OCTOBER 9, 2003

CULTURE
Satan's higher profile: What the devil is going on?

Is Halloween Satan's holiday? Is there an "axis of evil"? Is the Antichrist among us? Can Satan inspire a mother to kill her young children?

Americans' answers to these questions may depend on their religious, political or social views. But what is clear is that Americans are reckoning with the wickedness at work in the world, and as they do it, there is more talk of Satan and evil.

Why? Religious experts and sociologists point to several factors: From terrorism to war to crime, Americans are trying to make sense of evil and, sometimes, seeking someone to blame. The existence of evil is the most troubling problem for people of any faith that believes in an all-powerful God. At the same time, evangelical Christianity has pushed talk of Satan beyond church walls through the popularity of the Left Behind series and other works.

Satan has become a popular, sensitive and much-debated topic:

• A 2003 Harris Poll found that 68 percent of Americans believe in the devil.
• Halloween celebrations have taken on increasingly religious character, from hell houses" that seek to teach visitors the consequences of evil and urge them to become Christian, to trick-or-treat alternatives that offer families a way to avoid observing Halloween and web sites that call Halloween "Satan's holiday." (See previous ReligionLink tip.)
• Most Roman Catholic dioceses have their own exorcists. The Catholic press has reported that John Paul II has conducted at least two exorcisms during his papacy.
• Evangelical Christians have seen a boom in books about "spiritual warfare," and the Left Behind series, featuring the Antichrist and the Rapture, has sold 50 million copies and topped secular best-seller lists.
• President Bush's talk of war and terrorism has included the phrases "the evildoers," "the evil ones" and "the axis of evil."
• Some Pentecostal Christians are turning to "deliverance ministries," which seek to drive out Satan when people experience drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and financial problems.
• In July 2003, the Iowa Supreme Court held that a United Methodist Church could be held liable for defamation because a church leader wrote a letter saying "the spirit of Satan" was at work in the church.
• In March 2002, Andrea Yates said she drowned her five children to save them from the devil, setting off a debate about the beliefs of Yates, her husband and their minister.
• In 2002, high schools in Devil's Lake, Mich., and Devils Lake, N.D., voted to replace long-held team names of "the Satans" because of concerns that the names and mascots were inappropriate.
• In 2001, the mayor of Inglis, Fla., got national attention by banning Satan from the city limits in reaction to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Why it Matters
Scholars and theologians talk about the balance between the need to acknowledge evil and the fallout when people demonize those who commit acts they consider inhumane. Some say labeling people "evil" or "devils" can lead to the dehumanization of people who hold different beliefs - thinking that has led to atrocious slaughters such as the Holocaust and wars of genocide.

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Questions for reporters
• How do people of different religions think about Satan and other forms of absolute evil?
• Why do most world religions include some devilish character in their cosmologies?
• What role does belief in Satan, or absolute evil, play in belief in God, or the absolute good? Is one required for true depth of the other?
• Is American discourse more concerned with Satan and references to evil? Why?
• What are the dangers and benefits of assigning one's opponents a devilish or evil status?

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National sources
• Robert C. Fuller is a religious studies professor at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. He is author of Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession (Oxford University Press, 1996). He says the notion of an "evil enemy" rallies individuals and brings out their utmost devotion, leading them to do things they otherwise would think abhorrent, such as murdering an abortion doctor. Since the days of Plymouth Rock, he says, Americans have been obsessed with an evil adversary - communism, feminists, abortion doctors. He points out that by demonizing enemies, people are justifying behavior towards them. Contact 309-677-3283, RCF@bradley.edu.
• Carl Raschke is a professor of religious studies at the University of Denver in Colorado and author of the forthcoming The Next Reformation (Baker Books, 2004). Dr. Rashcke can trace the origin of Satan from ancient Zoroastrianism to Judaism and Christianity and outline the relationship between a belief in absolute evil and how it informs a belief in absolute good. He can also talk about the history of belief in the devil. Contact 303-871-3206, craschke@du.edu.
• Daniel Matt is an expert in Jewish mysticism and author of The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism (Harper SanFrancisco, 1995). He can discuss Jewish ideas of Satan and absolute evil. He says public discourse on Satan and evil has increased during the last 15 years due to a rise in religiosity in the West and increased awareness of evil human conduct. Contact by email only at danielmatt@sbcglobal.net.
• Michael W. Cuneo is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Fordham University in New York, N.Y., and author of American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in The Land of Plenty (Doubleday, 2001) and Almost Midnight: An American Story of Murder and Redemption (Broadway Books, 2004). He says American public life has experienced an "explosion of Puritanism" for the last decade or so, from the hand-wringing over former President Bill Clinton's sex life to the current rhetoric about Iraq from the White House. And because Puritanism requires a devil, an absolute evil, Americans are demonizing people they see as transgressors. So at many levels of American discourse, he says, Satan is a necessity. Cuneo is also an expert in exorcism and can discuss the viewpoint that blaming personal transgressions on the influence of demons provides "an instant fix" to personal problems and erases personal responsibility. Contact 718-817-3857, mcuneo@fordham.edu.
• Jeffrey Burton Russell is an emeritus professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara in California. He has written extensively on the nature and role of Satan, Satanism and evil in American society. He believes that public discourse about Satan has been on the rise for about the last eight years and that it increased after 9/11. He cautions that too much demonizing of the enemy or the "other" can lead to scapegoating, something he describes as "very dangerous." Contact 805-967-2529, jeffbrussell@aol.com.
• David Cook is a professor of Islamic studies at Rice University in Houston. He is a specialist in Muslim apocalyptic literature and movements and can discuss the Islamic idea of absolute evil and the dajjal, the Muslim version of the Antichrist. Contact 713-348-2440, dbcook@rice.edu.
• Terrence Tilley is a professor of philosophy of religion and Catholic theology at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. He says Catholics think of Satan not so much as the presence of evil, but as the absence of God. He warns against aligning one's enemies too strongly with the devil because "demonization is dehumanization." Contact 937-228-7122, tilley@udayton.edu.
• Amy Plantinga Pauw is a professor of doctrinal theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., who can discuss the mainline Protestant idea of Satan and evil. She says mainline Protestants are less likely to have a personified idea of Satan because they generally reject a dualistic worldview. But she says the idea of Satan is coming back into Christian thought in terms of "sinful webs and structures," such as destructive governments and immoral companies. Contact 502-895-3411, amypauw@lpts.edu.

Background

• Read a Beliefnet.com compilation of beliefs about the devil in different religions.
• Read a 2003 Harris Poll that shows that 68 percent of Americans believe in the devil.
• Read an August 2002 Barna poll that shows that 59 percent of Americans doubt the physical existence of Satan and a June 2001 poll on the same question.
• Read a Nov. 29, 2001, St. Petersburg Times story about the mayor of Inglis, Fla., who banned Satan from the city because of the events of Sept. 11.
• Read a May 3, 2003, Dallas Morning News story about Oklahoma evangelist Bishop Carlton Pearson, who made waves when he was quoted as saying that the devil might go to heaven.
• Read an article from Agence France-Presse posted on Beliefnet.com describing how Andrea Yates believed that she was saving her children from Satan.
• Read an essay on evil by Time magazine columnist Lance Morrow, author of Evil: An Investigation (Basic Books, 2003).
• Read the Iowa Supreme Court's June 11, 2003, decision that a church member could seek redress after a church leader publicly stated that the spirit of Satan was at work in the church.