct- possessed victim but also toward the possessing spirit. Be-
ed to have handy. cause the latter was conceived as human, it too merited a de-
gree of concern and healing. Thus even as the exorcist cast
The emergence of dybbuk possession in the sixteenth the demon out from the body it possessed, he often sought
century. In the sixteenth century spirit possession under- to discover how to help the dybbuk achieve tikkun, or rectifi-
went a significant resurgence and evolution within Jewish cation. If the spirit were permitted to enter Gehenna, it could
thought. Beginning with the case of a young boy in the then find rest and cease tormenting other living beings. This
1540s, the Galilean village of Safed became the epicenter of sympathetic feature of Jewish dybbuk exorcism could not
a new series of sensational possessions and exorcisms, several find a counterpart in earlier Jewish traditions or in Christian
of which were associated with the circle of the qabbalist traditions, which conceive of the possessing spirits as un-
Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572). Not only was possession redeemable and demonic.
suddenly a renewed topic of reportage, but the terms in
which it was envisioned seem to have shifted. Whereas earlier Later developments. The Eibbur form of possession ap-
Jewish attestations of exorcism usually refer to the possessing peared in 1575 in Ferrara, Italy, where the spirit possessing
spirit as a demon, the cases in Safed (which in the early twen- a Jewish woman claimed it was the ghost of a recently execut-
ty-first century have received sustained treatment from Jef- ed Christian. Scholars are divided as to whether this and sub-
frey H. Chajes in Between Worlds [2003]) constitute the first sequent Italian cases resulted from a dissemination of Luri-
detailed descriptions of possessing spirits conceived as trans- anic notions of possession and exorcism or arose from other
migratory souls of the dead. contingencies. In the seventeenth century the Italian rabbi

