EXORCISMS & RELIGION IN MADAGASCAR :

 
Dedicated to studying how various cultures view Christianity and various forms of spirituality Dr. Robert Bennett discussed his study of demon possession, exorcism, and spiritual warfare in Madagascar, as well as his research into Haitian voodoo, on Monday's show. Traveling to Madagascar, an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa, he conducted interviews about the incredible growth of Christianity there, as well as met many practitioners of the traditional religion, including witch doctors, mediums, and diviners. The indigenous people believe in "animism," a world view that natural physical entities are all imbued with a spiritual essence, and this realm of spirits can be manipulated for various goals.

Many of the locals who have converted to Christianity still interact with spirits and the supernatural, and exorcism is sometimes practiced on them to undo their possession, said Bennett, adding that mass exorcisms and exorcisms of locations also take place. The Christian church there views these animistic spirits as demons, and deceptions of the devil cloaked in different masks. Madagascar is known for its practice of "reburial," where every three years the dead are exhumed from immaculate tombs, and the ancestor spirits are celebrated, then returned to the tomb. Those who have converted to Christianity have been moving away from this practice, he noted.

Bennett described one exorcism he dealt with-- a family that had dealt with "ghost children" in their home for over 30 years. By conducting an exorcism of the place, saying "be gone in the name of Jesus," the spirits have stayed away for over three years now, he reported. "We all view things with a different lens or world view. If I believe in ghosts and spirits, and crossing over, and things like that, it's going to be impossible for me to believe the biblical picture of things, because the two just don't fit together," he remarked. Bennett also traveled to Haiti and studied Voodoo there, which he described as mixing traditional African religion with re-interpretations of Christian elements.