I am Protestant, baptized and raised, but I do not ever hear about Protestant pastors driving out demons in exorcisms. We know the spiritual world is real, so exorcisms have to be real by default. Demons can call out our sins to accuse us and drag us down with them, so that is also universal between Catholics and Protestants.
So what is the defining difference that gives Catholics the power to do the exorcisms and not Protestants?
Do they teach in a way that gives more divine authority? Are we doing something wrong? Or is it withholding information within the Catholic church?
I was raised Catholic and while I have my own issues with the church I can maybe offer some perspective.
Think about how our federal government is - basically dumbed down to serve the lowest common denominator. The catholic church has been doing that for almost 2000 years. It has to try to offer guidance and soul saving for everyone from the dumbest moron to the most sophisticated and learned.
When you think about what happens in an exorcism or deliverance, it's not a trivial event. Telling everyone that they can go out and try it without preparation is like handing out loaded handguns to children and hoping everything will turn out OK. Sure, it will for most, but the exceptions are going to make a big mess.
Maybe the Catholic church goes overboard trying to ensure that those who are on the front lines fighting demons are prepared for the consequences, but can you really blame them? This is serious stuff with serious consequences for everyone involved. You send your best, not cannon fodder.
This.
Also, not to belabor this, but think about what demons are.
They're definitely intelligent beings. They are not constrained by the physical realm as we are. They have millennia of experience and accumulated knowledge about humans in general and the people they interact with in particular. And God has allowed them to have powers that we don't completely understand.
From what I've read of exorcisms, the demons are constrained by God, but God also allows them free will and the ability to resist. The exorcism is as much as test of faith for the exorcist as it is a process for the possessed. It's not just utter a few incantations and demon-be-gone. And they don't just go sulk in a corner for eternity when they've been expelled and some are particularly experienced and difficult to fight. The Gospels call for putting on the armor of God. Like any war - putting on the armor is just the first step in preparation. You still have to fight and it is a war.
Yet they can be rage baited easier than humans.
This actually makes a lot of sense. I can tell this rings true