Exorcism
[1] Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this 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.
Protestant Christian exorcists most commonly believe the authority given to them by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) is the sole source of their ability to cast out demons.
The exorcist invokes God—specifically the Name of Jesus Christ—as well as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, saints of the Church Triumphant and the Archangel Michael to intervene with the exorcism.
Like their Catholic counterparts, Orthodox priests learn to distinguish demonic possession from mental illness, namely by observing whether the subject reacts negatively to holy relics or places.
Orthodox theology takes a uniquely expansive view of exorcism, believing every Christian undertakes exorcism through their struggle against sin and evil: The whole Church, past, present and future, has the task of an exorcist to banish sin, evil, injustice, spiritual death, the devil from the life of humanity ...
[20]Additionally, many Orthodox Christians subscribe to the superstition of Vaskania, or the "evil eye", in which those harboring intense jealousy and envy towards others can bring harm to them (akin to a curse) and are, in effect, demonically possessed by these negative emotions.
[16] This belief is most likely rooted in pre-Christian paganism, and although the church rejects the notion that the evil eye can have such power, it does recognize the phenomenon as morally and spiritually undesirable and thus a target for exorcism.
[22] Before conducting a major exorcism, Lutheran liturgical texts state that a physician be consulted in order to rule out any medical or psychiatric illness.
The first is by anointing with consecrated oil and laying on of hands followed by a blessing on a specific person and commanding the spirit to leave.
[25] The second and most common method is done by "raising the hand to the square" and then "commanding the spirit away in the name of Jesus Christ and with the power or authority of the Melchizedek priesthood".
The belief in the effective spiritual power to heal, or protect, of the Sacca-kiriyā, or asseveration of something quite true is an aspect of the work ascribed to the paritta.
The temples and monasteries throughout Tibet hold grand religious dance ceremonies, with the largest at Potala Palace in Lhasa.
Within the dominant Hindu sect of Vaishnava, which reveres Vishnu as the supreme being, exorcisms are performed by reciting the names of Narasimha, a fierce avatar of Vishnu that seeks to destroy evil and restore Dharma, or by reading the Bhagavata Purana, a highly revered text that tells the story of good vanquishing evil.
Another resource for exorcisms is the Garuda Purana, a vast corpus of literature mostly centered on Vishnu, deals heavily with topics related to death, disease, good versus evil, and spiritual health.
[39] Islamic exorcisms might consist of the treated person lying down, while a sheikh places a hand on a patient's head and recites verses from the Quran, but this is not mandatory.
In some cases, the adhan (call for daily prayers) is also read, as this has the effect of repelling non-angelic unseen beings or the jinn.
[42] According to a study by Alean Al-Krenawi and John Graham, the process of Quranic healing in order to exorcise spirits can be divided into three stages: Josephus reports exorcisms performed by administering poisonous root extracts and others by making sacrifices.
[44] In more recent times, Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya (1859–1942) authored the book Minchat Yahuda, which deals extensively with exorcism, his experience with possessed people, and other subjects of Jewish thought.
[45] The shofar is blown in a certain way, with various notes and tones, in effect to "shatter the body" so that the possessing force will be shaken loose.
For example, the leaders of these exorcism rituals who are tangki that invited the divine powers from the Deities and conduct a dramatic performance to call out against the demons so the village can once again have peace.
Historically, all Taoist exorcisms include usage of Fulu, chanting, physical gesture like mudras, and praying as a way to drive away the spirit is common in all sects.
[59] Within the scientific community, the work of psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, a believer in exorcism, generated significant debate and derision.
[60][61] Other criticisms leveled against Peck included claims that he had transgressed the boundaries of professional ethics by attempting to persuade his patients to accept Christianity.
This phenomenon has been made popular both in cinema and literature, with notable films such as The Exorcist (1973) taking a forefront in pop culture.
[71] Spiritual possession and exorcism come as a pair, representative of social expectations of 'normal' functioning, and can often be engaged as a tool to challenge or maintain religious collective values.
A non-Christian most likely would not even seek out religious intervention based on their symptoms, they would believe them to from a different illness, and would not find an exorcism an effective treatment.
As such the systems set out by religious communities, like the Catholic Church, to diagnose and combat spiritual possession as a disease, as only effective as the psychological belief within these aspects.
The priest initially carries out a 'discernment', when he believes that all biomedical attempts have failed to find the cause of the 'possession' he looks for 'spirits' or 'demons' in the victim, that are categorized by predetermined religious values.
A series of incantations follows and depending on the victim, the exorcist (the priest) and the family/friends surround the event, the person becomes healed only when all parties believe the demon has been removed.
The affirmations by the parties involved, victims, families church members in many cases (not all), have positive outcomes on the effectiveness upon these rituals and in this scenario dictate their completion.
