I feel very strongly that the only way one could honestly say that Pagan religion did not survive in Europe into the present is to define religion in the very narrow sense of organized religious institutions (churches). Books that boldly state that "Pagan Religion" did not survive are quite willing to admit that pagan "beliefs and practices" did.
I would like to point out that 1486 is not really "the Middle Ages" it is the very beginning of the Early Modern period. And the beginning of the Witch craze in Europe which was mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries.
There are two major mistakes people make when talking about the Burning Times. The first is that it happened during the Middle Ages. It was really more of an Early Modern Problem. The second is that it was the fault of the Catholic Church and it's Inquisition. It was much more common in Protestant countries and rarely happened in Church Courts. The Catholic Church was never very interested it persecuting village herb women.
The Salem Witch Trials are a good example: 1692 well into Modern times, in Protestant New England, in a secular court. All of which is typical of the European Witch Craze.
Or look at the modern "Witchcraft" scares in Africa and India. They usually involve traditional religions or Protestant missionaries.
I recommend "Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend" by Jeffrey S. Victor as a good introduction to Moral panics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic)
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-14 09:58 pm (UTC)I feel very strongly that the only way one could honestly say that Pagan religion did not survive in Europe into the present is to define religion in the very narrow sense of organized religious institutions (churches). Books that boldly state that "Pagan Religion" did not survive are quite willing to admit that pagan "beliefs and practices" did.
I would like to point out that 1486 is not really "the Middle Ages" it is the very beginning of the Early Modern period. And the beginning of the Witch craze in Europe which was mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries.
There are two major mistakes people make when talking about the Burning Times. The first is that it happened during the Middle Ages. It was really more of an Early Modern Problem. The second is that it was the fault of the Catholic Church and it's Inquisition. It was much more common in Protestant countries and rarely happened in Church Courts. The Catholic Church was never very interested it persecuting village herb women.
The Salem Witch Trials are a good example: 1692 well into Modern times, in Protestant New England, in a secular court. All of which is typical of the European Witch Craze.
Or look at the modern "Witchcraft" scares in Africa and India. They usually involve traditional religions or Protestant missionaries.
I recommend "Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend" by Jeffrey S. Victor as a good introduction to Moral panics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic)