At the start of the film Chris and Regan have no religious beliefs (I think Chris is an outright atheist in the book) but did the possession ordeal convince them to convert? It has been a long time since I have watched (and read) The Exorcist but at the end Chris and Regan were dressed up, looking like they were going to Mass.
shareI don't see how they wouldn't have considering the possibility of it happening again.
shareIn the actual story this was based on, the boy and his family converted in order to receive the sacraments. An exorcism is a mass in which the sacrament of communion is administered. One must not partake without baptism, reconciliation, and communion. I spent a few annual trainings reading up on the subject. It's interesting.
shareThey'll save the answer to your question for the next Exorcist movie in this awful Legacy Trilogy
shareKind of an indirect reply, but I don't believe the movie says they aren't Catholic, just that they aren't religious (you can have a religion or even just believe in God without, living a religious life). I haven't read the book, so as you say maybe she was an atheist.
But anyway, to my reply, I read once that the devil/demons only target people who would be an attack on God, which is through his Catholic followers (trying to taint then ans turn them from him). And that attacking someone who doesn't believe would actually hurt the devils cause because it would drive them to believe, thus sending more followers to God.
I know it's not an answer, but I read that years ago, possibly on a message board lol, and it made so much sense to me.
How could one not convert to Christianity? Because if demons are real..then that means God is real.
shareYou would think.
If I saw what they saw for reals, I would go back to the church.