CRM 1300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Age Of Enlightenment, Atavism, Enlight Software
13 Sep 2015
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There is a link between evil spirits and wrongdoing. The role of evil spirits in sinful behaviour is: temptation: this is based on belief that people exercise free will and choose to act in particular ways, even ways they know to be wrong. The devil is trying to tempt people and it is their choice on whether or not to engage. People were deemed as morally evil if they succumbed to him. Misfortune was a result of their moral failure: possession: wrongdoers were often suspected of being possessed by the devil or some other malevolent spirit. They had little hope of recovery and were put through very harsh punishments. People started to question the beliefs about religion and they put blame on people with power instead of gods/the devil. This led political elites to try and divert the responsibility and they tried to bring back the idea of the devil. During this time, witch trials were extremely prevalent.
