The iconic image of a witch on a broomstick has apocryphal origins. But whether they could actually fly didn’t stop Christian society from persecuting them.
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Articles on Religion and witchcraft
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Witchcraft is an enduring source of fascination but also prone to popular misconceptions.
A teenage domestic servant showed signs of possession, and a miller was accused of witchcraft. Considering records of these events helps clarify what we can and cannot know about the past.
Interest in Wicca and witchcraft appears to be increasing, but what exactly is Wicca in the first place?
The history of why witchcraft was seen as a woman’s work.
It is estimated that thousands of people are killed in witchcraft-related violence around the world each year. How can we tackle this problem today?
A ‘witch hunt’ is what Trump called investigations into his campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election. An anthropologist explains the connection between witch hunts and social control.
What does it mean to be a witch today? And what is a ‘binding spell’ trying to achieve?
In many parts of Nigeria, children are branded as witches and suffer abuse and even abandonment. Religion and poverty are thought to play a role.
Top contributors
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Honorary Professor, The University of Queensland
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Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician and Public Health Scientist, MidMichigan Health, University of Michigan
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Associate professor, Australian National University
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Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Lawrence University
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UQ Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer in Medieval History, University of Exeter
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Affliated Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University
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Associate Professor, Department of Historical Studies and Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto
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Principal Lecturer in History, University of South Wales
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Professor of History, Iowa State University
