cure than a punishment. The mainstream rituals usually take this into account, making sure that there is no violence to the possessed, only that they be tied down if there is potential for violence.

Requested and performed exorcisms began to decline in the United States by the 18th century, and occurred rarely until the latter half of the 20th century when the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms received. There was "a 50% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s".