Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

In U.S. History between the 1600’s and 1770’s, religious minority groups were once the main topics to be issued. Freedom of beliefs were evolved in the region of colonial culture. The Christians diverse opportunities, began to evaluate their problems for their right to seek religious freedom. People ought to have thought Christians practiced witchcraft. Which began problems causing The Salem Witch Trial. Also, they contributed on how their religion was to be guaranteed to them, so that they could begin to practice their religions and beliefs; freely. Even, to help other countries and people with the Christian religion practices evolving around different cultures.

Christian religious groups attempted to enforce strict religious practices through colony governments and local town rules. Their laws practiced for the people who believed in Christianity were for everyone in that religion basis, to attend a house of worship and they had to pay taxes that funded the salaries of ministers. “Eight of the thirteen British colonies had official, or “established,” churches,

and in those colonies dissenters who sought to practice or proselytize a different version of Christianity or a non-Christian faith were sometimes persecuted.”(Patricia U. Bonomi). Against those who disagreed against their Christian religious groups, it was explained in the quote what had to be done in order of protection for the people. Christian groups believed their practices, faiths and beliefs had a special and unique value to their people.

People began to predict Christianity was complicated by the practice and forms of witchcraft.

The practices in which became known as The Salem Witch Trial, where the trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and 1693. “Magical practices were not altogether divorced from Christianity in the minds of many “natural philosophers”, who sometimes thought of them as experiments that could unlock the secrets of Scripture”(Patricia U. Bonomi). Also, some people of practices with Christianity “had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" rippled through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches—mostly women—were executed. Though the Salem trials came on just as the European craze was winding down, local circumstances explain their onset.”(Jess

Blumberg).

Christianity “gave birth” to new movements and cultures. “Pennsylvania’s first constitution stated that all who believed in God and agreed to live peacefully under the civil government would “in no way be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion of practice.” (Patricia U. Bonomi). Christian principles, was the first decade of colonial era. As the colonies became more settled and comfortable with their religion being practiced, the influence of the clergy and their churches grew. “Violence against slaves, their social inequality, together with the settlers’ contempt for all religions other than Christianity “resulted in destructiveness of extraordinary breadth, the loss of traditional religious practices among the half-millions slaves brought to the mainland colonies between 1680s and the American Revolution.” Even in churches which reached out to convert slaves to their congregations —the Baptists are a good example—slaves were most often a silent minority. If they received any Christian religious instructions, it was, more often than not, from their owners rather than in Sunday school.” (Patricia U. Bonomi).

Religious minority groups have changed the way their people “practice” their religion and demanded for religious freedom, as they could not practice freely before. Christians were focused and determined to have their rights to be evaluated. Some religions thought Christians were the people who started the Witchcraft practices and wanted it to be banned; starting The Salem Witch Trial. Their religion was finally beginning to be free to the people and was practiced in their own way, with their own rights. It even contributed to other people and resulted as the churches grew and their religion was often practiced more, even by other cultures.