An Atlantic Genealogy of “Spirit Possession”
Comparative Studies in Society and History March 29, 2011 DOI: 10.1017/s0010417511000107 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 135 |
| Key points | Argues that belief in spirits and spiritual warfare remains active in U.S. electoral politics, exemplified by Sarah Palin's engagement with pastor Thomas Muthee to cast out career-hindering spirits, and that critics view the movement's goal as creating a theocracy. |
Abstract
Not all spirits have retreated to metaphor, even in the very public sphere of U.S. electoral politics. As we learned during the last presidential campaign, Governor Sarah Palin enlisted the help of Kenyan pastor Thomas Muthee during his 2005 visit to Alaska to cast out the spirits that hindered her career. TheNew York Timeselaborated, “Ms. Palin has long associations with religious leaders who practice a … brand of Pentecostalism known as ‘spiritual warfare.’ Its adherents believe that demonic forces can colonize specific geographic areas and individuals.… Critics say the goal of the spiritual warfare movement is to create atheocracy” (Goodstein 2008, my emphasis).
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Varieties of Non-ordinary Experiences in Brazil—a Critical Review of the Contribution of Studies of ‘Religious Experience’ to the Study of Religion International Journal of Latin American Religions May 19, 2017
- From distress to disease: a critique of the medicalisation of possession in DSM-5. Anthropology & medicine December 1, 2017
- Materializations of oricha voice through divinations in Cuban Santería Journal de la Société des Américanistes 2018
- Can jinn be a tonic? The therapeutic value of spirit-related beliefs, practices and experiences Filosofia Unisinos October 30, 2024
- Possessed by a slave, not slavery Suomen Antropologi April 14, 2022
and 9 more in the library
Cites 3
- Spirit Possession Revisited: Beyond Instrumentality Annual Review of Anthropology October 1, 1994
- How to Make Up One's Mind: Reason, Passion, and Ethics in Spirit Possession University of Toronto quarterly April 1, 2010
- Mimesis and Alterity: Michel Leiris's Ethnography and Poetics of Spirit Possession French Studies July 1, 2008