One cause of the Salem witch trials was boredom. Community placement, beliefs, and strict religious laws caused isolation from other societies. The Puritans were very strict when it came to religion. “The churches usually do within themselves to manage their own discipline, under the control of their elders.” (Cotton Mather Wonders of the Invisible World; pg13) This quote explains how in the Puritan religion, elders would decide to punish people publicly in church to humiliate them. The Puritans believed ¨Swearing, sabbath breaking, and drunkenness¨ (Cotton Mather Wonders of the Invisible World; pg13) were not only sins but made people evil monsters. According to the Puritans these evil people lead a ¨lewd and naughty kind of life. ¨ (Cotton Mather Wonders of the Invisible World; pg. 23)
These beliefs along with isolation lead children to find secret ways to
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Puritans believed the devil could persuade people to do evil things. Puritan Ministers compared women women to Eve implying that women were no good from the beginning of time, the minister, Samuel Parris, might have led to the witch hunt with the push to believe in evil things.
These beliefs lead to strict physical and mental punishments. Some punishments were sitting in stocks and splitting of tongues. Another punishment was cutting off hands or ears. These were not the most severe punishments. Execution was a common punishment for witchcraft. Execution could be done by hanging, stoning, or burning at the stake. Shunning was also a punishment. Shunning is when the community refuses to talk to a person, and mentally, completely cuts them out of the community.
Finally, a strong belief in the occult could have also been another cause for the Salem Witch Trials. The New Englanders believed in the devil and omens. They thought the devil wanted to take over their world, but all attempts had failed. They believed the accused were possessed by the