Demon Possession, Neoliberalism, & Evangelical Spiritual Warfare | Sean McCleod

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In this episode, we talk with Sean McCleod about the theological, cultural, and political logic behind contemporary belief in demon possession, spiritual warfare, and deliverance ministries within Third Wave Evangelicalism.

How did demons return to the center of American religious life? What distinguishes Third Wave charismatic Demonology from earlier Pentecostal or Catholic demon-hunting? And how does the language of spiritual warfare intersect with neoliberal ideas about free will, agency, responsibility, and selfhood?

Drawing from the sociology of religion, political theology, and cultural history, this conversation explores:

The rise of Third Wave Evangelicalism and charismatic Christianity

Deliverance ministry and modern exorcism practices

Generational curses and the psychology of spiritual warfare

The legacy of the 1980s Satanic Panic

Prosperity gospel theology and market-oriented spirituality

Neoliberalism and the construction of the “responsible” Christian self

Conspiracy culture, apocalypticism, and American politics

We also look at these developments in the context of a broader media history that includes films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, which helped reintroduce demonology into mainstream American imagination. From there, we trace how spiritual warfare theology became normalised within evangelical institutions and how it continues to shape contemporary political and religious discourse.

Rather than dismissing belief in demons as irrational or fringe, this episode asks a deeper question: What social, economic, and theological conditions make demonology feel plausible—and even necessary—within late modern America?

For scholars of religion, clergy, graduate students, and anyone interested in evangelical theology, charismatic Christianity, political theology, or the intersection of capitalism and spirituality, this episode offers a sustained, two-hour analysis of one of the most misunderstood features of modern American religion.