As the church forced the issue onto the people those who did not conform or stood behind there old beliefs were believed to be in league with the devil and therefore witches. Due to the patriarchal society, women were believed to be the weaker of the sexes. Such as it was, it was believed a woman needed a

The outbreak of war in actuality helped to reduce the accusations of witches by diverting attention. Misfortunes could now be blamed on something other than a witch. Not that it completely eradicated accusations of witchcraft but it did lessen them. Society had another scapegoat for its problems, rather than someone practicing witchcraft or who did not conform to the societal norms of the time.

There were many reasons for the rise and fall in the accusations, trials and executions of witches. However the combination of politics, religious views and the flaws of the judicial system were among the largest. They were the basis for most accusations and executions for witchcraft as a result of the influences of religion.

man to survive the trials and tribulations of life because she could not possible handle it herself. Hence, accused witches were mostly women. In general, they were older, single or widowed women. It was believed they had made pacts with the devil in order to survive and therefore had to repay him in some manner. So naturally, his repayment was in the form of evil works.

The split in the churches also had a large effect on the witch-hunts. Both the Catholic and Protestant priests insisted each set of beliefs were correct causing more disconformities among the people and further escalated the witch-hunts. The extra strain while reconstruction of the churches was in process only served to increase tension among the general public and facilitate accusations more readily between family, friends and neighbors. This now included those who practiced “white magic” or those who were considered healers of the time. It was thought that any power that could heal could also destroy so in turn anyone who practiced any form of magic was prosecuted. This also meant according to the Catholic reformers that for those who were using charms to protect themselves from

Some topics in this essay:
Catholic Protestant, Protestant Catholic, Protestant Reformation, Craze Religion, accusations executions, witches women, sects developed, played key role, accusations witchcraft, protestant catholic, enormous influence, extremely guilty, influence church, accusations trials, women believed,