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 EXORCISM 2933

Moses Zacuto (1625–1697) became well known as an exor- Participants in the zār dance not with one another but
cist, engaging the topic repeatedly in his correspondence. with their individual zār masters. Thus the action, while col-
lective, is not truly communal. After the private zār ceremo-
By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries dybbuk pos- ny—sponsored by the family of the new initiate—the initiate
session had become common in eastern European Hasidic will likely join a regular public zār group or hadrah. The ha-
communities; the term dybbuk is first attested in a Yiddish drah meets regularly, usually on a weekly basis, and each par-
pamphlet published around 1680 in Volhynia. Sholom ticipant contributes funds to pay for the drummers and to
Anski’s (1863–1920) 1910s play The Dybbuk; or, Between support the kudra. The repetition of the dance ritual each
Two Worlds, which is set in a Hasidic context, popularized week keeps the zār master quiet within the victim, allowing
and romanticized the notion of ghostly possession. Like Blat- her to pursue her normal life in all other ways.
ty’s The Exorcist, the story ultimately may have influenced
the course of the religious phenomenon on the ground. QurDanic healing. QurDanic healing is a true exorcism
Cases of dybbuk possession reminiscent of Anski’s narrative that definitively drives out the invasive spirits, which in this
have been reported in modern Israel and have begun to be case are often jinn or shayatin, though they can be zār masters
studied by modern folklorists and anthropologists. as well. The healing usually is conducted by a sheik who spe-
cializes in QurDanic exorcism on the grounds of a mosque,
COMPETING EXORCISM FORMS IN EGYPT. In modern Islam- perhaps in an upstairs room or other chamber; as with zār
ic Egypt, spirit possession may be managed by one of two ceremonies, these usually are group meetings with several
means: through QurDanic healing or participation in a zār possessed persons in attendance at once. Paticipants are seg-
cult. Islamic demonology is extensive, and the choice of regated by sex, either by some form of barrier or by designat-
which form of healing to pursue is in part a reflection of how ing different days of the week for gatherings of men and of
the inhabiting spirit is identified. women. Nevertheless in Egypt—as in other parts of the
world—spirit possession tends to afflict women more often
Zār. Zār, a relatively recent invention dating only to the
than men. QurDanic healers consider themselves as a more or-
1870s, is a form of participatory ritual group healing found
thodox alternative to the zār cult, which they tend to deride
in several East African countries. Dominated by women, zār
as superstitious, corrupt, and anti-Islamic.
cults involve regular meetings at which participants dance to
drumming with the goal of entering into individual trance The rite begins with a rapid sequence of prayers, recited
states. Islamic authorities in Egypt often denounce zār as a either by the sheik himself, one of his assistants, or the whole
vulgar superstition held by women too ignorant to realize group. As the prayers go on, some of the possessed are likely
that their actions are un-Islamic. Participants, however, re- to become excited and to begin writhing and crying out. At
gard the meetings as fully compatible with Islamic tradition. this point the assistants direct their prayers more loudly and
forcefully at that individual; they may strike her with a stick
Strictly speaking, the zār cult is not a complete form of
while repeatedly shouting at the jinn to get out immediately.
exorcism but rather a recurrent form of pacification. The
Eventually the exorcist or his assistant conjures the demon,
goal of the ceremony is to learn to coexist with the spirit, or
asking its name, other details of its identity, and its reasons
zār master, by temporarily lessening the intensity of the spir-
for possessing the victim. One may be possessed by a jinn
it’s hold upon the individual. As documented by Gerda
for a variety of offenses, including such sins as hitting a cat.
Sengers in Women and Demons (2003), the beginning of in-
If the demon turns out not to be Muslim, it is given the
volvement with zār is customarily a private initiation cere-
chance to convert. The spirit is then required to enter into
mony paid for by the possessed victim and attended by
the possessed person’s finger and to indicate its presence
friends, family, and other women who are possessed. After
there by lifting that digit. The exorcist then pricks that finger
an opening prayer drawn from the QurDān, several different
with a needle, drawing a drop of blood and forcing the spirit
drum bands perform in sequence; their purpose is to get the
out with it. After the rite, the victim is often counseled to
participants dancing and help spur the onset of a trance. The
adopt a higher level of piety in everyday life by, for example,
new “zār bride,” dressed in a long white tunic, is led by the
dressing more modestly or praying more often.
kudya, a zār specialist who has assisted in the diagnosis of
the victim’s illness and identification of her invading spirit, REGIONALISM ON THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. The linguis-
or zār master. These may be of several kinds, including tic and cultural diversity of the Indian subcontinent is paral-
(among others) Gado, master of the toilet; the atheist zār leled by a wide degree of variance in exorcism practices. Cer-
master known as the Red Sultan; the Sultan of the Sea, who tain spirit possession beliefs are widespread in India, such as
affects the brains; and even Christian zār masters. (The latter the frequency with which ghosts as well as demons possess
are easily identified because they make their victims desire the living; the predominance of women among the pos-
alcohol, which normally is forbidden to Muslims but allowed sessed; the belief that possession may sometimes be caused
to those possessed by Christian zār masters at zār ceremo- by another person’s act of sorcery; and the retrospective diag-
nies.) Zār masters often have negative qualities and cause dis- nosis of the onset of possession as occurring at a moment
tress or illness, but they are distinct from the more purely evil when the victim was alone and felt a sudden fear. Regional
Islamic demons and devils known as jinn and shayatin. variations in possession beliefs—and especially in exorcism

