Religion, culture and psychopathology
pp. 165-179
in: , Towards cultural psychology of religion, Berlin, Springer, 2010Abstract
At the start, a case: During one of the religious gatherings which for some time had been taking place in the evening at the home of farmer Martin Schroevers in the Dutch village of Betuwe, Schroevers killed his own farmhand Peter, inasmuch as the latter was thought to be possessed by the devil.1 Approximately a dozen persons – men, women, and children – were present at the scene, some of whom horribly maimed and mutilated the body. Martin was thereupon proclaimed the Messiah and taken in triumphal procession by his psalm-singing adherents from Betuwe, where he lived, to Diedenhoven, where he was acclaimed by his mother and his brothers as God's Chosen One. Early in the morning Martin, along with his adherents, returned to Betuwe, where he was arrested by the police and brought to prison. Three other involved persons were taken to psychiatric institutions, to which Martin was later transferred as well.