At least 57,400 people who were accused of being a witch were persecuted and killed (Landen). Many of these people were falsely accused and persecuted, and all in terms of fear. First, The church persecuted witches due to the fear that many people had and that the church could manipulate. Additionally, all suspects of witchcraft often endured various tests to identify them as a witch or commoner, guilty or innocent. Lastly, after the common belief in true witch persecutions faded, the church used this as a window to persecute those they do not truly care for. In Europe during the Renaissance era, the church was conflicted by the ideas of witchcraft which caused paranoia, which later caused much persecution and tests to determine death.
The presence of witches caused panic and hysteria in Europe which led to their persecution. For example, witches were persecuted through witch trials. Witch trials were prominent throughout Europe. Witch trials created panic which caused many people to become paranoid (Bailey, 12). They were afraid that their neighbor would turn them in, so they turned their neighbors in, falsely, to be safe. This gave the church the idea that there truly were witches out there, although
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First, the persecution of witches began with the Cathars, this later cause paranoia which the people did not take lightly and many people were killed because of it. Secondly, witches were identified through tests such as the sinking, weighing, and devil’s mark tests, which almost always ended in the suspect’s death. Lastly, after the true witch trials took place, the church began to persecute those who were a threat to the church such as women, heretics, and homosexuals. Because the church was among the official powers in this time, many people followed and feared them which made the amplified the reaction to