Spiritual Evidence Map
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Secondary summarysecondarycontextVerified

Exorcism

Wikipedia contributors · 2024 · Wikipedia

Spiritual Evidence Map/Last updated May 10, 2026/Claims v1.0.0-provisional/Sources v1.0.0/Scores provisional
Citation dossier

This source is used as context evidence across 1 linked claim and 3 related evidence hubs. Its citation record is marked verified; that verifies the source trail, not the truth of any linked claim.

Source type
Secondary summary
Map role
context
Claim links
1
Direct access
Recorded

Summary

Cross-tradition reference entry on exorcism — ritual expulsion of demons or unwanted spirits — across Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist contexts, with documented modern cases of harm and death.

How this source is used on the map

Default reference for the exorcism claim; covers the practice variants and the well-documented harm cases.

Citation record

Authors
Wikipedia contributors
Year
2024
Publication
Wikipedia
Source type
Secondary summary
Map role
context
Credibility level
secondary
Citation status
Verified
DOI
Not recorded
PubMed
Not recorded
PDF
Not recorded
Original source →

Linked claims

Evidence score 2/10
Exorcism — ritual expulsion of demonic possession

Possession states are real and widely reported. Standard psychiatry maps them onto dissociative, psychotic, and culturally-shaped trance phenomena; modern exorcism deaths are well-documented.

Related evidence hubs

Topic hub
Energy, Healing & Divination

Practice claims — prayer, reiki, chakras, astrology, tarot, manifestation.

Evidence pillar
Religion & traditions

World religions and traditions, scored as systems.

Evidence pillar
Energy healing & subtle body

Reiki, chakras, auras, crystals, prayer healing.

Related sources

Philosophy reference · context
The Concept of Religion

Useful background for claims involving God, religious figures, or traditions because it clarifies what counts as a religious claim before evidence is weighed.

Secondary summary · context
Spirit possession

Companion to the exorcism entry; gives the broader anthropological / psychiatric framing of the underlying experience.

Secondary summary · context
Devil

Useful for showing that devil claims vary sharply across traditions, so the evidence question has to specify which version of the concept is being evaluated.