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2934 EXORCISM

techniques—however, are legion. Indeed even within a sin- of supernatural threats and material sacrifices. The negotia-
gle locale there may be several different exorcism techniques tion between the two possessed individuals may consume
in play. many hours, with the goddess-exorcist demanding that the
pey leave and hurling insults at it and the ghost attempting
North India: The Balaji temple. The North Indian
to retain hold of the possessed woman and requiring various
town of Mehndipur, Rajasthan, is home to the Balaji temple,
gifts or sacrifices before agreeing to exit. The exorcists who
dedicated to the monkey god Hanumān. The latter deity is
“dance the goddess” may resort to physical violence against
an apt choice for a divine exorcist, for he is a heroic figure
the pey, beating the possessed or pulling her hair in order to
drawn from the epic Rāmāyan: a, which recounts his devoted
convince the spirit inside that it must acquiesce and depart.
service to Rāma during a protracted battle with the Sri Lan-
This form of exorcism conceives of the struggle for healing
kan demon Rāvan: a. The Balaji temple is famed throughout
as properly a battle between supernatural beings—the ghost
Rajasthan and neighboring states for its successful exorcisms,
versus the goddess—who nonetheless act through and on
attracting the possessed from as far away as Delhi. Indeed the
human bodies. The long hours of music, the dance, the con-
Balaji temple has long been a popular pilgrimage destination:
frontation between the two possessing personalities, and the
it invariably is filled with supplicants come to ask the mon-
ultimate triumph of the goddess-exorcist provides healing for
key god for release from possessing spirits of the dead, from
the possessed victim as well as entertainment for the local
demons of the Hindu pantheon, and even sometimes from
village.
Muslim jinn.
This counterpossession model of exorcism is supple-
Exorcisms performed at the temple are collective in
mented by local practices with a more restricted geographic
character. Together caregivers and temple priests intone
range. In the South Arcot District of Tamil Nadu, for in-
prayers to Hanumān, with the goal of initiating the victims
stance, exorcisms sometimes are conducted by troupes of
into an altered state of consciousness or trance (peshi).
musicians known as pampaikkarar. The exorcism in this in-
Though the latter often involves convulsions, loud shrieking,
stance begins with a singer attempting to lure the possessed
and other extreme behaviors, peshi is held to be a prerequisite
woman into a state of trance, after which the ghost who is
for healing. Victims may return to the temple for several suc-
possessing her may be interviewed. The details of its biogra-
cessive days before achieving peshi, but once the catharsis of
phy, death story, and the circumstances surrounding its pos-
trance is achieved and then exited, the victim is likely to be
session of the victim are elicited; indeed the ghost is encour-
considered on the road to complete healing. The process may
aged to explain its restlessness and its desires. As the music
be swift or slow, depending on the number and nature of the
continues into the night, it is not uncommon for bystanders
possessing spirits. After the exorcism, the newly healed indi-
to dance the goddess, thus combining the better-known ritu-
vidual may report having received from Hanumān a protec-
al with the more localized practice.
tive spirit, or dut, to help guard against future attacks.
After the possessing spirit and its grievances have been
South India. In South India, possession most frequent-
identified, the musicians negotiate with it, promising a sacri-
ly afflicts new, young brides; the spirit usually (though not
fice in return for its pledge to depart. The spirit is asked to
invariably) is described as the ghost of a young man. Thus
identify the specific lock of the victim’s hair in which it re-
the possession state frequently has a sexual aspect that is ex-
sides; this tress is then tied into a knot over the protestations
plicitly articulated within the local understanding of these
of the pey, which may complain that the action is painful.
events. The ghosts or peys that afflict the victims often died
Afterward the sacrifice, a chicken, is offered, with its severed
unmarried; indeed a common reason for becoming this type
head being placed in the victim’s mouth. This action shocks
of restless, possessing spirit is suicide because of unfulfilled
and frightens the pey and represents the beginnings of the ac-
love. These lonely ghosts of the untimely dead may become
tual expulsion. The possessed is then handed a large stone,
attracted to a lovely young bride with a still-fresh scent of
said to represent “the weight of the pey’s desire,” and is herd-
sexual initiation about her and try to “catch” or possess her,
ed toward the nearest tamarind tree. After the possessed per-
often gaining entry through the woman’s hair. Afterward the
son reaches the tree, the rock is laid at its roots, and the knot-
spirit becomes jealous and impels the woman to reject the
ted lock of hair that contains the spirit is cut from the
sexual advances of her husband: this act often is the initiating
possessed woman’s head and nailed to the trunk. Following
event in a diagnosis of possession.
this the exorcism is complete and the victim is considered
The exorcism ritual used to cure such afflictions usually healed. The culminating actions of the exorcism have been
involves a controlled, benign counterpossession. Here exor- interpreted by Isabelle Nabokov in her article “Expel the
cists are specialists in dance techniques that enable them to Lover, Recover the Wife” (1997) as representing the final
enter into a state of trance, during which they incarnate a fe- “divorce” of the lonely ghost from its victim and its “remar-
male deity like Kālı̄ or Ankalaparamecuvari. The rite is riage” to the tamarind tree, understood as a female entity in
known as “dancing the goddess.” Because these deities are Tamil culture. When the pey’s desire is given to the tamarind
of superior power to the possessing ghost or demon, once the and the pey is severed from the woman and united with the
medium has become voluntarily possessed, the incarnate tree, the affections of the lonely ghost are thereby redirected
goddess is able to drive out the pey through a combination to a nonhuman object.

