I’m an atheist, but I suspend disbelief when I go to the movies all the time. If I can believe in The Force or The Matrix or mutants for a few hours, I can believe in demonic possession if it heightens my enjoyment of the movie. I just don’t want to be preached at, and I wasn’t insulted or “othered” by The Exorcist. In fact, watching Fr. Merrin fail as Fr. Karras succeeds actually sends the opposite message than the one proposed in the essay: Christianity didn’t save Regan; faith did. https://youtu.be/xr-z1D-x-kI?si=y9CuGCwIzik2mquJ