Abstract
This chapter gives an account of a sociological understanding of what exorcism is. Using functional (what religion does for people and/or community) and substantive (what religion is for people and/or community) definitions of religion, this phenomenon is analysed through the ages, and through classical Durkheimian, Marxian, and Weberian lenses. This chapter also explores the fluidity of understanding concerning what this practice is, and, more specifically, how people understand when an entity is or is not a demon. Acknowledging the difficulty of reaching a substantive understanding of exorcism and its rituals, a social constructionist perspective on this phenomenon is then presented. By analysing the social history of ghosts and demons, this chapter demonstrates the fluidity of understanding not only by the average lay person, but also by theologians, when interpreting whether an entity is the devil and when this entity needs to be expelled. No matter how the devil and exorcism are understood, this chapter argues that there has been an increase in the level and occurrence of belief.
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Giordan, G., Possamai, A. (2018). The Sociology of Exorcism. In: Sociology of Exorcism in Late Modernity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71773-9_2
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