Download Puritanism/ The Salem Witch Trials

Puritanism/ The Salem Witch Trials
Who were the Puritans?
-a group of people within the Church of England who desired
a very strict reformation of the church.
 Wanted to “purify” religious devotion
- no ceremonies, no ritual
 believed in state-church (Theocracy)
- did NOT want separation of church and state
Most early Puritans were from English middle class
What did they believe?
 Man is innately corrupt and CANNOT win salvation through good
works
 PREDESTINATION- the idea that fate of one’s soul has already
been determined by God
- Those who are chosen to receive grace are the “elect”
- God’s choice not for man to try to understand
 Believed in LITERAL interpretation of Bible
- believed in the existence of witches/ Wizards
- Satan or other evil spirits can take shape of a person
- Possessed persons can take the form of animals
SALEM WITCH TRIALS
What?
o 19 men and women were accused and convicted of witchcraft were
hanged at Gallows Hill in Salem Massachusetts
o Hundreds of others accused/ spent several months imprisoned/
some died in prison
o Lives were ruined/ families and communities torn apart
When?
o Accusations and trials took place between September and June
1692
o Actual hangings took place months later
How did this happen?
o Nature of relationship b/w church and state
o Mass hysteria
o Superstition/ fear of unknown/ fear of change
o Personal grudges/ vengeance
o Grain infected with mold which acted as hallucinogen
Why does it matter?
o Danger of loss of reason that results from mass hysteria
o Dangers of NOT separating church and state
o Can help us understand other “witch hunts” that have occurred
throughout history (into modern times)
Other Witch Hunts?
o Spanish Inquisition
o McCarthyism/ Red Scare
o AIDS scare/ hysteria
o Internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WWII
o Other ?