기독교 교역자들이 주장하는 귀신들림에 대한 정신의학적 고찰

Psychiatric Study on Demon Possession Alleged by Protestant Clergymen

Opinions and experiences about demon possession and mental disease were collected from clergymen in the western area o f Gyeongsangnamdo by the mail questionnaire and direct interview. The results can be summarized as follows; 1) The majority of respondents thought that demons were fallen angels(92.3%) and existing at that time(96.6% ). Many of them(63.2%) thought that the incidence of demon possession was increasing. 2) The majority of respondents(94.9%) had seen individuals possessed by demons and they believed in the existence of demon possession firmly. Those who were possessed by demons were mainly females, in their 20th and 30th, with short academic career, in low SES and with shamanistic beliefs. 3) Many respondents thought that mental diseases were different from demon possession (94.0% ) and it was possible to distinguish between them (67.5 % ). Violent behavior, soliloquy, avoidance of eye contacts with clergyman, bizarre voice, social withdrawal and auditory hallucination were regarded as features of demon possession. 4) As the the cause of demon possession, many respondents regarded non-religious factors such as psychological conflict or trauma(59.0%) and personalityC 10.3%), while smaller number of them regarded religious factors such as own sin or unbelief(35 .0%) and divine providence(12 .8 % ). Many respondents(76.2%) had treated individuals possessed by demons with religious healing techniques only, but many respondents 61 .5 %) also thought that medical treatments must be combined. 5) Many respondents(72.6%) never studied mental diseases and their knowledge about mental diseases were mainly from the Bible. 6) Cases of demon possession collected by mail questionnaire can be diagnosed as follows : 37.5%, schizophrenia，34.4%, atypical psychosis and schizophreniform disorder, and the remainder, dissociative disorder, mood disorder and delirium tremens. 7) Symptomatic features of demon possession were not different from the symptoms of mental illness, and the cases of demon possession were not essentially different from mental diseases. Through mutual understanding and cooperation, both clergymen and psychiatrists can find better ways of treating the individuals possessed by demons and get deeper insights about human psyche.