The Church Sinister: The Devil's Works and the Anglican Church on British Television
Article
Harmes, Marcus, Harmes, Meredith and Harmes, Barbara. 2023. "The Church Sinister: The Devil's Works and the Anglican Church on British Television." Journal of Religion in Europe. 16 (1), pp. 3-27. https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10073
| Article Title | The Church Sinister: The Devil's Works and the Anglican Church on British Television |
|---|---|
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Harmes, Marcus, Harmes, Meredith and Harmes, Barbara |
| Journal Title | Journal of Religion in Europe |
| Journal Citation | 16 (1), pp. 3-27 |
| Number of Pages | 25 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Publisher | Brill |
| Place of Publication | Netherlands |
| ISSN | 1874-8929 |
| 1874-8910 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10073 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://brill.com/view/journals/jre/aop/article-10.1163-18748929-bja10073/article-10.1163-18748929-bja10073.xml |
| Abstract | The exorcism of Michael Taylor in 1974, which led to murder, pushed Anglican exorcisms into the public gaze. This article proposes a particular trajectory of Anglicanism and the preternatural into popular culture and popular awareness of religion. The Taylor case was one of the catalysts for private anxiety among clergy about the preternatural in the Church of England. By the early 1970s, some clergy ignited public debate including open letters and television appearances to declare the Church of England should not exorcise and complete belief in the accounts of the Gospels was not necessary. Their debate moved to television, some clergy declaring on talk shows the Church should not exorcise, others consenting to be filmed exorcising. Clergy exorcising on screen gave visual cues and content to fictional drama that traversed different genres and channels. This article identifies a common element to drama showcasing the Church and the preternatural, showing the institution and its clergy as weak or absent in the face of evil. Drama brought to the fore clerical concerns that engaging publicly with the preternatural made the Church seem theologically confused and denuded of spiritual authority, a point reinforced by the tragic real-world consequences of the Anglican exorcism of Michael Taylor. |
| Keywords | satanism; witchcraft; Church of England; exorcism; |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Contains sensitive content |
| Sensitive Handling Note | Contains traumatic content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 430304. British history |
| Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
| Byline Affiliations | University of Southern Queensland |
Permalink -
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/v86x4/the-church-sinister-the-devil-s-works-and-the-anglican-church-on-british-television
36
total views4
total downloads6
views this month0
downloads this month
Export as
Related outputs
Chariots of the gods, ships in the sky: how unidentified aerial phenomena left their mark in ancient cultures
Charles, Michael B., Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva and Harmes, Marcus. 2023. "Chariots of the gods, ships in the sky: how unidentified aerial phenomena left their mark in ancient cultures." The Conversation.Introduction
Copley, Julie, Harmes, Marcus, McKibbin, Sarah and Patrick, Jeremy. 2023. "Introduction." Queensland History Journal. 25 (7), pp. 527-529.Unseen Universities and Seen Academics: An Introduction
Scully, Richard and Harmes, Marcus K.. 2023. "Unseen Universities and Seen Academics: An Introduction." Harmes, Marcus K. and Scully, Richard (ed.) Academia and Higher Learning in Popular Culture. Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1-30Coronations – real and imagined – on the screen: the outrageously disrespectful, the controversial and the tasteful
Harmes, Marcus. 2023. "Coronations – real and imagined – on the screen: the outrageously disrespectful, the controversial and the tasteful." The Conversation.O tempora: The current presence of classics and ancient history in Australian and New Zealand public universities
Charles, Michael B. and Harmes, Marcus. 2023. "O tempora: The current presence of classics and ancient history in Australian and New Zealand public universities ." Arts and Humanities in Higher Education: an international journal of theory, research and practice. 22 (3), p. 235–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/14740222221137856Children's Picturebooks, Epiphanies, and the 1914 Christmas Truce
Kerby, Martin, Harmes, Marcus and Baguley, Margaret. 2022. "Children's Picturebooks, Epiphanies, and the 1914 Christmas Truce." Bookbird: a journal of international children's literature. 60 (4), pp. 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2022.0059
Without free-to-air, we wouldn’t have Doctor Who in the archives. What will we lose when it moves to Disney?
Harmes, Marcus. 2022. "Without free-to-air, we wouldn’t have Doctor Who in the archives. What will we lose when it moves to Disney?" The Conversation.Humanities and the Politics of Higher Education in 1980s Popular Culture
Harmes, Marcus and Harmes M.. 2022. "Humanities and the Politics of Higher Education in 1980s Popular Culture." History of Humanities. 7 (2), pp. 279-303. https://doi.org/10.1086/721314Is it Time to Rationalise Humanities Education in Australian Public Universities?
Charles, Michael B., Harmes, Marcus and Kortt, Michael A.. 2022. "Is it Time to Rationalise Humanities Education in Australian Public Universities? " Economic Papers: a journal of applied economics and policy. 41 (3), pp. 202-214. https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-3441.1235960 years and 14 Doctors: how Doctor Who has changed with the times – and Ncuti Gatwa’s casting is the natural next step
Harmes, Marcus. 2022. "60 years and 14 Doctors: how Doctor Who has changed with the times – and Ncuti Gatwa’s casting is the natural next step." The Conversation.