Shamans serve as mediators between the human world and the spirit world. They communicate with spirits to achieve certain aims for individuals or communities, such as physical healing or alleviation of a disaster.

Unlike Buddhist monks or Hindu priests, shamans embrace spirit possession, said Chansamone Saiyasak, founder of Mekong Evangelical Mission in Thailand. “Shamanistic practices address basic needs, from health and security to social belonging and self-esteem, similar to Maslow’s hierarchy,” Saiyasak said.

In other parts of the world, an encounter with mystical forces beyond human comprehension may occur through consuming psychedelics like ayahuasca, a South American Indigenous concoction with hallucinogenic properties, or when seeing a sangoma, a South African witch doctor, to connect with an ancestor.

In Asia, engaging with spirits or divine entities is an activity that is often centered on the role of the shaman. Seeking counsel from a shaman is often seen as a legitimate and effective way to deal with everyday matters in life, from deciding who to marry to removing bad luck and healing diseases or illnesses.

Belief in the supernatural is widespread in the region: A majority of adults in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam say they believe in a god or unseen beings, according to Pew Research Center. Having an otherworldly experience is commonplace as well. “We often experience evil spirits before we experience the Holy Spirit,” said author Justin Tan in a CT piece on the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Christianity Today interviewed seven scholars on how shamanism shows up in certain Asian contexts, what its key sources are, how it has influenced their churches, and what Bible verses challenge it.

In South Korea, shamanism is growing in popularity as younger shamans work through YouTube and other social media platforms to assuage citizens’ anxiety for the future. In Japan and Thailand, animistic beliefs form the bedrock of shamanistic rituals. In Indonesia, people may regard pastors as “spiritual shamans” who wield special powers. And in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, folk religion, folk Catholicism, and Daoism (Taoism) have helped shamanism to thrive because many of their rituals encourage people to appease a spirit or venerate a deity.

While shamanism has helped to develop a greater awareness of the spirit world across many parts of Asia, engaging in shamanistic rituals or practices invites syncretism, opens up room for evil spirits to influence a person’s life, and goes against God’s injunctions on spiritism and sorcery, say these Christian leaders. Their responses can be found in the drop-down list above or linked below:

Indonesia Kristian Kusumawardana, head of the bachelor’s degree program in theology at Bandung Theological Seminary

Japan Martin Heisswolf, author of Japanese Understanding of Salvation: Soteriology in the Context of Japanese Animism

Philippines Dave Johnson, editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies at the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary

South Korea Yohong Roh, instructor of religious studies at Louisiana State University

Taiwan Tony Chuang, author of Religiosity and Gospel Transmission: Insights from Folk Religion in Taipei

Thailand Chansamone Saiyasak, president of Mekong Evangelical Mission

Vietnam Saralen Tran, Christian education lecturer at Hanoi Bible College

The post Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural appeared first on Christianity Today.

The deeper I delved into white knowledge, however, the darker my heart, mind, and emotions became. While I continued to attend church, I felt no peace. My mind didn’t understand Scripture, and my emotions were uncontrollable, although I was able to do good things that helped people.

Amid this confusion, I read 2 Corinthians 11:13–14 and realized that the white knowledge I had been studying was a deception of Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light. Nearly three years after I became a white shaman, I repented and experienced new birth. From then on, I have grown in my understanding of God’s Word.

Practicing shamanism is quite common in Indonesia, and it has a deep-rooted influence in the country’s culture. Shamans appear to possess supernatural power to either maintain or disrupt natural harmony. If they pray and perform rituals to heal the sick, expel evil spirits, support businesses, or maintain the harmony of life, people believe that their power originates from a god or a good spirit. These individuals are often called white shamans. Religious figures, including pastors, are often described as such.

In contrast, if certain individuals disrupt the harmony of life through their rituals by causing illness, economic loss, and suffering to others, people believe their power originates from evil spirits, and they are categorized as black shamans. They can easily become the target of mass anger and hatred. From 1998 to 1999, vigilantes killed more than 250 people suspected to be black shamans in East Java.

Because of traumatic memories from the 1998 killings, the Javanese word for shaman, dukun, carries a negative connotation. Those who practice witchcraft prefer to be called “paranormal,” or kyai in Javanese.

Recent events reveal the power that shamans continue to wield in Indonesian society.

In March 2022, a rain shaman performed rituals at a track on Lombok island to stop a downpour so that an international motorcycle race could proceed smoothly. While some people were against her actions, many were in favor, especially because the rain stopped. Last April, authorities arrested a village shaman in central Java for killing at least 12 people whom he had scammed in a money-multiplying scheme.

Generally, Christians in Indonesia reject shamanistic practices. Deuteronomy 18:10–12 firmly states that shamanistic rituals are “detestable to the Lord.” The account of Saul’s failure in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14 also serves as a stern warning to God’s people that consulting spirits, which is one form of shamanism, can bring about harsh judgment from God.

Some churches, especially those deeply rooted in traditional cultures, attempt to contextualize the gospel by adapting rituals commonly practiced by white shamans. For example, the Javanese Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Jawa) replaces ceremonies traditionally led by white shamans—like midodareni (a prewedding ceremony), mitoni (a seven-month pregnancy celebration),and nyewu dina (a thousand-day postdeath ceremony)—with thanksgiving services led by pastors.

The influence of the sacred-secular dichotomy in Indonesian Christianity, however, fosters spiritual shamanistic practices within the church. This dichotomy leads some to believe that there are certain people and objects that possess supernatural powers, enabling them to act as mediators with the spirit world.

In the church, this dichotomy makes pastors, the cross, the communion cup, and anointing oil be regarded as having supernatural powers, serving as mediators with God. As a result, the congregation may believe that only the pastor’s prayers are heard by God and that by touching or kissing the cross or communion cup or being anointed with oil, they will be blessed and healed by God.

This sacred-secular dichotomy should be increasingly dismantled. Evangelical church leaders should engage in intentional mentoring and discipleship so that congregations will increasingly understand and obey the Word of God. Seminaries can also conduct more research and studies on the gospel and culture to produce a more contextual theology.

Kristian Kusumawardana is head of the bachelor’s degree program in theology at Bandung Theological Seminary. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

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