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 EXORCISM 2935

SCHOLARLY INTERPRETATIONS OF EXORCISM. Exorcism has (1997), have vigorously disputed the notion that exorcism
long attracted attention from academics, thus becoming a acts to advance the interests of marginal groups, interpreting
category of scholarly analysis as well as of religious practice. its symbolism as, rather, a means of asserting the hegemony
The comments below identify some major strands in the in- of dominant cultural values. Nevertheless Lewis’s “social de-
terpretation of exorcism emanating from within the disci- privation analysis” remains a dominant influence in anthro-
plines of anthropology, psychology, and history. Many of pological studies of exorcism. Lewis renewed his analysis in
these analyses have tried to address the question of why a follow-up study published in 1986, Religion in Context; this
women predominate in reports of possession and exorcism. work in turn was reissued in an expanded edition in 1996.
Anthropology. In the late nineteenth century and early Psychology. The interest of psychologists in possession
twentieth century, the foundational literature of cultural an- and exorcism originates with Sigmund Freud, who in the
thropology gave prominent place to divergent cultural con- 1920s wrote about the seventeenth-century case of the paint-
ceptualizations of spirits, their capabilities, and human re- er Christopher Haizmann. (A translation of this work is in
sponses to them. This focus was characteristic of the early Brian Levack, Possession and Exorcism [1992].) Regarding ac-
anthropological approach to so-called “folk” religions, counts of Haizmann’s possession as descriptions of a “de-
viewed as largely indistinguishable from culture, in contra- monological neurosis,” Freud presented an elaborate inter-
distinction to “historical” religions, based on scriptural can- pretation centered on Haizmann’s depression due to the
ons and textual precedents. Thus the anthropological litera- death of a close relative, whom Freud assumes to be Haiz-
ture on spirit possession and exorcism has a long and mann’s father. The devil, Freud writes, entered into a con-
complex history within the discipline. tract with Haizmann in which he agreed to serve as the paint-
er’s father figure for a term of nine years. Freud argues that
A well-known modern anthropological analysis of spirit the use of the number nine in relation to a span of time re-
possession and exorcism is I. M. Lewis’s important 1971 veals Haizmann’s adhesion to a feminine aspect in relation
work, Ecstatic Religion. Lewis was struck by the frequency to his father, indeed “a long-repressed phantasy of pregnan-
with which socially marginal groups, particularly young cy” (nine being the number of months of gestation), com-
women, were involuntarily overtaken by spirits, a phenome- bined with a strong castration anxiety (Levack, 1992, p. 90).
non he termed “peripheral possession.” He further noted Haizmann’s eventual release through exorcisms and a pil-
that, while in a state of possession, the women often gained grimage to a shrine to the Virgin Mary signal Haizmann’s
prestige and were able to act in more assertive ways than was salutary turn toward another substitute parent, the mother.
the case in their regular daily lives. Thus they might openly Through maternal intervention, Haizmann is sufficiently
critique their husbands or relatives, shirk household duties, healed to enter into a religious order, thus finding a more
or act in ways deemed immodest or inappropriate for their appropriate father substitute in these “fathers of the church.”
cultural settings. Lewis suggested that the reason for
women’s predominance among the spirit possessed in nearly Nevertheless Freud’s interest in these phenomena set
all cultures is related to a covert desire for status enhance- the stage for further psychohistorical and ethnopsychological
ment. Women’s possessing spirits allowed them to articulate investigations into possession and exorcism. Understandings
resentments and desires that they normally would have had of spirit possession as a culturally constructed idiom for ex-
to suppress while simultaneously permitting them to disavow pressing repressed or illicit desires, as forms of wish fulfill-
personal responsibility for their transgressive actions. This ment, as involving supernatural parent or lover substitutes,
dynamic only reached its fullest expression, however, in the or as representative of sexual anxieties and identity distur-
process of exorcism, which in many cultures takes the form bances are now a significant component of the scholarly liter-
of bargaining with the spirits to depart. The spirit may de- ature. Once again the predominance of young women
mand a series of concessions before agreeing to leave, often among the possessed has proven particularly provocative to
in the form of material gifts of direct benefit to the possessed scholars because the notion of physical penetration by a spir-
woman: a feast, new clothes, or some other special treat. it, often conceived as male, lends itself both to a psychosexual
analysis and also potentially to a diagnosis of disturbed gen-
Many scholars have suggested alternatives to Lewis’s der identity.
analysis or raised critiques to his approach. Bruce Kapferer,
in his 1983 study of exorcism in Sri Lanka, A Celebration of Exorcisms have been regarded as having therapeutic
Demons, argued that Lewis overvalued individual motiva- value in part because they are couched in the same idiom as
tions and self-determination and undervalued broader cul- the patient’s own expression of neurosis while nonetheless
tural forces that symbolically align women with the sphere orchestrating the same kind of emotional buildup and ca-
of the demonic and the unclean. Other scholars, including tharsis that underlay Freud’s early psychoanalyses. The em-
Janice Boddy in her review article “Spirit Possession Revisit- phasis upon social reintegration that is central to many exor-
ed” (1994), have called for a reframing of the question that cism rites has been seen as a cipher for the reintegration of
moves “beyond instrumentality” to discuss broader notions the individual sufferer’s psychic or sexual self: “the expulsion
of gender, body, and social organization that mitigate a nar- of the masculine and the resumption of an unfragmented
rowly functionalist view. Others, like Isabelle Nabokov conventional sexual identity,” according to Lyndal Roper in

