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Ideas of Possession brings together scholars of various disciplines to consolidate an ongoing academic discussion on how possession is understood within different cultural contexts. Essays present ideas of possession from Antiquity, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, History, Ethnology, Anthropology, and Psychology, demonstrating how each field's approach to this subject can benefit from interdisciplinary dialogue as we attempt to make sense of such a broad range of interpretations.
List of contents
- Introduction: An Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Approach to the Study of Possession
- 1: Ulrike Steinert and Jonny Russell: Ideas of Possession in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: A Comparative View
- 2: Michael J Morris: Names of Authority in the Demonologies of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
- 3: Tom de Bruin: My Body Made Me Do It: Non-invasive Possession in Early Christianity
- 4: Giovanni B. Bazzana: "As If by Love Possessed": Spirits and Possession in the Acts of Thomas
- 5: Yoram Bilu: The Life Cycle of Dybbuk Possession in Judaism: Origins, Attenuation, Afterlife
- 6: Carlos Watzka: Demonic Possession and the Proof of True Faith: Habsburgs, Lutherans and the Devil in Austria
- 7: Nicole M. Bauer: The Psychologization of Exorcism: Diagnosing Demonic Possession in the Roman Catholic Church in Austria
- 8: Andrea De Antoni: That Old Feeling: Entangling Traditional Symptoms and Experiences of Possession through Catholic Exorcism in Contemporary Italy
- 9: Verónica Giménez Béliveau: Possession and Exorcism in Roman Catholic Charismatic Groups: A Comparative Ethnographic Study in France and Argentina
- 10: Bettina E. Schmidt: "It makes me complete": Anthropological Insights into Spirit Possession as Cultural Practice in Brazil
- 11: Annette Hornbacher and William Sax: Possession and the Modern Soul in Bali and India
- 12: Svetlana Ryzhakova: Trance and Spirit-Possession: Reflections on the Daiv¿r¿dhane Tradition of Tüun¿du, India
- 13: Gerhard van den Heever: Exorcizing Devilsdorp: Demonization and Satanic Possession in South Africa
- 14: Assia Harwazinski: Demonic Possession and Curative Exorcism in Contemporary Jordan
- 15: Lukas K. Pokorny and Dominic S. Zoehrer: "All evil spirits must be brushed off": Possession and Liberation in the Unification Movement
- 16: Lukas K. Pokorny and Patricia Sophie Mayer: Possession and Exorcism in K¿fuku no Kagaku
- 17: Jeannette Mageo: Colonial and Postcolonial Spirits: States of Possession and Culture History in Polynesia and Micronesia
- 18: Michael Utsch: Dealing with Possession in Contemporary Germany: Interpretations from Parapsychology, Christian Churches, Shamanic Counselling, and Religion-Sensitive Psychotherapy
- 19: Marsha Aileen Hewitt: Trance, Dreams and Possession: A Comparative Psychoanalytic Study
- 20: Julia Rehn: Possession and the Soul in the Context of New Shamanism
- 21: Michael Sersch: Demons in the Country, Demons in the City: Conspiratorial Thinking in the Context of Possession
- 22: Matt Goldish: The Case for a Universal, Symptom-Based Definition of Possession
- 23: Nicole M. Bauer and J. Andrew Doole: Concluding Remarks
About the author
Nicole M. Bauer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Graz.
J. Andrew Doole is Assistant Professor in the Department for Biblical Studies and Historical Theology at the University of Innsbruck.
Summary
The idea that an external force can enter an individual and possess their body is prevalent in most cultures across the globe and throughout history. This possession can last for varying lengths of time, and its effects can be considered positive--when a "spirit" provides the individual with powers, abilities, knowledge, or authority--or negative--when the individual suffers and the "spirit" should ideally be cast out, usually through a ritual performed by someone with a designated role.
The study of possession remains marginal in most academic disciplines, but current public discourses indicate that the topic remains relevant across modern and postmodern societies. A globalized world has brought about an unprecedented situation in which decidedly different ideas about possession influence one another, and people attribute a wide variety of experiences and behaviors to spiritual possession. There are those who describe themselves as possessed, sometimes as an inherent element of their identities, and those who are labelled as possessed by others, though this label often comes with a stigma.
Ideas of Possession brings together scholars of various disciplines to consolidate an ongoing academic discussion on how possession is understood within different cultural contexts. Essays present ideas of possession from Antiquity, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, History, Ethnology, Anthropology, and Psychology, demonstrating how each field's approach to this subject can benefit from interdisciplinary dialogue as we attempt to make sense of such a broad range of interpretations.
