セーラム魔女裁判にみる「宗教と狂気」
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概要
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The Salem witch hunt took place in New England from 1692 to 1693. Over a period of a year and a half, about 185 people were accused, 59 pronounced guilty, and 28 killed. Analyses of the Salem hunt have attributed it to the psychological disorders of adolescent girls, to the religious propaganda of puritan clergymen, and to a conspiracy hatched by political leaders acting amid harsh conditions in the new colony. Though it was one of the greatest tragedies of American history, it seems impossible to explain fully and satisfactorily why innocent people were arrested and killed as witches. This paper examines from a religious perspective the relationship between the puritan tradition and witchcraft. I first lay out the chronological sequence of events, and then analyze the positions of two major personalities involved in the hunt : Cotton Mather and George Burroughs. Both of them were puritan clergymen and Harvard graduates, but while the former sponsored the hunt, the latter was declared a witch and hanged. The religion and madness of the Salem witchcraft trials do not belong to a dead past ; for when we investigate the causes and significance of the hunt, we are warned of the dangers that continue to threaten freedom and humanity today.
- 東京大学文学部宗教学研究室,Department of Religiou Studies. The University of Tokyo,日本大学の論文
- 1997-03-31