Exorcisms: The Centuries-Long History of Expelling Evil

Since its theatrical release in 1973, The Exorcist, based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name, served as a cultural touchpoint for an otherwise mysterious religious ritual. In reality, this is only part of the most recent chapter in the long history of spiritual practice that involves much more than a spinning head and green projectile vomit.

“Exorcism is a prayer or ritual intended to remove the influence of demonic and evil power from a person,” says Stephen Okey, theologian and assistant professor of philosophy, theology, and religion at Saint Leo University in Florida.

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