Interestingly, in a study done on an online diplomacy site, .00118% or approximately 1 out of 84000 people believe themselves to be an "Overlord" of said Demons.

Science cannot disprove the existence of a spirit world, the most it can say it that irs presence is unproven.

Science isn't trying to prove or disprove their existence. If you read the link you will see that they discuss what people believe and what kinds of correlations these beliefs have with mental health.

Specifically this study notes that belief in God has been studied by many scientist and has been shown to have positive coorelations with mental health. This study is therefore looking at whether belief in Demons is associated with negative effects.

Further to that, one redditor criticised the original study (which only looked at American, mostly mainstream Christian beliefs) and suggested that cross-cultural studies show that belief in demons (or evil spirits) which you can negotiate with or control in some fashion are associated with positive mental health; contrasted with those who believe in Demons who can't be controlled.

So the science seems to show that belief in having control over the adverse things in your life correlates with positive mental health. (In modern western culture you can look at how demons are represented - for example Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is a bit shakey on the whole issue... But definitely lets you makes deals, and sometimes the demons even keep their side of the bargain... Despite the fact that the usual solution presented is to murder the Demons...)

In the other hand, this psychology could be equally applied to people who don't belive in Demons, but are worried about climate change, bio-diversity loss, or other threats to our existence.

If you believe in God, why wouldn't you believe in Demons? It's all just magic creatures you can't see and which only exist in the imagination. God, Demons, the Tooth Fairy, it's all the same.

In fact I think that the existence of the Tooth Fairy is significantly more plausible than the existence of whatever "God" is supposed to be. I can at least conceive of a Tooth Fairy.

Also @deeply dippy, since you bring it ip and want to go off topic, science can prove the existance of demons, IF and only IF they exist.

If they don't exist all science can say is 'I don't know' (not the science is an I, but i'm personifying here..)

The positive correlation between belief in a magical sky daddy and mental health baffles and confuses me.

I was simply making an observation, rather than espousing a particular view.

Hi

^ definitely exists.

Demons are people who 'care' but do nothing.

I just happened to bump into this article after reading this thread: http://www.sciencealert.com/a-physicist-just-explained-why-the-large-hadron-collider-disproves-the-existence-of-ghosts

Not demons, but along the same lines.

Ehhh ghosts are real I can guarantee that.

@orathaic

"since you bring it up and want to go off topic, science can prove the existence of demons, IF and only IF they exist.

If they don't exist all science can say is 'I don't know'"

Interesting, what would science have to say, right now, about the existence of life on an undetected planet in another galaxy? Probably "There is no way to know at this time" or "there is insufficient data" Right?


I would counter that "science can prove the existence of X; if and only if X can be measured and or observed in a manner that can be replicated."

Before you go all "God of the gaps" crazy. Please remember that I pointed out what I saw as a flaw in the logic of that statement without making any assertion as to the existence of anything.

As to the article and the positive correlation between belief in God and to some extent demons and angels, it isn't really new or a surprise. One side may call it a blessing and the other may call it The Placebo Effect, but religions exist in all cultures and institutions of that nature usually don't exist for that long without having benefits for the society.

for clarity...

....but religions exist in all cultures. Institutions of that nature usually don't exist for that long without having benefits for the society.

Haven't had a chance to look too thoroughly into the post and the fact that the article is behind a paywall hinders us a bit.

Assuming the positive mental health correlation that you pointed out of believing in demons that can be controlled in some way (which is consistent with standard role of demons as tempters who can try to bring you away from God but cannot force your hand). It also goes with the idea that the more you listen to them the more influence they will have upon you [the less mental health you will have].

I would be interested in hearing more about the standard Christian [the only one I have ever heard from a Christian] approach to them "Yes, they exist; avoid them, they're bad." Which seems to have positive mental health consequences.

"Ehhh ghosts are real I can guarantee that."

Credibility meet window.

guys just so you know, i set up speakers in people's houses and pretend to haunt them. occasionally i'll sneak in and use my speed furniture stacking skills and dog-murdering abilities to freak them out. Also i've definitely burned down a few houses.

so for reference, "personal experience" isn't always reliable

@ Jamiet magic creatures you can't see

Jamiet, can you see the wind?

James you are not a demon but you are evil.

The conclusion I got from the study and the discussion is that "belief in demons" is not really a useful category for relating to mental health. People's ideas about demons vary so widely that different kinds of belief can have different kinds of impact.

Plus, jamiet99uk, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to support a belief in the tooth fairy, all those sixpence coins the tooth fairy left me, and millions of other children in exchange for our "baby" teeth...physical evidence in the form of all those coins left in exchange.. Clearly the tooth fairy is a benevolent, caring Deity, unlike the dental profession, who wreak havoc with a chap's wallet.

Belief in demons allows you to pass responsibility away from yourself for negative actions.

The Devil made me do it.

@ Randomizer

That all depends on your belief about what they are. If one believes that they are tempters who cannot directly force your actions then that isn't valid. Trying to avoid temptation and seeking redemption for wrongdoing are integral parts of most religions.

Likewise anyone who wants to avoid responsibility their actions can choose from any number of completely secular influences (ie peer pressure, economic hardship, anger management issues, etc.)

in retrospect I may have misunderstood you. I was responding to something along the lines of:

"all or most people who believe in the existence of demons are doing so to avoid personal responsibility for their actions"



If you meant only that belief in demons might open the chance for some to attempt to avoid responsibility for their actions, then I guess, perhaps it might. The belief in free will is fundamental to many religions though so giving in to temptation is a personal choice.

But most people don't want to accept the responsibility for personal choice for their negative actions. Demons become another excuse to the list you named with the added bonus of supernatural powers to make it not their fault.

most people don't want to accept the responsibility for personal choice for their negative actions.

But it worked for Geraldine Jones, who frequently referred to her unseen boyfriend, "Killer," and whose lines "The devil made me do it" and "What you see is what you get".

@ Randomizer

My first problem here is I really cannot speak to the beliefs of a huge number of strangers. I really do not know what each individual believes on this subject. It is possible that some see demons as nothing more than an excuse for their own bad behavior. On what do you base your claim?

My own belief is that demons fallen angels who tempt people away from right actions. A good reference for an analogy would be C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" admittedly not a canonical work, but I admit that it was an influential work for me. Young Anglican that I was I read many of Lewis's works. There is nothing that I have heard in any church that absolves us from any wrongdoing simply because we were tempted. Everyone is tempted. It is our duty to resist temptation.

I mean take something like the general confession

"We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickednesses."

It doesn't sound like that is passing the buck to the demons that tempted us.

Is there a differentiation between inner & external demons ?
I find demons rather dull, I'd use the description that they're only one dimensional characters, evil is all they have to offer & once the novelty wears off, well they're somewhat boring.
But the "wee folk" the sithean, the fairies, pixies, goblins etc, now there's an interesting crowd. Much more complex characters with diverse motivations compared to your "one trick" ( being evil ) demons.

(Aside: and then someone comes out and claims they have proved that Ghosts don't exist - though the same proof could be made for the set of demons who can influence us... - http://www.livescience.com/57973-has-large-hadron-collider-disproved-existence-of-ghosts.html

How does a belief in ghosts affect people's mental health ?
That's the thread topic..how belief in demons affects mental health... Existence is a separate issue... The sithean, & pixies and goblins, I think they offer more to their believers than demons do to theirs

Demons are just the "opposite" side of the good Angels from heaven... Eg Jesus & God have their "troops" the "good" angels, demons are just Satan's stormtroopers

It's all about "daemons"!

Yes the thread can easlil get off topic.
The exisitence of demons is not the question it is the effect on mental health. I work with many people who live with severe mental health issues . Scizophrenics on the whole would argue that the auditory and rarley visual aspects of that illness are quite real and terrifying. Imagine holding your new born child and a voice coming from outside of your head is screaming constantly to kill the child . This is a real thing that happened to one of my clients . She came off meds during her pregnancy and went back on after breastfeeding. She did this deliberatley and with support. In her words the most wondeful and horrifying experince of her life. So yes for a lot of people the demons are real, scary and nearly unstoppable. Other entities that may be experinced may be more benign but I would not catagories those as demons. rarley is a " good" demon experinced by those with mental ill health. the reation to this phenomenon is culturally spcific and based in wider beliefs.

The real demons in regards to Mental Illness are the ignorant , intollerant, and ordinary folks you see around walking the streets every day.

STOP STIGMA NOW.. enlighten yourselves ..Thanks for posting this topic it is good to be able to talk about it ..

Here are some australian resourses to help with learning.

anyone who feels distressed please call local help lines or talk to a friend.

be aware that topics like this do attract some genuinine people in crisis..there is help out there..

have a great day all.

www.beyondblue.org.au

www.actbelongcommit.org.au

https://www.lifeline.org.au

https://www.sane.org

"rarley is a " good" demon experinced by those with mental ill health. the reation to this phenomenon is culturally spcific and based in wider beliefs."

i doubt they would be considered ill if the voices only gave them helpful advice which increased their ability to function in the world and their quality of life...

In my experience the voices are very derogatory to the person , rarely do they advise acts of violence against others it is usually the person the voices target, in a and I quote " It's like the voice of a nightmare" 24/7 even in your sleep. And yes I have experince with Bi Polar people who are highly functioning and use their ups to advantage but this needs to monitored by trusted carers, friends and family so the peroson does not take unrealistic risks..

So the illness increases their function greatly for a period of time but is still an illness.

@Smokey, I am merely saying you have a selection bias. Of course the sick people have problematic voices, the people without problematic voices in their heads aren't considered sick, by definition.

I reached out to the author who provided me with a copy of this article. If anyone is interested in reading it I can throw it in google drive for a couple of days.