Freethought and comparative demonology

Moncure Daniel Conway

1832 – 1907

Moncure Daniel Conway was a Virginia-born American minister, abolitionist, and freethinker who moved from Methodism through Unitarianism to a secular humanism influenced by Thomas Paine — whose biography he wrote — while leading London's South Place Chapel (now Conway Hall). His two-volume Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879) was a pioneering comparative study of demon mythology across world cultures, arguing that devil figures were anthropomorphic personifications of the obstacles and fears encountered by early humanity. This systematic cross-cultural survey provided Western esotericists and students of comparative religion with one of the most comprehensive Victorian treatments of demonic mythology available.

DemonologySolomonic MagicDevil worshipComparative ReligionCeremonial MagicDevil MythologyDemonic philosophyPhilosophical devilReligious demonologyHell beliefSupernatural evilDemon binding and controlDemon bindingAngelic MagicSacred Geometryspirit invocationTalismanic MagicSolomonic magic and ritualceremonial procedureWestern magic

Works in the Archive2 volumes

Demonology and Devil-lore

Demonology and Devil-lore

1879

Intermediate
Solomon and Solomonic Literature

Solomon and Solomonic Literature

1898

Intermediate

Related Authors

James George Frazer1854–1941Victorian comparative religionMontague Summers1880–1948Occult scholarship, demonology, Gothic supernaturalismKing SolomonHeinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim1486–1535Renaissance occult philosophy and ceremonial magicWilliam Grant StewartScottish Highland folklore, antiquarianism

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