Strategic Studies of Art

Strategic Studies of Art

Representing the Discourse of Faith, Evil, and Salvation: An Analysis of Christian Teachings in the Horror Genre Based on Discourse Analysis of the conjuring universe

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
amirali ghorbani tusanlo 1
Gholamreza Azari 2
1 Master of Social Communication Sciences, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran. amiralighorbani756@gmail.com
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Communication and Media, Faculty of Social Sciences, Communication and Media, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author) azarigh2012@gmail.com
10.22083/ssa.2025.533971.1080
Abstract
The horror genre has long served as a fertile ground for exploring questions of metaphysics, morality, and the unseen forces that shape human experience. Within this domain, The Conjuring Universe stands out as one of the most influential contemporary franchises that not only revitalizes supernatural horror but also embeds within its narratives a complex set of Christian theological motifs. This research, drawing upon the frameworks of discourse analysis and cultural semiotics, investigates how Christian teachings—particularly those concerning evil, salvation, faith, and spiritual authority—are represented, circulated, and normalized within the Conjuring film series. By employing the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault on power/knowledge, Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, and film semiotics, the study examines how religious discourse operates within modern horror cinema and how it shapes viewers’ perceptions of the relationship between fear and faith in a postmodern cultural context.
The central aim of the study is to answer the following question: What discourses regarding the interaction between faith and fear are constructed through the portrayal of Christian rituals, demonology, and spiritual warfare in the Conjuring Universe? To address this, the research analyzes the narrative structures, character archetypes, visual symbolism, and auditory design of the films, situating them within broader cultural narratives about religion, secularism, and the crisis of spiritual meaning in contemporary society. Through this approach, the study reveals that the Conjuring Universe does not merely deploy Christian imagery as a storytelling device; rather, it constructs a coherent religious discourse that functions to reaffirm the authority of faith in the face of modern skepticism.
The findings indicate that the films consistently rely on the dualistic opposition of good versus evil, wherein Satanic forces are depicted as real, immediate, and omnipresent threats to the human world. This dichotomy serves as a cornerstone of the films’ Christian discourse, positioning faith, divine protection, and religious knowledge as the primary means of overcoming supernatural evil. Through Foucault’s lens, the films can be interpreted as reasserting the authority of religious institutions by framing spiritual knowledge as a specialized power accessible only to certain figures—such as exorcists, priests, or spiritually gifted individuals. In this way, The Conjuring series reinstates a hierarchical structure of religious authority within a secular age.
Another significant discourse illuminated by the study concerns the portrayal of the female body. Across multiple films in the franchise, women and girls become central sites of possession, spiritual vulnerability, and demonic intervention. This recurring narrative structure, when analyzed semiotically, positions the female body as a symbolic battlefield where the forces of good and evil contest power. The films thereby reproduce long-standing Christian-cultural associations between femininity, purity, temptation, and spiritual danger. Moreover, through Fairclough’s critical discourse lens, such representations contribute to the normalization of gendered spiritual narratives, subtly reinforcing traditional Christian views on morality, domesticity, and spiritual susceptibility.
The research also emphasizes the role of cinematic techniques—such as chiaroscuro lighting, the interplay of silence and sudden sonic ruptures, religious iconography, and spatial symbolism—in binding the emotional experience of fear to the affirmation of faith. Horror, in this context, becomes not only a source of terror but also a pathway to spiritual reflection. The films craft an aesthetic where divine presence is often revealed at the threshold of maximum fear, implying that proximity to terror can become a catalyst for rediscovering the sacred. This aesthetic structure supports the broader argument that the Conjuring Universe functions as a cultural medium through which the sacred is reintroduced in a postmodern world characterized by fragmentation, relativism, and declining institutional religiosity.
Ultimately, the study concludes that the Conjuring Universe does more than entertain; it participates in a contemporary rearticulation of Christian discourse. By dramatizing spiritual warfare and positioning religious rituals—especially exorcism—as effective, necessary, and authoritative, the films symbolically counteract secular explanations of evil, trauma, and psychological distress. This symbolic work enables the films to reassert Christianity’s relevance in addressing existential anxieties that persist in modern life. Therefore, the Conjuring series can be understood as a cinematic space where the sacred re-emerges, not despite the horror, but through it. The genre becomes a liminal arena in which viewers confront questions of belief, morality, and metaphysical order, suggesting that horror cinema may serve as one of the few remaining cultural platforms in which religious discourse retains both narrative power and emotional resonance.
Keywords
The Conjuring Universe
Critical Discourse Analysis
Horror Cinema
Religious Semiotics
Discourse of Power

Subjects

 
 
Aboulhasani, K., Safoura, M. A., & Nedaei, A. H. (2024). An examination of the afterlife in horror cinema from the perspective of world religions.]In Persian[
Bivins, J. C. (2008). Religion of fear: The politics of horror in conservative evangelicalism. Oxford University Press.
Doiron, Z. (2023). Possession, Politics, and Patriotism: The Influence of Christian Nationalism and Evangelical Horror Tropes on The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 35(3), 119–135.
Ghorbani Tousanlou, A. A., & Azari, G. (2025). Analyzing the representation of fundamental human phobias: A psychological examination of symbols in The Conjuring film series. Journal of Sexual and Psychological Disorders, 3(2).]In Persian[
Jacobs, M. A. (2025). On Magic & Miracles: A Theological Guide to Discerning Fictional Magic. B&H Publishing Group.
MacDonald, M. (2024). Gods wall to wall: gods in fantasy 1989–2020 (Doctoral dissertation, Anglia Ruskin Research Online (ARRO)).
Morărașu, N. N., & Culea, M. (2024). Exploring the Language of Suffering and Redemption through Discursive Manifestations of the Religious in Film Reviews. Cultural Perspectives. Journal for Literary & British Cultural Studies in Romania, (29).
Nakamura, H. (2024). The Construction of Religious Symbolic Spaces and the Generation of Psychological Fear in The Conjuring Series. Art and Society, 3(6), 8–17.
Nelson, B. C. (2022). Possessed: New Horror Films in the Era of Neoliberalism.
Phillips, W., & Brockway, M. (2025). The Shadow Gospel: How Anti-liberal Demonology Possessed US Religion, Media, and Politics. MIT Press.
Pratiwi, R. D., & Ardiyanti, H. (2025). Comparative semiotic analysis of satanic symbolism in Longlegs: A study in horror narratives. Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi UHO, 10(2), 423–435.
Rahmani, F., Mahdavi, S. H., & Eshghi, S. (2024). The role of photogenie in creating suspense and surprise in horror animations: An analysis of visual dimensions, accidents, and psychological events. In Second International Conference on Art, Culture, and Media Studies.]In Persian[
Slanker, L. (2017). Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror.
Stone, B. P. (2025). Witches, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Folk Magic. In Christianity and Horror Cinema (pp. 50–83). Routledge.
Toulassi, B. (2025). Overcoming the Fear of Demons and Evil Spirits Among African Christians: Enhancing Salvation (Master’s thesis, Regent University).
Vahidinia, S., Mirani, A., & Sabbaghchi, Y. (2022). The role of the Holy Spirit in the establishment of the early Church and the construction of Christian religious identity (based on the New Testament). Journal of Religious Studies, 16(31), 225–249. ]In Persian[
Strategic Studies of Art
Volume 3, Issue 4 - Serial Number 9
Autumn 2024
Pages 57-100