BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian
Beliefs
- Buddhist
- Catholic
- Contemplative
- Evangelical
- General Christian
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Latter-day Saint
- More Voices
- Muslim
- New Visions
- Pagan
- Progressive Christian
Topics
- Religion News
- Food and Religion
- Sports and Religion
- Religious Art
- Religious Music and Entertainment
- Religious Events
- History and Religion
- Style and Religion
- Politics and Religion
- Women in Religion
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion
- Business Finance and Religion
- Careers Workplace and Religion
- Education and Religion
- Family Parenting and Religion
- Health Fitness and Religion
- Home and Religion
- Relationships and Religion
- Technology and Religion
- Travel and Religion
Columnists
- Buddhist Columnists
- Business Finance and Religion Columnists
- Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists
- Catholic Columnists
- Contemplative Columnists
- Education and Religion Columnists
- Evangelists Columnists
- Family Parenting and Religion Columnists
- General Christian Columnists
- Health Fitness and Religion Columnists
- Hindu Columnists
- History and Religion Columnists
- Home and Religion Columnists
- Jewish Columnists
- More Voices Columnists
- Latter Day Columnists
- Muslim Columnists
- New Visions Columnists
- Nonreligious Columnists
- Pagan Columnists
- Politics and Religion Columnists
- Progressive Columnists
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists
- Relationships and Religion Columnists
- Religion News Columnists
- Religious Art Columnists
- Religious Events Columnists
- Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists
- Sports and Religion Columnists
- Style and Religion Columnists
- Technology and Religion Columnists
- Travel and Religion Columnists
- Women in Religion Columnists
Resource Library
- 2026 Calendar
- Library of World Religions
- The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth
- Patheos Answers
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Faith Leaders Database
- Anglican Episcopalian
- Bahai
- Baptist
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Confucianism
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Hinduism
- Holiness and Pentecostal
- ISKCON
- Islam
- Judaism
- Lutheran
- Methodist
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- New Age
- Paganism
- Presbytarian and Reformed
- Protestantism
- Religion Behind the Scenes
- Roman Catholic
- Scientology
- Shia Islam
- Sikhism
- Sufism
- Sunni Islam
- Taoism
- Zen
- See all religions
Research Tools
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
Follow Patheos 
- Trending:
- Forgiveness
- |
- Marriage
- |
- Consciousness
- |
- Death Penalty
- |
- Election
- |
- Halloween
PATHEOS LIBRARY OF
World Faiths & Religions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Catholics believe in exorcism?
In Biblical times, being possessed by demons was a way to describe any sort of mental or physical condition that no one could explain. Today, we have medical and pyschological knowledge that the ancient world didn't have, so we don't have to blame it on the devil. Epileptic seizures, bipolar disorders, depression, multiple personalities...all these and many more conditions which are explainable and treatable today would have been blamed on the devil in the ancient world. But that's also the world in which a woman's head needed to be covered and she couldn't speak in church....
However, there are a very few documented cases of real demonic possession. The Catholic Church is very, very slow to admit to demonic possession, because we understand that most cases are really cases of schizophrenia or mental unbalance, that is treated with intensive therapy and drug therapy. It is the common held belief that every diocese in the Catholic Church has an exorcist-a very holy priest whose job it is to perform the rituals of exorcism in the rare case of documented demonic possession.
Back to Frequently Asked Questions
Editor's picks See all columnists
Catholic
Is Faith Really Blind? What Skeptics Get Wrong
Catholic
Glory Is Found In Christ, Not False Piety
Catholic
Tolkien, Resurrection of the Body, & Trangenderism
Catholic
Pope Leo: Is it Possible to Have Joy in Difficult Times?
Catholic
Critical PHP Bug Exposes Millions of Websites Worldwide
Catholic
Dark Night of the Scarecrow: Another for the Spooky Season
Catholic
The Internet: Tool or Mind Suck? We Decide Which it will...
Catholic
Beatification of the Georgia Martyrs: What to expect?
Catholic
Vivek Ramaswamy is All American, And Evil
Catholic
The question that changes every encounter
Catholic
Filioque & Twelve Eastern Church Fathers
Catholic
'Sense and Sensibility': OK Austen Adaptation But a Fun...
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
- About Us
- 2026 Calendar
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Library of World Religions
- Faith In Media Tracker
- Advertise With Us
- Write for Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Do Not Sell My Data
- Contact Us
- Radiant Digital
- Manage Newsletter Subscriptions
- Unsubscribe From Notifications
- Sitemap
Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.
Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
Follow Patheos