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

2936 EXORCISM

Oedipus and the Devil (Roper, 1994, p. 191). Conversely, the through her mouth: her lips and tongue pronounced the
psychological commonplace of “exorcising inner demons” spirit’s sentiments and experiences. Thus for Certeau, the
forces a convergence between religious and psychoanalytic speech of the possessed woman was a logical paradox that ex-
idioms. Exorcism and therapy are thereby defined as differ- isted outside normally comprehensible speech patterns. The
ent terms for the same healing process. speaking entity was both male and female, mortal and im-
mortal, powerless and powerful, the victim and the Other.
History. Historians have turned their attention to spirit
possession and exorcism relatively recently as part of the The processes of exorcism and conjuration of the spirit,
movement toward cultural history (sometimes called history Certeau suggests, were a means of resolving this logical para-
of mentalities). Whereas the dominant anthropological and dox by identifying the indwelling spirit. Thus the first goal
psychological interpretations of exorcism focus upon the vic- of an exorcism always was to categorize the speech of the vic-
tim’s experiences and desires, the leading historians working tim as the discourse of a specific, indwelling demon known
on this problem emphasize the societal power relations de- in advance from exorcistic and demonological literature:
ployed in the performance of exorcism. (Indeed Freud’s psy- Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan. Through this process, the
choanalysis of Haizmann has been sharply criticized by Eric exorcism transformed the garbled speech of the possessed
Midelfort in his article “Catholic and Lutheran Reactions to woman into the recognizable voice of a well-known demon.
Demon Possession in the Late Seventeenth Century” Naming the demon in turn gave the exorcist power over it:
[Levack, 1992] as anachronistic and individually overdeter- the conjuration could then proceed as a series of conversa-
mined, with too little consideration given to the structure of tions between the exorcist and the indwelling demon. Hence
the contextual society.) Thus the focus of historians has been the exorcist only can gain mastery by identifying the speech
less on the person who is the object of the exorcism and more of the victim with a specific demonic name, but in the pro-
on the ways practices of exorcism fuel larger social processes. cess the possessed woman’s identity is occluded. Exorcism is
It has been seen then as either a dynamic or a static social an assertion of power, Certeau suggests, insofar as it superim-
force, depending on the context. poses traditional categorizations over the creative potential
of a paradox. It thus acts as a potent tool of social control.
An example of exorcism’s potential to propel change is
provided by the many scholars who have elucidated its value SEE ALSO Biblical Literature, article on New Testament;
as a catalyst for conversion. These historians have pointed Christianity, overview article; Christianity and Judaism;
out how successful public exorcisms can be instrumental in Dybbuk; Egyptian Religion, overview article; Jesus Move-
recruiting new believers to the religion of the exorcising ment; Judaism, overview article; QurDān, overview article.
group. The rite often seems to have functioned in this way
when practiced within a context of intense competition BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boddy, Janice. Wombs and Alien Spirits: Women, Men, and the Zar
among rival religious systems. As a visible, materially enacted
Cult in Northern Sudan. Madison, Wis., 1989. An explora-
battle with supernatural referents, exorcism easily can be- tion of the role of fertility and gender roles in Sudanese spirit
come a testing ground for the power of one deity, doctrine, possession and the zār cult.
or practice over another. In other cases, however, exorcism Boddy, Janice. “Spirit Possession Revisited: Beyond Instrumental-
may be used to reaffirm a potentially threatened continuity ity.” Annual Review of Anthropology 23 (1994): 407–434. An
with the past. Thus as noted above the fifteenth-century rise excellent review essay of the major anthropological literature
of liturgical exorcism has been shown to be linked to a broad- and interpretations.
er struggle on the part of the Catholic hierarchy to reaffirm Bourgignon, Erika, ed. Religion, Altered States of Consciousness, and
its traditional authority at a moment of significant instability Social Change. Columbus, Ohio, 1973. A classic collection
and stress. Here innovation in the performance of exorcism of articles with an interdisciplinary perspective.
acted to reinforce the institutional prerogatives of the Catho- Brown, Peter. “Sorcery, Demons, and the Rise of Christianity.”
lic Church. In Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations, edited by Mary
Douglas, pp. 17–45. London, 1970. The relationship be-
Perhaps the most elegant historical study of exorcism tween exorcism and the expansion of the early Christian
has been penned by the French social theorist Michel de Church.
Certeau. The author’s article “Language Altered: The Sorcer- Brown, Peter. “The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late
or’s Speech” in The Writing of History (1988) focuses on the Antiquity.” In Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity,
ways in which early modern exorcists reasserted the hegemo- pp. 103–152. Berkeley, Calif., and Los Angeles, 1982. How
ny of written traditions by turning to them for neat categori- successful exorcisms functioned to cement the saintly reputa-
zations of the untidy, real-life possession cases unfolding be- tions of holy men in late antiquity.
fore them. Certeau begins by noting that a diagnosis of Brown, Peter. “Town Village and Holy Man: The Case of Syria.”
possession was usually applied to a woman soon after she In Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity, pp. 153–165.
manifested a “disturbance of discourse.” No longer an indi- Berkeley, Calif., and Los Angeles, 1982. Expands upon the
vidual, well-bounded subject, the possessed woman was previous article with a more specific geographical focus.
viewed as displaced from herself. The invading spirit disrupt- Caciola, Nancy. “Wraiths, Revenants, and Ritual in Medieval
ed the continuity of the victim’s selfhood by speaking Culture.” Past and Present 152 (1996): 3–45. A study of the

