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Demonology is the study of within Religion belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or occultism. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be nonhuman separable , or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body. A sharp distinction is often drawn between these two classes, notably by the Melanesians, several African groups, and others. The jinn, for example, are not reducible to modified human souls. At the same time these classes are frequently conceived as producing identical results, e.g. diseases. "Demon" from Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, © 2006 World Almanac Education Group, retrieved from history.comvan der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst (1999), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in The Bible, Second Extensively Revised Edition, Entry: Demon, pp. 235-240, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
Greek philosophers such as Porphyry of Tyre (who claimed influence from Platonic realismCumont, Franz (1911), The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, Chapter VI: " Persia", p. 267 at Internet Sacred Text Archive.), as well as the Church Fathers, held that the world was pervaded with spirits, the latter of whom advanced the belief that demons received the worship directed at pagan gods.Augustine, The City of God, Book 8, Chapters 24-25, at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. .
Many spirits, especially those regarding natural processes, are often considered neutral or benevolent; ancient European peasant fears of the Vegetation deity would crop up during irritation, as a result of the farmer infringing on the domain of said spirit, and taking his property by cutting the corn; similarly, there is no reason why the less significant pantheon should be regarded as malevolent, and historical evidence has shown that the Petara of the Dayak people are viewed as invisible guardians of mankind rather than hostile malefactors.Greem, Eda (c. 1909), Borneo: The Land of River and Palm at the Project Canterbury website
Excluded are souls conceived as inhabiting another world. Yet just as gods are not necessarily spiritual, demons may also be regarded as corporeal; for example are sometimes described as human heads with appended entrails, which issue from the tomb to attack the living during the night watches. The incubi and succubus of the Middle Ages are sometimes regarded as spiritual beings; but they were held to give proof of their bodily existence, such as offspring (though often deformed).Masello, Robert, Fallen Angels and Spirits of The Dark, pp. 64-68, 2004, The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016, Belief in demons goes back many millennia.
There is more than one instance in Jewish medieval myth and lore where demons are said to have come to be, as seen by the Grigori angels, of Lilith leaving Adam, of demons such as , unrest spirits in Jewish mythology such as the dybbuk. Demonology at jewishencyclopedia.comJosephus, Flavius, Wars of The Jews, Book VII, Chapter VI.
Some scholars suggest that the origins of early Greek Old Testament demonology can be traced to two distinctive and often competing mythologies of evil— Adamic and Enochic.
The first tradition — the Adamic tradition — ties demons to the fall of man caused by Snake who beguiled Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Thus, the Adamic story traces the source of evil to Satan's transgression and the fall of man, a trend reflected in the Books of Adam and Eve which explains the reason for Satan's demotion by his refusal to worship and submit to God.
The other tradition — the early Enochic tradition — ties demons to the fall of angels in the antediluvian period.A. Orlov, Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (Albany, SUNY, 2011) 6. This tradition bases its understanding of the origin of demons on the story of the fallen Watchers led by Azazel. Scholars believe these two enigmatic figures—Azazel and Satan—exercised formative influence on early Jewish demonology. While in the beginning of their conceptual journeys Azazel and Satan are posited as representatives of two distinctive and often rival trends tied to the distinctive etiologies of corruption, in later Jewish and Christian demonological lore both antagonists are able to enter each other's respective stories in new conceptual capacities. In these later traditions Satanael is often depicted as the leader of the fallen angels while his conceptual rival Azazel is portrayed as a seducer of Adam and Eve. While historical Judaism never recognized any set of doctrines about demons,Mack, Carol K., Mack, Dinah (1998), A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits, p. XXXIII, New York: Henry Holt and Co., scholars believe its post-exilic concepts of eschatology, angelology, and demonology were influenced by Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism, NET Bible Study DictionaryJahanian, Daryoush, M.D., "The Zoroastrian-Biblical Connections", at Meta Religion. Some, however, believe these concepts were received as part of the Kabbalah tradition.Franck, Adolphe (1843), translated by Sossnitz, I. (1926), The Kabbalah, or, The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews, Part Two, Chapter IV, " Continuation of The Analysis of The Zohar: The Kabbalists' View of The World", p. 184 at Internet Sacred Text Archive. While many people believe today Lucifer and Satan are different names for the same being, not all scholars subscribe to this view.Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, Free Press, p. 176, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757,
A number of authors throughout Christian history have written about demons for a variety of purposes. Theologians like Thomas Aquinas wrote concerning the behaviors of which Christians should be aware, Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica, Question 114, hosted on New Advent while witch hunters like Heinrich Kramer wrote about how to find and what to do with people they believed were involved with demons. Malleus Maleficarum, hosted on the Internet Sacred Text Archive Some texts such as the Lesser Key of Solomon Lesser Key of Solomon, The Conjuration To Call Forth Any of the Aforesaid Spirits, hosted on Internet Sacred Text Archive or The Grimoire of Pope Honorius (although these, the earliest manuscripts, were from well after these individuals had died) are written with grimoire in the name of God and often were claimed to have been written by individuals respected within the Church. Arthur Edward Waite, Book of Ceremonial Magic, page 64 and page 106 These latter texts were usually more detailed, giving names, ranks, and descriptions of demons individually and categorically. Most Christians commonly reject these texts as either diabolical or fictitious. Catholics accused Lutherans of believing in diabolatry or that the devil had unlimited powers.
