Witchcraft

==== Christian ====
{{Main|Christian views on magic}}
Historically, the [[Christian views on magic|Christian concept of witchcraft]] derives from [[Old Testament]] [[biblical law|laws]] against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to the helpful magic of the [[cunning folk]], witchcraft was seen as [[evil]] and associated with [[Satan]] and [[Devil worship]]. This often resulted in deaths, [[torture]] and [[scapegoating]] (casting blame for misfortune),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Jeffrey Burton |title=Witchcraft |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |access-date=June 29, 2013 |website=Britannica.com |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510105836/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Pocs>{{cite book |last=Pócs |first=É. |year=1999 |title=Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age |place=Hungary |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-9639116191}}</ref>{{rp|p=9–12}} and many years of large scale [[Witch trials in the early modern period|witch-trials]] and [[witch hunt]]s, especially in [[Protestant]] Europe, before largely ending during the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by [[Christian fundamentalism|Christian fundamentalists]]) to non-belief. During the [[History of colonialism|Age of Colonialism]], many cultures were exposed to the Western world via [[colonialism]], usually accompanied by intensive [[Christianity and colonialism|Christian missionary activity]] (see [[Christianization#Colonial era (16th–19th centuries)|Christianization]]). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time.

[[File:Witches apprehended..., 1613 Wellcome M0016701.jpg|thumb|A 1613 English pamphlet showing "Witches apprehended, examined and executed"]]
In [[Christianity]], [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]] came to be associated with [[heresy]] and [[apostasy]] and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and the [[secular]] leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale [[witch-hunt]]s.  The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions the majority were men.<ref name="gibbons">Gibbons, Jenny (1998) "Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt" in [http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM ''The Pomegranate''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126213600/http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM |date=2009-01-26 }} #5, Lammas 1998.</ref><ref name=BarstowWitchcraze>{{Cite book |last=Barstow |first=Anne Llewellyn |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars |title=Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts |date=1994 |publisher=Pandora |isbn=978-0062500496 |location=San Francisco |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|page=[https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars/page/23 23]}} In [[Scots language|Scots]], the word [[warlock]] came to be used as the male equivalent of [[witch (word)|witch]] (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=F. Marian |title=The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland |date=1957 |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-0862412319 |volume=1 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=Robert |title=Domestic Annals of Scotland |date=1861 |isbn=978-1298711960 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=George |title=Satan's Invisible World Discovered |date=1871 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>

The ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |title=The Emergence of Modern Europe: c. 1500 to 1788 |date=2011 |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |isbn=978-1615303434 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Heather M. |page=27 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126013251/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref> for several hundred years, outlining how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jolly |first1=Karen |title=Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages |last2=Raudvere |first2=Catharina |last3=Peters |first3=Edward |date=2002 |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |isbn=978-0485890037 |location=New York City |page=241 |quote=In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it presented apparently firm evidence.}}</ref> It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Witches|url=https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches|access-date=2021-10-26|website=History.com|date=20 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref>