“The Girl Power of Christ Compels You!”: Female Exorcists Past and Present
Exorcism is a man’s job. Christian churches legislate on who can carry out an exorcism, and independent charismatic healers tend overwhelmingly to be men. Yet there are exceptions. Ancient Syriac hagiography includes accounts of female saints who can cast out and repel demons, and the early 2010s sa...
| Authors: | ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Religion & theology
Year: 2024, Volume: 31, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 242-262 |
| Further subjects: | B
Syriac hagiography
B Women B Television B Gender B Exorcism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Exorcism is a man’s job. Christian churches legislate on who can carry out an exorcism, and independent charismatic healers tend overwhelmingly to be men. Yet there are exceptions. Ancient Syriac hagiography includes accounts of female saints who can cast out and repel demons, and the early 2010s saw the rise of the so-called “teenage exorcists” in the USA, Brynne Larson and Tess and Savannah Scherkenback. In this article we examine the ancient stories of holy women casting out demons and the media reports and Brynne Larson’s book on the ministry she and her friends carried out. We find that while female exorcists challenge the boundaries of gender in religious identity, they nonetheless reflect a form of idealized femininity in a man’s world. |
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| ISSN: | 1574-3012 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion & theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15743012-bja10083 |
