Since its theatrical release in 1973, Exorcist, based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name, has served as a cultural touchpoint for an otherwise mysterious religious ritual. In reality, it’s just part of the latest chapter in the long history of spiritual practice that involves much more than a spinning head and green projectile vomit.
“An exorcism is a prayer or ritual intended to remove the influence of demonic, evil power over a person,” says Stephen Okey, a theologian and assistant professor of philosophy, theology and religion at Saint Leo University in Florida.
Many religious traditions believe that there are evil forces that can have a negative impact on a person’s life. But according to Okey, the term “exorcism” is most commonly associated with Christianity, particularly Catholicism, in part because of the many clear references to Jesus casting out spirits in the Gospels.
Below is a timeline highlighting episodes in the history of exorcism, beginning with its biblical roots.
AD 70: Jesus casts out evil spirits in the Gospel of Mark
Christ casting out an evil spirit, as depicted by Georg Penca (c. 1500-1550).
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The first four books of the Bible’s New Testament, known as the Gospels, tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish prophet whose life and teachings became the basis of Christianity. The first mention of Jesus casting out evil spirits appears in the Gospel of Mark, which is thought to have been written around AD 70, roughly 40 years after his death.
“In the New Testament, Jesus’ exorcism was evidence of his authority over the devil,” says Rob Haskell, ThM, a New Testament theologian and former minister. “They showed that he had spiritual powers.” In addition to describing the exorcism of humans, the Bible also includes at least one reference to animals being possessed by demons, he adds.
These biblical references serve as an introduction to the practice. “Since our understanding of exorcism in the modern world comes from the Christian worldview, the New Testament sets the stage for everything that follows,” explains Haskell.
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1526: Martin Luther adds exorcism to baptismal rites
Martin Luther, second from left, with fellow German reformers Melancthon, Pomeranus and Cruciger.
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Angry and disillusioned with the Catholic Church’s selling of indulgences—marketed to believers as a way to speed their way through penance for their sins in purgatory—a German theologian named Martin Luther wrote a list of his grievances about religion, which he may or may not have nailed to the door of his university church in 1517. His act of defiance caused the split in Christianity known as the Protestant Reformation and, in 1521, excommunicated him from the Church Catholic by the Pope himself.
Although Luther was not the only reformer of the era, he was the most productive, taking full advantage of the printing press and the written word to spread his ideas of what Christianity should look like. This included the publication of his Order of Baptism in 1523, followed by a 1526 revision that added exorcism to Protestant baptismal rites. In this situation, infant exorcism was done to help the infant reject the devil, sin, and evil throughout their lives, rather than to cast out a demonic presence.
Not all Protestant faiths adopted the practice of exorcism, but for a period of time during the Renaissance, it was enough to make the question of how exorcisms should take place a controversial topic, says Katherine Walker, an assistant professor of English specializing in history. of Magic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
At that point, exorcism was well-trodden territory for Catholics, who had scriptures, teachings, and rituals to guide them. Protestant exorcisms, on the other hand, were mainly performed through prayer and fasting, and often involved entire communities, resulting in a public affair that could be limited to performance.
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“In early modern England, we have many records of fantastical exorcism performed by clergy or sometimes by professional exorcists,” explains Walker. “Some of the latter were exposed as frauds.”
Along with these theatrical events, exorcism became even more prominent when writers such as William Shakespeare began to refer to it in their works (in his case, “King Lear” and “Twelfth Night”).
But amid all this attention, skepticism was also born. “Protestants increasingly viewed with hostility all the rituals surrounding exorcism,” says Walker. And while this shift led to the spread of exorcism among Protestants in the early 1600s, its presence in the literature of the period helped shape its lasting cultural legacy.
Early 1900s: Evangelicals spur revival of exorcism
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Protestantism continued to spread to parts of Europe, eventually making its way to North America in the 17th century by way of British colonists. Puritanism was the dominant Protestant denomination in America in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but changed over the course of a series of revivals known as the Great Awakenings in the 1730s and 1740s, the 1790s, and the late of the 1850s to the beginning of the 2nd century.
The Baptist and Methodist denominations grew significantly as a result of these revivals, especially in the newly settled western parts of the country, as well as in the south. Simultaneously, the 1800s also saw the rise of evangelicalism: an umbrella term applied to Protestant groups who believe in strict adherence to the Bible, being “born again,” the need to convert other people, and that the crucifixion of Jesus will lead to the salvation of mankind.
In the early 1900s, the Pentecostal movement emerged among American evangelicals. Pentecostalism focused on the Holy Spirit and included supernatural components such as glossolalia (better known as “speaking in tongues”), faith healing, miracles, and exorcism.
While exorcisms had continued in the Catholic Church throughout time, they were not as prevalent in Protestant denominations during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. But the high-energy worship services of Pentecostalism and the allure of the possibility of receiving supernatural gifts from the Spirit e Holy caused the movement to attract new members and continue to grow during the first half of the 20th century.
1960s-1970s: Charismatic Christians revive exorcism
President Dwight D. Eisenhower visiting religious leader Billy Graham at the White House, 1957. (Credit: Paul Schutzer/LIFE Photo Collection/Getty Images)
Beginning in the 1950s, evangelical Protestantism began a period of rapid growth. Evangelists like Rev. Billy Graham hit the airwaves, gaining access to Americans’ homes through radio and television appearances, and became even more influential when he served as spiritual adviser to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In the following decade, a growing number of mainline Protestants (mainly Presbyterians and Episcopalians) and some Catholics began to adopt Pentecostal-style worship and a renewed focus on the Holy Spirit—a movement known as Charismatic Christianity. Like their Pentecostal counterparts, charismatic Christians also performed exorcism, sparking renewed interest in the ritual in the late 1960s and 1970s in the United States, as well as in Africa and Latin America.
It wasn’t long before exorcisms entered popular culture once again, as they did during the Renaissance. William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel Exorcist— based on the real-life story of a 14-year-old boy who underwent a Catholic exorcism in Maryland and Missouri in 1949 — started the trend, reaching No. 1 in New York Times bestseller list, and stayed there for 17 weeks.
The film version of Blatty’s book was released in 1973, at a time Okey says was transitional for both cinema and Catholicism. “Exorcist had a huge impact on the rise of the horror genre, and films of the 1970s in general often had a grittier or grittier edge than films of previous decades,” he explains. “At the same time, the Catholic Church was working on the early effects of Vatican II and its effects on liturgy, relations with other religions, and relations with the modern world.”
