Religious and Spiritual Experiences (RSEs) of Demons, Devils, and Satan: An Analysis of Features and Relationships to Psychopathology and Culture

Demonic experiences—encounters with demons, devils, or Satan—are less common than positive religious or spiritual experiences in a large database of such reports. These experiences often involve psychotic-like features and mental health struggles, and personal encounters are linked to dreams and sleep paralysis. References to possession or exorcism of others are tied to Pentecostal or evangelical backgrounds. Overall, personal demonic experiences appear more connected to mental health difficulties than to specific religious or cultural affiliations.

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Abstract

This paper examines first-person experiences of demons, devils, and Satan contained in the Alister Hardy RERC database of religious and spiritual experiences (RSEs). Word frequency analysis, content analysis, and phenomenological analysis are used to characterize the features of demonic experiences and how they relate to psychopathology and religious/cultural affiliations. Results show that demonic experiences are less common than positively valenced RSEs in the RERC database, and that they disproportionately reflect psychotic-like experiences and mental health difficulties. Personal experiences of demonic forces also appear to be related to dreams and parasomnias (e.g., sleep paralysis), while reference to the possession/exorcism of other persons is associated with Pentecostal/evangelical affiliation. Results suggest that personal experiences of demonic forces are more associated with mental health difficulties than with particular religious or cultural affiliations within the current sample.