Confidence in society, exorcism, and paranormal practices : the mediating and moderating role of spirituality

This chapter examines the role of spirituality in the relationship between confidence in Australian society and paranormal outcomes involving belief in demons and the practice of exorcism among different religious and non-religious groups of Australian Facebook users (N = 760; Female: 60%). It provides an understanding of the nature of paranormal phenomena among different individuals in relation to their experience of spirituality and confidence in Australian religious, health, legal, and educational institutions. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, we assessed the role of spirituality in the relationship between confidence in Australian society and paranormal practices involving belief in demons and practice of exorcism among five religious and/or non-religious groups: Christian, NonChristian, No Religion, Spiritual, and those who identify with Paganism. Compared to other groups, pagan participants scored higher in paranormal practices involving belief in demons and practice of exorcism but significantly lower in scores of levels of confidence in society. Female participants also scored significantly higher in paranormal practices than their male counterparts. Overall, further analysis indicates the mediating and moderating effects of spirituality in the relationship between confidence in society and the practice of exorcism. The moderating effect was such that confidence in Australian society was negatively related to the practice of exorcism among spiritual participants compared to those who are not spiritual. On the other hand, the mediating effect suggests that spirituality could account for the negative relationship between confidence in society and practice of exorcism. This implies that spirituality contributes to the way through which lack of confidence in society influences practices of exorcism. These findings shed further light on de Certeau's classic study of exorcism and his hypothesis that the devil is more likely to emerge in times of crisis.