Are They Demons Or Just Delusions? Popular culture continues to debate whether exorcisms are necessary to cleanse a demon-filled world or just a cheaper alternative to conventional psychiatric therapy

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 24, 2003 | by John M. Powers

Easiest to obtain, Cuneo says, are "evangelical Protestant exorcisms" performed in deliverance ceremonies by conservative ministers who believe in demonic possession and the physical presence of Satan in the world. "If you want an exorcism, you can get an exorcism," he says, adding that the cost usually is only a small donation when possible.

These practices are common in the United States, according to Cuneo, because "mystery and intrigue" still surround deliverance/exorcism the whole of it exacerbated by Hollywood and other media exploitation. Interest oscillates, he says. In the 1970s the release of The Exorcist excited American interest. Gradually that fell away until 1983, when psychiatrist M. Scott Peck published People of the Lie, in which he claimed to have seen demonic possession in his medical practice. To this were added tabloid-TV reports of a satanic cult conspiring to infiltrate every sector of American life, according to Cuneo.

When such stories are presented uncritically, Cuneo says, they add to a general belief that demonic possession is at least possible. He says American culture tends to have a therapeutic side that seeks out solutions to problems, both real and imagined, no matter how fantastic they may seem. Not only that, it also is consumerist, he explains, so "we want fast answers and fast solutions." An exorcism can take as little as a few hours and is much cheaper than "conventional talking therapy," Cuneo says.

What did Cuneo see during the many ceremonies he monitored?

During private exorcisms only a deliverance minister or priest, a support team and the demoniac are present. "There'll be the usual flailing and groaning and spitting and vomiting," Cuneo says, "and some obligatory shrieking and slithering along the floor." These will finish after a few hours, with the usual result that the demoniac will be freed from their demons. Mass exorcism or mass deliverance is done with hundreds of people in a large room, Cuneo says, adding that these produce "bedlam and pandemonium" in which those being delivered start "ripping their clothes ... pummeling their groins ... ripping their hair out and publicly masturbating," among other things.

Was it demons he saw? "Did I ever encounter indisputable demonic fireworks? The answer is no," he says. While Cuneo does not think he observed actual demonic possession he thinks exorcism is useful. "Exorcism is a form of therapy," in his opinion. "Ultimately it allows us to blame our addictions, or anger, on demons. Where else can middle-class Americans lash out at evil ... with complete impunity?" In the end, however, it may be only a temporary fix for greater problems, he says.

Joel Scheinbaum, a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, would agree that exorcism is likely to be only temporary. Scheinbaum runs a program called Exodus Recovery that deals with people suffering from more than one mental disorder. He says demonization and its cure, exorcism, are attempts by people to explain a world they do not fully understand.