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Religion and the Witch craze

This opened the door for a whole new world of accusations and executions to take place. With the churches stricter guidelines, those who felt they fell short of "Gods will" often felt extremely guilty which led to more accusations of witchcraft stemming from a need to release the guilt they felt as a result of failing the church. Those feeling extremely guilty would often try to place the blame elsewhere and that often meant on someone else. The Catholic priests thought that their sexual guilt was related to the witches. Women were thought to have power over man because their beauty and sexual prowess could be used as a means to convert an innocent. The Protestant clergy thought that if you didn't follow their strict rules then you would succumb to the power of the devil. If animals died or children became sick, it must be the devil at work through a witch.
             The church often spoke more the repercussions of worshipping the devil and of his many forms more than the sermons pertained to God as a means of forcing conformity among the community. The Protestant Reformation established the bible as the sole source of religious truth and had it translated into several different languages and most took the translations literally as in Exodus 22:18. It did not matter that the translated version did not mean what it was originally intended to mean. The translation of it took on an entirely new meaning to which the word "witch" now meant a sorcerer that had made a pact with the devil from simply meaning someone who works in darkness and mutters things. The change in the translated meaning was the meaning that was taught by the clergy to society as a means of reinforcing the "truth" of what the church was teaching. The clergy used the "Wrath of God" for committing sins to instill fear into the people. This along with the idea of what it meant to sin and the guilt associated with the act and repercussions of committing a sin was a large catalyst in intensifying the search for evil and eradicating it from society all stemming from the enormous influence the church had over the people during this period in time.


Essays Related to Religion and the Witch craze

1. Witch Trials in Eruope

During the European witch craze that lasted from about 1480 to 1700, women who practiced unusual rituals were often persecuted as witches. ... The witch trials served as an opportunity for the government to increase its power and profits due to the contradictory views science and religion had of witchcraft. ... The judges" minds were obscured by their craze for supremacy that they did not look for reasons or explanations for such happenings. ... If one disagreed over a woman being a witch, he is considered to have no religion because he has no ideas to believe in. Without a religion, people...

  • Word Count: 339
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. The History of Witches

In the Wiccan religion, Witchcraft is what is practiced. ... The English Civil War was when the witch-craze all began. ... It was a scary time in Europe during this witch-craze because people could only trust a few people and they had no idea if they even trusted you back. ... The craze carried through the sixteenth and seventeenth century. ... Even after it was restored the witch-craze didn't cease. ...

  • Word Count: 1676
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. How Far Can The Rise In Witch Trials In The Seventeenth Century Be Explained By Economic Factors

Briggs had identified the heartland of the witch craze to be a hundred miles or so either side of the Rhine, from Luxembourg and north west Germany down to Savoy and the Swiss Confederation. ... Kieth Thomas argues in "Religion and the Decline of Magic", that the campaigns of reformers against magic and the medieval superstitious practices reinforced a witch hunting mentality. ... Many of the outbreaks in the witch craze can be linked to economic factors. ... In 1562, a hailstorm at Weisensteig lead to a sudden loss of crops which in turn lead to a local witch craze. ... The same reasoning ...

  • Word Count: 1385
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Salem Witch Trial

Puritan religion believed Satan was just as real as God and lived life battling the forces of evil. ... One Salem Witch trial, (June 2, 1692) was a result of several young girls, two young girls being Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of the Reverend Paris. ... The young girls may have sparked the crazed witch-hunt, but it was the adults who set the wheels into motion. Twenty-four innocent victims were put to death, had they confessed and sought redemption like many others accused witches, they would have had had their lives spared. ... During the 16th century, hundr...

  • Word Count: 398
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Rise Of Witchcraft

The witch craze spread because heresy sharpened the awareness of nonconformists to the medieval Catholic Church. ... The reason why religions opposite of Catholicism were coming under the microscope is because of the Inquisition. The majority of the European states embraced Catholicism as the official religion, thus the start of the Inquisition and religious intolerance. ... (Sprenger, 1) So if one did not believe in Catholicism they were considered heretics and could have also been called a witch, feeding into the witch craze. ... However, as fair as they tried to be, the biggest factor ...

  • Word Count: 1685
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography

6. Witchcraze

Witchcraft Craze in Europe In order to understand exactly what happened during the Witchcraze in Europe we must understand what it means first. ... There was a lot going on that contributed to make this craze as big as it was. Many Catholics were converting to the Protestant religion, Parliament was empowered for the very first time, populations were increasing at an exponential rate, and women monarchs were holding high social positions in society (Muhlberger). ... Europe at this time was a place where religious conflict had destroyed the unity of society, and where true religion was u...

  • Word Count: 1010
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Salem Witch Trials

The colony was completely shocked and crazed. ... This occurred when the accused witches would touch the afflicted and if a "witch mark- would appear the accused was hanged. ... He called a moratorium on all witch trials. ... The Puritan religion, culture, and mind-set had a major effect on the citizens of Salem Village. ... They had such strict rules and such strong morals that a little craze turned the whole society around. ...

  • Word Count: 1952
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Witchcraft

This ancient pagan religion, whether true or false, has managed to survive throughout the centuries, using it's mythical past and the questionable human mind. ... The word "witch- comes from Old English, and means "wicca."" ... Perhaps the lowest point during the first witch-craze was the mistreatment of condemned witch's children. ... Often times the witch hunters would pierce the mark with a knife, and if no blood was drawn, then that person was definitely a witch. ... One of the major differences of this first witch-craze and the second is that there was no acceptance or forgive...

  • Word Count: 1513
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

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