Support For The Religion Theory example essay topic

In this paper, I will explore many aspects of the outbreaks of the witch accusations and witch trials which plagued England and the rest of Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. Though numerous theories have been provided as to the reasons for these hunts and trials, there are three which are the most prevalent, and able to support themselves. These three theories are the topics of: gender, as a stepping stone towards the oppression of women; social class, as a relief of tension and stress formed by the socio-economic gaps between the wealthy and the poor; and finally religion, as a result of the encouragement to conform more steadily towards one religion. I chose to argue towards the third theory I have stated, that of the religious changes facing England at the time.

Throughout the three hundred years that the perceived problems of witchcraft haunted this nation, the religious momentum swayed back and forth many times. My decision to support the religious theories attached to witchcraft may not be as traditional as most student's. It was a decision based more upon the motives and not so hidden agendas that the theorists who were (obviously) not present at the times of the trials. Historical fact has been in debate for as long as history has been recorded, because everything written or spoken is rhetoric, and this impossible to escape from. Therefore, in order to defend my decision to choose religion, I will be adopting a new historicist point of view for the first few paragraphs of this paper. To me, the other two major theories applied to the problems of witchcraft seem much to politicized to be considered as historical.

As Sharpe states, addressing the gender issue first, "The crucial development here was the rise of the Women's Movement in the United States and Europe" (9). He continues to say that these women "sought to construct a history of oppression which would help inform their consciousness in their ongoing struggle" (10). This theory absolutely reeks of ulterior motives. Though it cannot be denied that approximately eighty percent of the witches executed during these times were women, it seems odd that no scholars felt inclined to point this out as relevant until the 1970's when it fit into the "construction of a history".

History should not be constructed in order to suit the needs of the present, nor the future. Actions like those simply push history closer towards fiction, though they are hard to stray from. In addition, if this was, as the Women's Movement wished to convey, an oppression formed by the men in order to hold the women down, then "why [were] there... so few witch-burnings" (6)? Leaving the gender issue for a moment, and addressing the possible relevancy of social class as a means for the witchcraft, one must appreciate the fact that this is a heavily politicized theory as well, though I do find that it has more backbone than the gender theory. Those theorists who wished to solidify the reasons behind this craze, and not leave them floating in the heavens, attempted to ground their beliefs by transferring the blame to the socio-economic gaps between the villagers. They blamed the increasingly widening bridge that separated the poor from the rich, and the peasants from the noblemen.

Unfortunately, this theory, or at least the most groundbreaking strides towards it, emerged in the 1970's as well. The two leading theorists on this approach were Alan Macfarlane and Keith Thomas. They believe these acts to be as much a purging of unwanted vagabonds and other drainages on the economy as a genuine fear of witchcraft. As Sharpe states on pages 43 to 44, "elderly women were more likely than men to be economically, and socially marginalized within the village community". This expanding of the boundaries of a caste system which Macfarlane and Thomas theorized has occurred numerous times throughout history.

The 1960's were a period, not strictly in America, but England as well, of free will, not unlike the ideas put forth by the Ranters of the 1650's whom we learned of. Therefore, a need to supply more order and control was demanded by the government. And what better way than the witchcraft trials to show the horrific results of what can happen when we allow the gaps in a hierarchy to stretch too far? Subtle though this may seem, I think it makes a valid point. Readers must come to realize that the poor are always going to complain and demonstrate against the rich, and the rich will always resent the poor.

This is not an argument against this theory of class and social standing, but rather stating that it is not an isolated incident. At this point it becomes clear to me that the reader may see me as a biased narrator, trying to direct the reader against these two bodies of thought. I would like to make it therefore clear that though I believe religion to be the most accurate catalyst for these trials and accusations, I don't discount or discredit the other two, namely gender and social class. On the contrary, social class issues, as we will see, do cross over and intersect with the issue of religion on many fronts. Many of these theories are clouded over and influenced by each other. This leads me directly into my next area of discussion, and my main topic, that of religion Only the religious theories of the witchcraft trials in England remain fairly untainted by the politics today.

Living in a world where religious toleration (with a few exceptions) is reasonably good, certainly better than a few centuries ago, there is no real benefit, other than the search for historical fact, that can be attached to this theory. On the contrary, many documented facts from this period have been implemented to push belief closer in that direction, the more accurate direction, than, I believe, any others. I would also like to state that I by no means find religion to be entirely apolitical. As we have seen in class, the two are often seen as going hand in hand. A brief example of this is the Protestant belief, under James' II reign, that his Catholic influences were on England were directly connected with Absolutism. In essence, though it can be political, I find it to be the least of the three, especially when applied to today.

