Different types of religions have different rituals they practice when performing an exorcism. In Islam an exorcism is called rugya. It is done to repel non-angelic beings, known as the jinn. Muslims use their exorcism ritual as a way to heal the damage caused by witchcraft. The ritual consists of reciting some specific verses of the Quran and invoke Allah's help. Jewish exorcisms are more elaborate. A Jewish exorcism is intended to not only drive out the possessing entity, but to start the healing of the possessed and the possessor. The ritual is performed by a Rabbi who has mastered Kabbalah. At the ritual, there's a group of 10 adult males called a minyan. They form a circle around the possessed and recite Psalms 91 three times. The Rabbi then blows a ram's horn in a certain way as to destroy the body and shake the entity free from the possessed. After the entity is loose, the rabbi will communicate with it to find out why it was possessing the person. Lastly, the minyan will pray and perform a ceremony for the entity to leave and for both to be healed.
In Christianity, exorcisms are performed in the name of Jesus Christ. In Catholicism, an exorcism, or rather a 'Major Excorcism' is given in Section 13 of the Rituale Romanum. The Ritual lists guidelines and procedures for conducting and exorcism, as well as for determining when a formal exorcism is needed. Priests are trained carefully to determine that the nature of the affliction is not actually a psychological or medical illness. In Christianity, the person performing the exorcism is referred to as the exorcist. The Exorcist is often thought to be graced with special abilities, or gifts, from God to aid in the exorcism. The exorcist may us prayers, artifacts, symbols and often invokes the powers of God, Jesus, and several different angels and archangels during the exorcism. It is of note that an exorcism can take a short time, or it can take multiple sessions to rid the demon depending on how deeply engrained the demon is.
Overall, the possessed person is not regarded as evil, but rather, the spirit possessing him/her is evil. Thusly, they are not held completely responsible for their actions. Exorcists regard an exorcism as a healing or curing of the possessed. Mainstream rituals usually take into account the safety of the possessed, making sure there is no violence toward the possessed and restraining the possessed for their own safety if necessary.
The scientific community does not accept possession as a valid diagnosis. Many psychologists describe the possessed as suffering from a mental disorder like Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Schizophrenia. A study of people with DID, in 29% of the cases one of the personalities described itself as being a demon. In fact, the scientific community has come up with a form of monomania called demonomania, in which the patient believes they are possessed by a demon. These scientists have gone on to say that the healing effects attributed to an exorcism are merely a placebo and power of suggestion.
In the mainstream media, we often hear of of the exorcisms that have gone wrong. One of the more infamous ones is that of Anneliese Michel. A recent movie was released that was loosely based on the Michel case, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Her story is a very tragic, and scary one. To read about the torment she went through, whether by possession or mental illness, is tragic. To make her long story, short, at the age of 16 she was diagnosed with epilepsy after a grand mal seizure. Soon after this event, it is stated that she would see devilish faces and be tormented whenever she prayed. When she was on a trip with a family member to the Holy Lands, she refused to go past a cross of Jesus or come near some of the Holy Waters. This caused her family to believe she was possessed. Time went on, she was committed to a psychiatric hospital where she was cared for, but she continued to get worse. She decided to seek treatment from the church and have an exorcism done. She was put through multiple exorcisms in 1975-1976. She went on a hunger strike and finally died. The court case that followed accused the clergy of starving her, as her cause of death from autopsy was starvation. The clergy were found guilty.
In the news recently is a case of exorcism gone wrong, or so the mother claims. A mother claimed that her children were possessed and made an 'elixir' to exorcise the demons from them. The youngest, a 2 year old boy began to vomit the elixir back up. To prevent this, the mother held her hand over the childs mouth. The child passed, cause of death from the autopsy showed a crushed throat. The mother then carried the body of the child around in a plastic bag claiming that God will ressurect her son the same way He did with Lazarus. In my opinion, this is a case of neglect. The mother should be punished for what has happened to the child. The use of an 'exorcism' as an excuse is horrible.
There are two exorcists that are rather well known on the internet, Bob Larson and Brother Carlos A. Oliviera. Larson has recently been interviewed and filmed for an upcoming special on the television news program 'Nightline' called 'The Battle Against the Devil'. Brother Carlos has recently produced a 90 minute reality film titled 'Real-Time Paranormal'. The film claims to expose demons in people's lives and homes while watching it. Both of these exorcists believe that they are doing God's work and liberating people from the demons that have taken possession of them. I have my own opinions, but will allow you to make up your own mind. I have included a couple videos on these two exorcists. Take a look...
Bob Larson on National Geographic
Real-Time Paranormal Trailer by Brother Carlos
What you don't often hear about in the main stream media is the number of people that have been helped by an exorcism. Hopefully the 'Nightline' special will shed some light on the reality of possession, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Personally, I believe that there is demon possession today as there was in biblical times. Do I believe that everyone claiming to be possessed is possessed? Not at all. It takes a 'gifted' person to know the difference between the two. I can go on for quite a bit about my personal views on exorcism and its relevance today, but that's not what I wanted to convey. I just wanted you to get an understanding of what an exorcism is and let you make up your own minds whether they are real or not.
