Exorcism, a controversial phenomenon - Clash of science & spirituality!

We have all heard, read and even seen cases of demonic possession from family friends, in books and movies but very few of us know about the history of Exorcism or what it actually is all about. Exorcism has its roots in Latin word exorcismus and Greek word exorkiein, which means to abjure. It is a practice of evicting evil spirits or entities from a person or a place which they are believed to have possessed.

The belief of demonic possessions and the subsequent practice of exorcism are quite ancient. It is usually believed that the person possessed is not evil himself and so the practitioners of exorcism make sure that there is no punishment or pain afflicted directly to the possessed.

The historical journey of possession and exorcism takes us back to the early civilizations when all forms of sickness, both mental and physical were attributed to the possession by evil spirits in ancient Mesopotamia. Similarly in ancient Babylon, fears of a number of evil spirits and waiting demons to possess people were s high that it was considered, “one of the most important factors in daily life of a Babylonian.”

Assyrian tablet and Hindu scriptures also spoke of evil possessions and exorcism or holy treatments to rid these evil entities. Accounts from Persia, 6th century BC also offer evidence of exorcism using prayer, ritual and holy water by religious leader Zoroaster who was considered the first magician and founder of religion, Zoroastrianism. From Dionysus in ancient Greece to Homer, and SocratesSocrates to PlatoPlato, all of them spoke of demons possessing mortals, obsessed with mortals and causing madness among humans.

Jesus was the premier exorcist of his time and it is believed that one fourth of all his healings were exorcisms. Similarly, in Judaism exorcist rituals can be traced back to 1st century AD. Dybbuk in Judaism, Jinn in Islam, the Oni in Japan, Kelpies in Scotland, Shaman in Arctic Tungus, and Zar in Ethiopia are all different names to a same phenomenon – possession by evil spirits or demons which confirms that evil possessions and exorcism are part of many belief systems around the world.

Generally, a spiritual reason given for demonic possession ranges from evil spirits possessing people because the people disturbed them or invaded their holy place to demons falling in love with those they possess. It is also believed that people who lose faith in religion also are more frequently possessed by demons than highly religious people.

On the other hand, many psychologists and doctors relate this phenomenon in terms of mental disorders like multiple personality disorder, hysteria, mania, psychosis, tourette’s syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. In cases of dissociative identity disorder, it was found that 29 percent of the patients identified their alter personality as demons. Additionally there is a form of monomania called demonomania or demonopathy in which the patients believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.

The concept of exorcism withered over time in the 20th century but the phenomenon gained immense popularity and interest among people worldwide after a motion picture, The Exorcist came out in 1973. Since then demon possession has gained a prominent place in contemporary society.

The question that underlies this elaborate piece of writing of mine is; why it is so that one can explain almost all issues related to mental and physical illness or abnormality from spiritual perspective but science fails to answer many spiritual concerns and phenomenon like possession. Why not both science and spirituality unite to solve the mysteries of life? Even more probing is a question; why there is a clash of science and spirituality in the first place?