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Religious Oppression: The Salem Witch Trials
Dylan Bushar
Nursing, West Coast University
WCU ONT BSN
HUM 370
: Cultural Pluralism
Dr. Shino Simons
November 23
rd
, 2023
2
Occurring in 1692 in Massachusetts, the historical
time of the
Salem witch trials took
place where “more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft-the devil’s magic” and
tragically resulting in tens of thousands of “witches” being executed (Blumberg, 2007). In the
early modern and medieval eras, religions such as Christianity taught people that the devil had
the effect
to give
of giving
people who practiced witchery
,
the
powers
power
to harm in return for
loyalty (Blumberg, 2007). In 1692 there were
3
three
young ladies who had specific episodes in
which “They screamed, threw things, uttered peculiar sounds and contorted themselves into
strange positions.” (Blumberg, 2007). Ultimately, a doctor diagnosed it as
being
having
a
supernatural effect, and later, the three were brought in for interrogation starting early in
the
month of
March
,
1692 (Blumberg, 2007).
During the Salem witch trials in 1692 and 1693, there were a series of many court trials
attempting to prosecute accused witch-crafters. A Caribbean woman named Tibuta stated that the
devil “came to me” and other women in an attempt to destroy the Puritans. Puritanism was a
religious movement that attempted to make their lifestyle one for the whole nation to practice
(The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018)
.
and
They
were attempting to escape the effects
of the Glorious Revolution and ended up in Salem. In mid-1692, the first woman who was fatally
hung on Gallows Hill was Bridget Bishop, who was found guilty on June 10th of practicing
witchcraft (Blumberg, 2007). In May of 1693, nineteen men and women had been tragically
hung on Gallows Hill (Blumberg, 2007).
During the time of the Salem witch trials, there was a connection between God vs. evil
and its association with the Devil. The Puritans formed a new religion which was mainly based
on Catholic and Christian views. The Puritans had a “strong belief that everyone needed to
follow their way of life in order to live holy and have a stronger connection to God.” (The
3
Puritan Religion and How It Influenced the Salem Witch Trials, n.d.). There was not much belief
in religious freedom (“the right to worship according to one’s individual beliefs”)
,
(Koppelman,
2016) during the time
-
frame of the Salem witch trials. Unfortunately, there were many people
who did not follow the societal practices and beliefs and stuck to their values and beliefs
,
which
ultimately ended in death. As learned in our text, the term blasphemy is shown during the Salem
witch trials events (Koppelman, 2016).
People of Salem actually supported the killing of those
who were “different”
,
because they feared the devil and believed these people performing
witchery were working amongst/for the devil. (Blumberg, 2007).
The events that took place during the Salem witch trials contributed to some changes
specifically in the United States and the way
of
the court
,
such as “rights to legal representation
and cross-examination of accusers as well as the presumption that one is innocent until proven
guilty” (Wallenfeldt, 2018) which was a change in the United States criminal justice system.
In
regards to
Regarding religion, I think religion played a
huge
significant
role in the conflicts
during the Salem witch trial because there were strong beliefs and values that were being put into
place by the Puritans and that were expected to be followed, and when this all came about,
punishment, and even death, resulted. In conclusion, this goes to show how religious freedom
can be a benefit and we are lucky we live in a time in the United States where we are allowed to
practice religious freedom.
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References
Blumberg, J. (2007, October 23).
A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials
. Smithsonian
Magazine.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-
trials-175162489/#:~:text=The%20Salem%20witch%20trials%20occurred
Encyclopædia
Encyclopedia
Britannica, inc. (2023, October 31).
Salem Witch Trials
.
Encyclopædia
Encyclopedia
Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-
trials
Koppelman, K. L. (2016)
. Understanding Human Differences.
Pearson.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Puritanism | Definition, History, Beliefs, &
Facts. In
Encyclopædia
Encyclopedia
Britannica
.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism