# 1 out of 70 people believe they've been possessed by Satan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295 "2004-08-17T20:48:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/1 "2004-08-17T20:48:47Z")
They radio station I listen to occasionally mentions fun facts like this. My question is: is this true? I find this hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/2 "2004-08-17T23:29:53Z")
Gee, I don’t know about that statistic. It seems kind **BOW BEFORE ME YOU FILTHY CHRISTIAN! I WILL RULE THE EARTH IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS EVIL! EVERYONE WILL BEND TO MY WILL! HA HA HA HA!** of made up to me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/3 "2004-08-18T02:06:47Z")
Rou REALLY wouldn’t want to know how many people claim to have had sex with farm animals ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/4 "2004-08-18T02:27:55Z")
I bet they include folks who think Satan manipulated them into eating that naughty piece of cheescake and ruining their diet. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/5 "2004-08-18T02:54:20Z")
One of the stated claims on [this site](http://www.religioustolerance.org/sch_vio6.htm) is that: > [@](#): > > Any PC built after 1985 has the storage capacity to house an evil spirit . ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/6 "2004-08-18T03:00:52Z")
More proof that in any survey you can get 1% of the respondants to answer “Yes” to anything. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/7 "2004-08-18T03:13:18Z")
There is no way that this is even close to being true. The most common reason for someone to believe that they are truly possessed by Satan is because of schizophrenia. All forms of schizophrenia only occur in about 1% of the population and only a small subset of those believe that they are possessed by Satan. [http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm](http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm) This is a very interesting site that gives detailed instruction on how to differentiate someone that is mentally ill that believes that they are possessed from someone that is _truly possessed._. [http://au.geocities.com/neville222/g5c\_demons.html](http://au.geocities.com/neville222/g5c_demons.html) Do a google search on “schizophrenia demonic possession” to find more pages like this one. There are a surprising number. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/8 "2004-08-18T03:22:32Z")
Also, about how many people have you met in your lifetime (10,000? 50,000?). How many of those believed that they were possessed by Satan? Even assuming the low number of 10,000 that means that 140 of those should have claimed to be possessed by Satan. Even if they didn’t tell it to you directly, that kind of thing tends to get around. I have met exactly one person that claimed to be possessed by Satan. That was in a psychiatric ward and he did have schizoprenia. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/9 "2004-08-18T04:19:49Z")
I’m with Revtim. I think the question had to be worded such that any true believer who had succumbed to temptation would answer yes. I went to a Baptist Elementary School as a kid. One teacher in particular never had a whim or inspiration in her life, to hear her tell it. Any sudden idea that was generous or turned out well was God talking to her. We never heard about it, but I assume that if she ever did anything bad, it would be Satan’s fault. She would have been responsible, because she had been weak, but she would have interpreted the motive force for the act as coming from outside her. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/10 "2004-08-18T05:25:14Z")
I worked with a guy who was a member of a charismatic, speaking-in-tongues Christian church. One of the odd things he “learned” in church was that many illnesses, including depression, were caused by demons. :rolleyes: It was a jolt to me to hear that some churches still teach that stuff in the 21st century. If there are more than a few churches out there with that sort of theology, then it wouldn’t be surprising to find folks who caught the flu and mistook it for Old Scratch. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/11 "2004-08-18T05:54:30Z")
My father’s church had a get-together type thing. The adults went to every child, praying for them. Once they got to me, they stopped, all of them gathered, and started saying stuff like, “Devil, let go of this child!” This went on for five minutes. So, according to them, I am possesed by Satan (or was). ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/12 "2004-08-18T06:07:53Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > My father’s church had a get-together type thing. The adults went to every child, praying for them. Once they got to me, they stopped, all of them gathered, and started saying stuff like, “Devil, let go of this child!” This went on for five minutes. So, according to them, I am possesed by Satan (or was). Well damm, guy. Don’t leave us hanging. Did you get better? And what brought this on in the first place? I’ve been to some seriously fundy churches in my time but I’ve never seen anyone actually accuse a fellow member of being posessed by the devil. A very hardcore bunch there. 😛 Regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/13 "2004-08-18T06:33:11Z")
I’m a Devil worshipper. Does that count as being “possessed”? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/14 "2004-08-18T06:36:40Z")
Not unless you get lucky. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/15 "2004-08-18T07:06:54Z")
devilsnew, devilsgnu ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/16 "2004-08-18T07:42:00Z")
Anybody know how often the RC rite of exorcism is performed? I once asked a priest about this, and he said that he had NEVER heard of an exorcism ceremony being performed. From this I would gather that demonic posession is a quite rare event. Which brings up the question: now that the world population is pushing 8 billion, demonic posession OUGHT to be much more common than in medieval times, simply because of the sheer numbers of hosts that Satan has available to him.Did I say SATAN? Where did HE go anyway?? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/17 "2004-08-18T11:11:07Z")
What **Exapno Mapcase** said. Doesn’t matter what you ask, a certain percentage will just say ‘Yes’, or ‘No’ anyway. Three reasons; [ul] [li]Don’t understand the question, but don’t want to say so.[/li][li]Don’t understand anything at all and don’t realise it.[/li][li]Are just having a laugh.[/li][/ul] Usually people are used to be asked ‘You sure?’ when they are obviously totally out there with their answers. So they may expect the questioner to follow it up and get a better answer. But those who take the surveys are, quite correctly, trained not to make any assumptions or show doubt in someone’s answers, no matter how unlikely they may seem. So you always get a small percentage of bizarre answers that are quite possibly incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/18 "2004-08-18T11:44:19Z")
When I was in college in St. Louis, I hung out with an occultist crowd. One guy I knew peripherally had an incense burner hanging from the ashtray in his car. I noticed it while he was giving me a ride and remarked on it. He told me with an absolutely straight face: “There’s a demon in this car.” I looked in his eyes and saw he was _not_ kidding. I did not exactly feel confident riding in a car with someone who believed that. He sparked up the charcoal in the incense burner and loaded it up with River Jordan incense, which presumably kept the demon at bay for the rest of the ride and we reached our destination safely. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/19 "2004-08-18T13:18:05Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Anybody know how often the RC rite of exorcism is performed? When I was in college, I knew a woman whose husband was convinced she was carrying the child of Satan. They discussed it with their minister, who suggested an exorcism. They had that done, but the father (biological, not theological) decided it didn’t take. His wife kicked him to the curb for being a loony. Later, she was talking to the minister and, in an attempt to lighten things up, he asked her, “So, have you picked out any names yet?” “Sure,” she said. “Damien.” ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295/20 "2004-08-18T13:32:42Z")
I have been frequently possesed by Miroslav Satan. Not that much happens, but I can all of a sudden ice skate like, well, a man possessed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-out-of-70-people-believe-theyve-been-possessed-by-satan/260295.md?page=2)