The Puritans And The Salem Witch Trials

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Europe. The Reformation led to the formation of a religious group called Protestants. In the decade that followed, many other reforms took place in the Church of England. The Puritans, who had originally been part of the Church of England, greatly encouraged the reforms of others. They rejected the Catholic traditions and wanted to "purify" the church.
The English king listened to their appeals, but many Catholic traditions remained in the Church of England. This disappointing news lead the Puritans to form churches of their own. They rejected such frills as fancy lace collars and feathered hats. The Puritans also thought that working hard to gain wealth, even at the expense of their neighbors, was a good thing. "To the Puritans, wealth meant that God had blessed them. But to non-Puritans, the plainly clothed but wealthy Puritan seemed to be a hypocrite."2 As it became more difficult for the Puritans to practice their religious beliefs in England, many opted to move to the ...

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accused each other of crimes and immoral behavior. Religious differences developed as new colonists arrived."3
The Puritans did not know what to do, their "perfect", world was beginning to crumble. Puritan ministers warned that God would "withdraw his present help" if people continued to "deal falsely with God" and with each other. The Puritans were fearful that they would loose God's favor if they failed to lead pure and upright lives. They wanted to weed out the people they considered witches, because they felt they needed to purify themselves and their communities. The Puritans thought witches were guided by the devil, and they did not want the devil in their midst.
Officially, the ...

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