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UK News

Immigration behind 'astonishing' rise in exorcisms

by Eno Adeogun

Theos' report - which examines the relationship between Christianity and mental health - includes interviews from people about their experiences in the mental health sector and said that of those having exorcisms "the perspective of several Christians working in the mental health sphere said that, in the vast majority of cases, the person in question was suffering with mental health issues which required psychiatric assistance".

It also explains many exorcisms take place in defiance of rules and procedures set up by churches such as "The House of Bishops' Guidelines for Good Practice in the Deliverance Ministry 1975 (revised 2012), produced by the Church of England.

www.theosthinktank.co.uk

Ben Ryan, a researcher at Theos and the author of the report told Premier why the Church should be involved with engaging in mental health problems.

He said during News Hour that Jesus instructed people "to go out and to heal the sick and obviously mental illness is a sickness which we should therefore be aiming at". 

He added: "There is quite a strong body of evidence which says that Christianity can be good for mental health.

"We need to get involved because this has become a kind of national crisis with about 1 in 10 adults are now suffering from mental illness so we're just called to be involved because this is becoming an absolute sort of epidemic problem.

The increased demand is attributed in Ryan's findings to migrant communities and Pentecostal churches which are more open about their exorcism services.

Ryan said: "There has been an increased focus in the Anglican Church on exorcisms, and partially that's in response to increased demand. They have been getting more and more people calling them saying there's demand for this.

"Outside the established church, there's a huge increase which you can see with your own eyes. If you walk down the Old Kent Road there are flyers and stickers everywhere."

Highlighting the potential dangers to the rise in exorcisms, the report explains: "Jesus' command was to heal the sick and to cast out demons. The two are not synonymous. Just as for physical ailments we recommend seeking medical assistance, so it must be for mental illness.

"This is not to discount the possibility of demonic attacks, but it is to apply caution, in order to ensure that we are best looking after the needs of sufferers."

A spokesman for the Church of England said: "The Church of England takes deliverance ministry very seriously and treats each case in a pastoral and private way. Any case would be dealt with locally through the diocese.

"Our guidelines state that particular caution needs to be exercised, especially when ministering to someone who is in a distressed or disturbed state."

Listen to Ben Ryan speaking with Premier's Tola Mbakwe:

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