General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Almost Two-Thirds of 18-29 Year Olds Believe in "Demon Possession" What Is Happening to America? [View all]ancianita
(36,048 posts)Let's face it. This survey is part of the Halloween awareness cycle that gauges public awareness of things unseen. I don't think it's any big deal. What's happening to America, in my view, is the internalizing of the imagery of evil to replace rejected theocratic notions of heaven/hell. Words like 'demon' and 'demonic' are borrowed words to describe what they see around them.
People are attracted to knowing about death, the omega, insanity, evil and other unknowns. Death and evil are realities. Perhaps, without aid of religious dogma, the surveyed here see 'demons' as a way to describe the dark sides of 'reality,' used as a way to train their fears away from feeling paralyzed or dysfunctional, and moral, independent of religious mythology. In other words, the use of these words is likely just part of a number of psychological defense mechanisms.
They probably conflate the known presence of evils in society with film/TV images of horror/crime images and language that they're awash in, that's all. That's my interpretation of these results, anyway. I'd say it's pretty harmless.