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

 EXORCISM 2937

medieval popular-culture belief that demons can possess and Kapferer, Bruce. A Celebration of Demons: Exorcism and the Aes-
move dead bodies. thetics of Healing in Sri Lanka. Bloomington, Ind., 1983. De-
Caciola, Nancy. “Spirits Seeking Bodies: Death, Possession, and tailed exposition of exorcism ceremonies in Sri Lanka with
Communal Memory in the Middle Ages.” In The Place of the attention to notions of gender and impurity in Sinhalese
Dead: Death and Remembrance in Late Medieval and Early ideas about possession.
Modern Europe, edited by Bruce Gordon and Peter Marshall, Levack, Brian, ed. Possession and Exorcism. New York, 1992. A
pp. 66–86. Cambridge, U.K., 2000. An exploration of sto- wonderful sampling that includes Freud’s study of Haiz-
ries of possession by ghosts in medieval popular culture. mann and a number of other foundational articles.
Caciola, Nancy. Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession Levi, Giovanni. Inheriting Power: The Story of an Exorcist. Trans-
in the Middle Ages. Ithaca, N.Y., 2003. A study of medieval lated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago, 1988. The story of an
spirit possession, both benign and malign; chapter five ex- unlicensed, popular exorcist in early modern Italy.
plores the history of exorcism and gives detailed descriptions
of the rite. Lewis, I. M. Ecstatic Religion: An Anthropoloigical Study of Spirit
Certeau, Michel de. “Language Altered: The Sorcerer’s Speech.” Possession and Shamanism. Harmondsworth, U.K., 1971. A
In The Writing of History, translated by Tom Conley, classic in the anthropological study of possession with partic-
pp. 244–268. New York, 1988. A close study of the process ular attention to gender issues and “social deprivation” analy-
of categorizing spirit possession through the qualification of sis.
the possessed woman’s speech as demonic. Lewis, I. M. Religion in Context: Cults and Charisma. 2d ed. Cam-
Certeau, Michel de. “What Freud Makes of History: ‘A Seven- bridge, U.K., 1996. An extension of the positions advanced
teenth-Century Demonological Neurosis.’” In The Writing in the previous work with more range.
of History, translated by Tom Conley, pp. 287–307. New Mageo, Jeannette, and Alan Howard. Spirits in Culture, History,
York, 1988. A historian meditates on Freud’s discussion of and Mind. New York and London, 1996. Focuses on posses-
Haizmann. sion in the cultures of various Pacific islands.
Certeau, Michel de. The Possession at Loudon. Translated by Mi- Midelfort, Eric. A History of Madness in Sixteenth-Century Germa-
chael Smith. Chicago, 1996. Closely examines the famous ny. Palo Alto, Calif., 1999. Discusses early modern European
case of plural possession among the nuns of Loudon in the concepts of madness, spirit possession, and folly.
seventeenth century.
Chajes, Jeffrey H. “Judgements Sweetened: Possession and Exor- Nabokov, Isabelle. “Expel the Lover, Recover the Wife: Symbolic
cism in Early Modern Jewish Culture.” Journal of Early Mod- Analysis of a South Indian Exorcism.” Journal of the Royal
ern History 1– 2 (1997): 124–169. A general discussion of Anthropological Institute 3, no. 2 (1997): 297–316. A fasci-