In modern times, some demonological texts have been written by Christians, usually in a similar vein of Thomas Aquinas, explaining their effects in the world and how faith may lessen or eliminate damage by them. Jessie Penn-Lewis, War on the Saints on Google Books, introductory chapter A few Christian authors, such as Jack Chick and John Todd, write with intentions similar to Kramer, proclaiming that demons and their human agents are active in the world. These claims can stray from mainstream ideology, and may include such beliefs as that Christian rock is a means through which demons influence people.
Not all Christians believe that demons exist in the literal sense. Some believe that the New Testament's exorcism language was originally part of curing ceremonies for what are now recognized as epilepsy, mental illness, etc.
Zakariya al-Qazwini's Aja'ib al-Makhluqat mentions seven types of animals. The jinn are classified as an animal composed of fire and can appear in many forms. Among them, the angels are created from the light of fire, the jinn from a blaze of fire, and the devils from the smoke of fire. Satan is counted among these animals. They inhabited the earth before mankind.
The German orientalist Almut Wieland-Karimi classified the Jinn in the ten most common categories mentioned in folklore literature:
The followers of Mara were also called mara, the devils, and are frequently cited as a cause of disease or representations of mental obstructions.
The mara became fully assimilated into the Chinese worldview, and were called mo.
The idea of the imminent decline and collapse of the Buddhist religion amid a "great cacophony of demonic influences" was already a significant component of Buddhism when it reached China in the first century A.D., according to Michel Strickmann. Demonic forces had attained enormous power in the world. For some writers of the time, this state of affairs had been ordained to serve the higher purpose of effecting a "preliminary cleansing" that would purge and purify humanity in preparation for an ultimate, messianic renewal.
Medieval Chinese Buddhist demonology was heavily influenced by Indian Buddhism. Indian demonology is also fully and systematically described in written sources, though during Buddhism's centuries of direct influence in China, "Chinese demonology was whipped into respectable shape," with a number of Indian demons finding permanent niches even in Taoist ritual texts. In the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra it states that heaven and hell change as the world changes and that many new hells with different demons can be created to fit the different ways that the human realm changes.
Chinese Buddhism also influenced Taoism with Diyu and the Taoists eventually came up with their own demonology lore which in turn created folk beliefs about spirits in hell which was a combination of beliefs from the two religions. However, the demons in hell are viewed differently than Abrahamic faiths who instead of being pure evil are more of guards of hell although they are still viewed as malicious beings. They are ruled over by Yama which came from Buddhism's Hindu influences but certain scriptures and beliefs also state that there are 18 different Yamas in hell which have an army of demons and undead at their side.
Also, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, a major Mahayana Buddhist text, describes fifty demonic states: the so-called fifty skandha maras, which are "negative" mirror-like reflections of or deviations from correct samādhi (meditative absorption) states. In this context demons are considered by Buddhists to be beings possessing some supernatural powers, who, in the past, might have practiced Dharma, the Buddha's teaching, but due to practicing it incorrectly failed to develop true wisdom and true compassion, which are inseparable attributes of an enlightened being such as a Buddha or a Bodhisattva. In his autobiography, The Blazing Splendor, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist master of the 20th century describes encounters with such beings. Therefore, depending on the context, in Buddhism demons may refer to both disturbed mind states and actual beings.
Islam
Many demonic or demon-like entities are not purely spiritual, but physical in nature and related to animals. Julius Wellhausen states, that Islamic demonology is always zoology as well.Tobias Nünlist Dämonenglaube im Islam Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015 page 114 (German) One prominent classification is given by al-Jahiz,Tobias Nünlist Dämonenglaube im Islam Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015 page 63 (German) who classifies jinn as:
Buddhism
Traditionally, Buddhism affirms the existence of hellsBoeree, Dr. C. George (2000), Chapter: "Buddhist Cosmology", An Introduction to Buddhism, Shippensburg University populated by demons who torment sinners and tempt mortals to sin, or who seek to thwart their Bodhi, with a demon named Mara as chief tempter, "prince of darkness", or "Evil One" in Sanskrit sources. "Demon" and "Mara" in the Glossary of Buddhist Terms at kadampa.orgStrickmann, Michel. Chinese Magical Medicine,(2002) Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Hinduism
Vedas include a range of spirits (Vetalas, Rakshasas, Bhutas, and Pishachas) that might be classified as demons. These spirits are souls of beings that have committed certain specific sins. As a purging punishment, they are condemned to roam without a physical form for a length of time, until a rebirth. Beings that died with unfulfilled desires or anger are also said to "linger" until those issues are resolved. Hindu text Atharvaveda gives an account of nature and habitats of such spirits including how to persuade / control them. There are occult traditions in Hinduism that seek to control such spirits to do their bidding. The Hindu text Garuda Purana details other kinds of punishments and judgments given out in Hell; it also gives an account of how spirits travel to various nether worlds.
Zoroastrianism
In the Zoroastrian tradition, Ahura Mazda, as the force of good Amesha Spenta, will eventually be victorious in a cosmic battle with an evil force known as Angra Mainyu or Ahriman. "Who are the Zoroastrians", at tenets.zoroastrianism.com
See also
Bibliography
Bernard, Jacob Bamberger (2025). 9780827607972, Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 9780827607972
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