As I stated earlier, nowadays social class, andthe tensions between men and feminist movements have become much more heated topics than religion. That being said, it is with a clear conscience that I support the religion theory and continue this paper. Now that I have established where I stand on the issue, and the reasons for my stance, I feel it necessary to give a general summary of the history of witchcraft and the witchcraft trials in early modern England and Europe. Though Sharpe stresses that ideas of witchcraft had been prevalent and practiced long before the outbreak, the actual acts of suppression didn't begin until 1400 in Switzerland when the assumption was made that witches had formed some manner of a pact with Satan.

Thus it was assumed that the witches were Satan's minions. Further notions were conceived of witches forming "anti-Christian heretical sect (s) " (4), and through the "Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation" even stronger beliefs in witches emerged. Continual accusations occurred amongst villagers for numerous reasons. Among them were: physical appearance, age, marital status, and income. More prominent reasons were also given such as: cursing, mumbling, or muttering; followed by misfortune falling on the family of, or crops of, those who were the subject of the mutterings.

Such misfortunes as sickness, crop failure, livestock death, or even personal death were inscribed in the results of those touched by witchery. Once an accusation was made, and the few feeble scraps of evidence needed to convict were gathered, the convicted was subject to "intimate body searches" (64). After trial, if convicted, they were then burned at the stake, hung, or drowned; as the courts saw fit. Returning momentarily to the identification of witches, there was further cause for alarm by the possibility of "familiars" in a witch's home. These fictitious creatures were believed to be half-animal and half-demon, at times thought perhaps to be the very beings which seduced the witch into a pact with Satan, promising their soul to him. This idea once again correlates with the idea of religion being one of the primary reasons for the witchcraft trials and executions.

If Satan and hell is what you fear contact with most, where will your allegiances lie? With the church, of course, and through this fear, your qualms about conformity will have been minimized by your insight into the lesser of two evils. By no means do I mean to imply that the church was evil, but rather that an individual's minor problems with a rapidly conforming religion will be forgotten. It is important to note that these "familiars" were not always associated with witches, but became increasingly more popular as time went on. As stated in Document 10, they were extremely important in the case of Edward Fairfax and his daughter in 1620 (109-110).

On the contrary, however, this is also a way in which, perhaps these beliefs in witchcraft began. As Sharpe states: A higher level of Christian knowledge and Christian conduct, a more engaged, active, and informed Christianity, were now demanded of the individual Christian. As the twentieth century demonstrated so vividly, this official stress on ideological conformity and higher behavioral standards helped create deviants" (7) (bold ed by myself, not Sharpe). These religious beliefs carry further into the documents as well. It is said, prior to the actual text of Document 2, that the author, William Perkins "was the most celebrated theologian of his day" (100). Obviously, if a man of his character speaks out against these acts of witchcraft and proclaims their pact with Satan to be true, the reaction will be large.

Through Sharpe, and actually throughout the semester, we see that these were influential times and often the people acted in na " ive and irrational ways. We have seen people adopting some of the most ludicrous beliefs, simply because they believed God to be the backbone of it all. Personal and eternal fulfillment are two of the most powerful of human drives and if people were willing to follow the alleged crazed antics of the Ranters, and the strange practices of the Diggers, then why not the purging concepts of those opposing witchcraft? As we see, all of these followings involve religion.

Religion and the peace of mind that comes from religion are the main instigators. The only thing needed, is a strong leader to stand up and proclaim their particular idea to be God's will, and the people follow like cult members. Moving on, upon reading an account, and here you will see some of the overlap of theories which I mentioned, of an attempt to explain the conviction of so many women, by Alexander Roberts, the allusions to the bible are glaringly obvious. In fact, an actual mention of Adam and Eve is made. The text states the weaknesses of women, not only physically, but morally and psychologically as well.

Throughout the document, Roberts gives what he believes to be six solid reasons for women's easily persuaded countenances. Among them are the beliefs that women "harbour their breast a curious and inquisitive desire to know such things as be not fitting" and that "their complection [i.e. psychological condition] is softer, and from hence more easily receive the impressions offered by the dive ll [sic]" (Document 9,109). Direct connection is made to the Christian church in his fourth point, using Genesis as a reference, in his insistence that "in them [women] is a greater facility to fall, and therefore the dive ll at first tooke advantage and set upon Eve in Adam's absence [sic]" (109). This once again connects a popular belief and probably on of the most famous stories in Christianity to the idea of witchcraft.

In conclusion, though I have shown support for the religion theory most of all in this paper, I do believe that it was not one aspect that set this craze off. Many different theories overlapped to form this tragic and lengthy period of England's history. Obviously, from the notes we " ve taken in this class, we realize that religion did and always will play a major role in England, or any other country for that matter. Perhaps from this spectacle of unnecessary death, we can learn that any institution, given too much power can, even unwillingly, prove dangerous.