Modern Practice, Archaic Ritual

Catholic Exorcism in America

Bibliographic Data

ID3537732
AuthorsWilliam S Chavez (0000-0003-3267-7350, University of California, Santa Barbara, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Issue10
Pages811
Publication date2021-09-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12100811
OpenAlexW3204179438
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited14

The following ethnographic and folkloric analysis of American exorcism practices post-1998 centers on four Catholic priest-exorcists currently active in the United States. After a brief commentary regarding the place of Satanism within contemporary Catholic imagination, this article posits that the Catholic Church's recent institutional support of its office of exorcist must not be viewed separately from its discursive fear of Satanic cults and larger narratives of religious declension. The current era of exorcism practice in America is chiefly characterized as a response to the media sensationalism surrounding not only prior cases of demonic possession but also of Satanic ritual abuse. Moreover, beyond these explicit issues of religious competition (e.g., Catholics versus Satanic conspirators), the current era of exorcism practice is also implicitly characterized by the changing belief systems of contemporary Catholics. Thus, this article ultimately concerns issues related to religious modernization, the apotropaic use of established religious tradition, popular entertainment and the mediatization of contemporary exorcism cases, institutionalized training curricula and the spaces allowing ritual improvisation, and the vernacular religious consumption of unregulated paranormal concepts that possess no clear analogues within official Church theology

Aesthetics · Art · Demonology · Exorcism · Literature · Media studies · Sensationalism · Sociology · Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Religious Tourism and Spaces

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access