The church’s record of holding power has involved some terrible acts of coercion, exploitation, and abuse. Yet Jesus set an example and transformed the way we think about leadership and power.
This lesson looks at the complicated history of the witch hunts that swept across Europe and America in the early modern period.
Introduce
Discuss, Design & Compare
Students discuss how it would feel to be falsely accused of a crime?
In small groups students design a collage of words and images that come to mind with the term “witch hunt”. Discuss the kinds of things that might have been considered witchcraft in previous centuries.
Students compare modern cancel culture with the idea of a witch hunt.
Engage
Watch & Respond
Watch the documentary excerpt ‘Witch hunts in Europe and Salem’ (7:56) and answer the following questions:
- How does the video segment contrast Walpurgisnacht today with the witch panics that swept across Europe in the 1600s?
- Explain what happened to Rebecca Lemp. Why do you think she might have been accused?
- Write another paragraph of Rebecca Lemp’s letter.
- Write down as many things as you can remember from the video segment about what happened in Salem in February 1692.
- Outline how each of the following may have contributed to the Salem Witch Hunts: Misogyny / Economic tensions / Factional and personal vendettas
Bible Study
Students read Proverbs 3:29-31 and summarise each verse in their own words. Students describe how this passage speaks into what happened specifically in the Salem witch hunts.
Students read Mark 12:28-31 and discuss how Jesus say we should treat our neighbour. Ask why students think Jesus calls these two commandments the most important?
Respond
Create & Discuss
Students create a series of social media posts that could be used in a campaign against modern online “witch hunts”.
In small groups, students discuss the extent to which religion (including Christianity) is responsible for modern witch hunts, and how Christianity might be part of the solution to religiously based violence.
Extended Composition
Students compose a fictional short story about a modern “witch hunt” (maximum one page).
Extension
Students read Act 1 Scene 1 of The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s 1953 classic play about the Salem Witch Trials, and write a one-page essay about how religion influences the attitudes and actions of the characters in the scene.