The Status of Witchcraft in the Modern World
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v9i2.121Keywords:
Witchcraft, witch trials, satanic panic, PaganismAbstract
Contemporary Pagan Witches have for the most part abandoned the foundation myth that they represent the survival of an ancient religion forced underground during the era of European witch trials. They have transformed older models of witchcraft to serve the needs of modern spirituality. Yet those same older models present problems to publics and governments around the world, where witchcraft persecutions and panics over 'ritual abuse' continue. Scholars of historical witch trials still have a role to play in educating people about the psychological realities of witchcraft and the dangers of panic and persecution.References
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La Fontaine, J. S. Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Lester, David. ‘Voodoo Death: Some New Thoughts on an Old Phenomenon’. American Anthropologist 74 (1972): 386-90. doi:10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00100
Behringer, Wolfgang. Witches and Witch-Hunts. Cambridge: Polity, 2004.
Bond, George Clement, and Diane M. Ciekawy, eds. Witchcraft Dialogues. Columbus: Ohio University Press, 2001.
Cannon, Walter B. ‘Voodoo Death’. American Anthropologist 44 (1942): 169-81. doi:10.1525/aa.1942.44.2.02a00010
Clark, Stuart. Thinking with Demons. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Ellis, Bill. Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions and the Media. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2000.
Frankfurter, David. Evil Incarnate: Rumours of Demonic Conspiracy and Ritual Abuse in History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.
Geshiere, Peter. The Modernity of Witchcraft. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1997.
Hund, John, ed. Witchcraft Violence and the Law in South Africa. Pretoria: Protea Book House, 2003.
Hutton, Ronald. ‘Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft: Potential for a New Collaboration?’, Historical Journal 47.2 (2004): 413-34. doi:10.1017/S0018246X03003558
???. ‘The Global Context of the Scottish Witch-Hunt’. In The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context, edited by Julian Goodare. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002, chapter 1.
???.The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
???. Witches, Druids and King Arthur: Studies in Paganism, Myth and Magic. London: Hambledon, 2003, chapters 4, 5, 6 and 9.
La Fontaine, J. S. Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Lester, David. ‘Voodoo Death: Some New Thoughts on an Old Phenomenon’. American Anthropologist 74 (1972): 386-90. doi:10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00100
Published
2007-12-17
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Hutton, R. (2007). The Status of Witchcraft in the Modern World. Pomegranate, 9(2), 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v9i2.121
