Discernment of spirits is a term used in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Charismatic Christian theology to judge the influence of various spiritual agents on a person's morality. These agents are:
- from within the human soul itself, known as concupiscence (considered evil)
- Divine Grace (considered good)
- Angels (considered good)
- Devils (considered evil)
Discernment of spirits is considered necessary to discern the cause of a given impulse. Although some people are regarded as having a special gift to discern the causes of an impulse intuitively, most people are held to require study and reflection, and possibly the direction of others, in the discernment of spirits.