early modern Jewish belief in possession by ghosts. nating case study of a local exorcism ritual.
Chajes, Jeffrey H. Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Obeyesekere, Gananath. “The Idiom of Demonic Possession: A
Modern Judaism. Philadelphia, 2003. A detailed study of the Case Study.” Social Science and Medicine 4, no. 1 (1970):
history of Jewish possession and exorcism with emphasis on 97–111. A psychoanalytic approach to Indian spirit
the shift toward dybbuk possession in the sixteenth century; possession.
chapter three presents Jewish technologies of exorcism. Patai, Raphael. “Exorcism and Xenoglossia among the Safed Kab-
Crapanzano, Vincent, and Vivian Garrison. Case Studies in Spirit balists.” Journal of American Folklore 91, no. 361 (1978):
Possession. New York, 1977. A classic collection of anthropo- 823–833. Close reading of a case studies in early modern
logical articles. Jewish exorcism with particular focus on the process of veri-
Csordas, Thomas. The Sacred Self: A Cultural Phenomenology of fying the possessing ghost’s identity.
Charismatic Healing. Berkeley, Calif., and Los Angeles, Roper, Lyndal. Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality, and
1994. Discussion of Catholic Pentecostal faith healing. Religion in Early Modern Europe. London, 1994. Covers a
Cuneo, Michael. American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land broad array of topics, including exorcism.
of Plenty. New York, 2001. Investigation into the relation- Sengers, Gerda. Women and Demons: Cult Healing in Islamic
ship between contemporary American popular culture Egypt. Leiden, Netherlands, 2003. A detailed study of the zār
images of exorcism and the rising demand for real-life cult and QurDanic healing based on fieldwork in Cairo,
exorcisms. Egypt.
Dyer, Graham. The Divine and the Demonic: Supernatural Afflic-
tion and Its Treatment in North India. London, 2003. A gen- Sluhovsky, Moshe. “The Devil in the Convent.” American Histori-
eral study of supernatural illness and healing in India with cal Review 107, no. 5 (2002): 1379–1411. A close study of
focus on the psychology of the emotions involved in these plural possessions in early modern Europe.
processes; discussion of the Balaji temple. Tambiah, Stanley. “The Magical Power of Words.” In Culture,
Goldish, Matt, ed. Spirit Possession in Judaism: Cases and Contexts Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective.
from the Middle Ages to the Present. Detroit, Mich., 2003. Cambridge, Mass., 1985. An important discussion of man-
This excellent collection brings together contributions from tras and “demonic language” in Sri Lankan exorcisms.
most of the modern scholars working on this topic. Walker, Daniel Pickering. Unclean Spirits: Possession and Exorcism
Kakar, Sudhir. Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors. Delhi, India, 1981. in France and England in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seven-
A psychoanalytic approach to Indian religion with discussion teenth Centuries. Philadelphia 1981. Focuses on the uses of
of the Balaji temple. public exorcisms for purposes of interreligious propaganda.

