In 2022, the HRC’s Works that Shaped the World public lecture series focuses on religion.

When William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist appeared in 1971 it proved a publishing phenomenon, publicizing an arcane Catholic rite which had largely fallen into disuse. The resonance of the book was only amplified two years later when the movie version appeared, reviving interest in exorcism which reverberates in popular culture today. Drawing inspiration from a “real life” case of demonic possession, the novel and film touched on various American cultural anxieties at the end of the long 1960s.

This public lecture will focus on The Exorcist’s American Catholic origins and context. Appearing soon after the Second Vatican Council (1962 1965), The Exorcist reveals a transition between the “Fortress Church” built by successive waves of European migrants and the All-American Church of the Kennedys. This presentation will offer a series of reflections on The Exorcist’s place in American religious history, and whether—paraphrasing the novel itself—it should be read as a testimony of power of Christ or as a far too vulgar display of power.

Presenter

Dr Bernard Doherty is Course Director in the School of Theology at Charles Sturt University based at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra. He is also an adjunct lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, and an Honorary Research Fellow at INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), King’s College, London. Bernard’s research interests include New Religious Movements, Patristics, Australian religious history, Church and State issues, religion and the media.