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The term demonic possession is used when the spirit is malignant (a demon), whereas incorporation or channelling may be used in the case of supposed benign spirits.
Some religions — in particular, most Abrahamic religions — do not admit the existence of benefical spiritual possessions; so, if they admit the concept at all, they automatically consider any spiritual possession as malign. Many of those religions have ritual practices to drive out ( exorcize) the evil spirit.
Charismatic Christianity does contain a tradition of individuals being possessed by the Holy Spirit, and either Speaking in tongues, or experiencing some other manifestation of possession.Many other creeds, including Shamanism and many African and Afro-American religions, teach that spiritual possession may be benign as well as malign, and their rituals often include incorporation: either of spiritual deities, such as the OrishaThis article is about the god. Orishas is also the name of a hip-hop/latino fusion band whose members are Cubans living in Spain. Orixa is also the name of a rock en espanol/alternative rock band. An Orisha orixa is a spirit reflecting a particular aspect of the Yoruba, or of the ghostThis article is about the paranormal. For other meanings, see Ghost (disambiguation). England Ghosts are the supposed apparitions of the dead. A ghost is often thought to be the spirit or soul of a person who has remained on Earth after death. Every cultus of deceased people, as in Kardecism. Depending on the religion, the person who is possessed may be a priest, or a specially gifted medium, or a lay member.
Some cases of demonic possession may also be explainable by purely psychological or social causes, e.g. hysteria — roughly, a grown-up versions of children tantrums. In fact this explanation was liberally mis-applied since the 19th century. In the past, demonic possession may also have been alleged (by the subject or by others) in order to excuse behavior which would otherwise be severely punished — just as temporary insanity is used today in courts of law.
Incarnations are often feigned by dishonest priests and mediums for fraudulent puposes, e.g. by pretending to communicate with someone's deceased relatives in exchange for payment of "donations". The famous U.S. escape artist Houdini was instrumental in exposing several such frauds in the 1920s.