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2938 EXPERIENCE, RELIGIOUS

Wooley, Reginald. Exorcism and the Healing of the Sick. London, ing communism. In Solzhenitsyn’s case the demise of the
1932. How possession relates to illness in the Christian communist regime in the early 1990s enabled him to return
tradition. to his beloved country freed from the dictatorial power that
NANCY CACIOLA (2005) had expelled him.
EXILE. A person can be excommunicated from a community
for denying beliefs held to be central to that community or
EXPERIENCE, RELIGIOUS SEE RELIGIOUS for actions judged unacceptable by the community. In such
EXPERIENCE instances a prescribed path is sometimes offered to enable the
excommunicant to return to the community. Instances of
such banishment and subsequent restoration are in the histo-
EXPIATION SEE ATONEMENT; CONFESSION OF ries of such groups as the Amish, the Mennonites, and the
SINS Hutterites. Expulsion from such groups is often the penalty
for some member becoming too “modernistic” in belief or
action. A return is sometimes achieved by the person’s re-
nouncing or recanting her or his offending beliefs or prac-
EXPULSION. Expulsion can be harmful but also benefi- tices. In such instances the power and authority of the com-
cial, depending on the purposes toward which it is directed. munity and its traditions is affirmed first by the expulsion
Associated concepts are alienation, banishment, excommuni- and then by its allowing the offender to return on terms the
cation, exile, exorcism, expurgation, purification, repen- community establishes. Temporary expulsion is a form of os-
tance, scapegoating, defilement, and cleansing. Greeks, Ro- tracizing a person or group for a time of chastisement.
mans, and Indians practiced expulsion as a means of exerting Thus a person can either voluntarily enter into exile to
social control over individuals or groups over millennia. protest a turn of events within a community, often a nation
Against that cultural background, religious communities in which a person has held a position of leadership, or one
adopted and adapted expulsion to their own purposes and can be banished and thereby become an exile. In the instance
provided some of the most dramatic instances of one or an- of voluntary exile a person makes a principled move aimed
other form of expulsion. at calling attention to, and seeking allies to oppose, whatever
The story in the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible is objectionable. In either case, if the situation changes in the
of Yahweh sending Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden community or nation, the person in exile sometimes returns,
as punishment for their disobedience of his commands is an even triumphantly. A prominent historical instance of this
archetypal story of expulsion that is widely known, particu- is the case of Martin Luther (1483–1546), who was declared
larly in the West. One widespread and persistent interpreta- a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church after the Diet of
tion of the story asserts that ever since that momentous ex- Worms in 1521 and simultaneously was declared an outlaw
pulsion humans have been estranged and alienated from by the Holy Roman Empire. However, Luther was protected
their proper relationship with the divine. Religious commu- by Prince Frederick the Wise against any move Emperor
nities often seek to provide means to restore the relationship, Charles might have made to enforce the death penalty pro-
sometimes through rituals, sometimes through recommend- nounced against him.
ed ethical behaviors, sometimes through doctrines said to ar- After two years in hiding, Luther returned to Witten-
ticulate the proper understanding of the divine-human rela- berg, the university city in which he had written his critique
tionship to which intellectual assent by believers is required. of many of the central beliefs and practices of papal Roman
Further narratives abound in the literature of many Catholicism. That Luther made this return and lived there
other religions indicating that similar experiences occur until his death in 1546 demonstrates that the power and con-
within their residual memories of the realm of human rela- trol of both the pope and the Holy Roman emperor were in-
tions as individuals are estranged from and by other individ- sufficient to make Luther’s expulsion effective. He freely
uals. Humans also experience alienation from themselves and moved about in those Germanic territories in which he lived.
from their feelings and thoughts, sometimes referred to as His banishment by and from Catholicism had no practical
“self-alienation.” This underscores the necessity to attend to consequences for him in that Luther defied both church and
spiritual and psychological dimensions to provide a rounded Empire and lived to tell the story. In addition, his actions
account of expulsion. and thoughts led to the emergence of a new interpretation
Being alienated from family, friends, communities, or- of Christianity called Protestantism.
ganizations, and nations happens as a result of beliefs, ac- BANISHMENT. Expulsion is neither voluntary, as exile some-
tions, and even attitudes that run counter to prevailing times is, nor is there usually any possibility of return, as ex-
norms. Although sometimes voluntary, when for principled communication sometimes offers. Expulsion is a decision
reasons a person goes into exile, more often it is a punish- made by people holding power to enforce the judgment
ment imposed by others. Think of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, against a person or group based on a claim that the larger
banished by Soviet Union in the 1970s for his books criticiz- community will be improved or enhanced by ridding itself

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION