During certain periods in Christian Europe, especially the Middle Ages, worship of demons and the practice of witchcraft brought about the wrath of both church and people on those suspected of practicing diabolical rites, such as the black mass. One formula from the black mass (the mass said in reverse and with an inverted crucifix on the altar) has survived in popular magic: “hocus-pocus,” an abbreviated from of “Hoc est corpus meum” (“This is my body”), the words of institution in the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. Witchcraft and sorcery have been closely associated with demonology in the thought of Christianity, especially in the West.
In the second half of the 20th century, in connection with a renewed interest in the supernatural, there was evidence of a revival of demon worship and black magic, although this was generally restricted to small cults that proved to be quite ephemeral.
Angelology and demonology in Islam are closely related to similar doctrines in Judaism and Christianity. Besides the four throne bearers of Allah, four other angels are well known: Jibrīl (Gabriel), the angel of revelation; Mīkāl (Michael), the angel of nature, providing humans with food and knowledge; ʿIzrāʾīl, the angel of death; and Isrāfīl, the angel who places the soul in the body and sounds the trumpet for the Last Judgment. Demons also contend for control of human lives, the most prominent being Iblīs (the Devil), who tempts humans, or Shayṭan, or Satan. In the religions of the East
As noted earlier, the function of angels in Eastern religions was carried by avatars, bodhisattvas, and other such spiritual beings who were extensions of God or the sacred. Belief in demons was and is very widespread, influencing various rituals and practices to counteract the forces that are hostile to humans and nature. In Hinduism the asuras (the Zoroastrian ahuras) are the demons who oppose the devas (the gods). Both vied for the homa, or the amrita (the sacred drink that gives power), but the god Vishnu (the preserver), incarnated as a beautiful woman (Mohini), aided the gods so that they alone would drink the amrita, thus giving them power over the demons. Among the various classes of Hindu asuras (demons) are nagas (serpent demons), Ahi (the demon of drought), and Kamsa (an archdemon). Demons that afflict humans include the rakshasas, grotesque and hideous beings of various shapes who haunt cemeteries, impel people to perform foolish acts, and attack sadhus (saintly persons), and pishachas, beings who haunt places where violent deaths have occurred. Buddhists often view their demons as forces that inhibit humans from achieving nirvana (bliss or the extinction of desire). Included among such beings are Mara, an arch tempter who, with his daughters, Rati (Desire), Raga (Pleasure), and Tanha (Restlessness), attempted to dissuade Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, from achieving his Enlightenment. As Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism spread to Tibet, China, and Japan, many of the demons of the folk religions of these areas were incorporated into Buddhist beliefs. The demons of Chinese religions, the guei-shen, are manifested in all aspects of nature. Beside these nature demons there are goblins, fairies, and ghosts. Because the demons were believed to avoid light, the Chinese who were influenced by Daoism and folk religions used bonfires, firecrackers, and torches to ward off the guei. Japanese religions are similar to Chinese religions in the multiplicity of demons with which humans must contend. Among the most fearsome of the Japanese demons are the oni, evil spirits with much power, and the tengu, spirits that possess human beings and that generally must be exorcised by priests.
Guanyin and attendant bodhisattvas, detail of a painted mural, early 8th century, Tang dynasty, from Cave 57, Dunhuang, Gansu province, China.Chen Zhi'an/ChinaStock Photo Library In nonliterate religions
The spiritual beings of nonliterate religions of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas are generally viewed as malevolent or benevolent according to circumstances rather than because of their inherent nature. Eshu, a god of the Yoruba of Nigeria, for example, is looked upon as a protective benevolent spirit as well as a spirit with an evil power that may be directed toward one’s enemies. These beings possess what is called mana (supernatural power), a Melanesian term that can be applied both to spirits and to persons of special status, such as chiefs or shamans. In nonliterate religions the spirits of nature are generally venerated in return for certain favours or to ward off catastrophes, much in the manner of the religion of ancient Rome. Ancestor gods abound, and thus the ghosts of the dead must be placated, often with the performance of elaborate rites. Linwood Fredericksen
Citation Information
Article Title: Angel and demon
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 29 May 2019
URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/angel-religion
Access Date: August 10, 2019
Additional Reading
C. Jouco Bleeker and Geo Widengren (eds.), Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions, vol. 1, Religions of the Past (1969), and vol. 2, Religions of the Present (1971), contains helpful sections on the role of angels and demons in chapters on the various religions, as well as a very usable bibliography. J.B. Noss, Man’s Religions, 4th ed. (1969), contains useful sections on angels and demons. Gustav Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels (1967); and Rossell H. Robbins, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology (1959), are Western-oriented. R.C. Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism (1961), has excellent sections on the role of angels and demons in Zoroastrianism and their relationship to Hindu spiritual beings. Robert M. Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity, 2nd ed. (1966), contains useful sections relating angelic and demonic figures of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism to Gnostic speculation. See also Jeffrey B. Russell, Satan: the Early Christian Tradition (1981).