Witchcraft as a Religious Device

I think when we look at witches today a lot of us see characters who are fun, admirable, exciting, and almost make us envious in a way so that we have a small desire to be like them. Think of major characters from a multitude of different media - Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter, American Horror Story. When we look at witches most of us think either good witches or evil witches and that's what a lot of today's society views them as. For those who are deeply religious, witchcraft still plays a horrific part in the decay of society, while on the other hand, those of us who aren't as deeply religious and believe in science and not the supernatural, find witchcraft to be enticing and exciting. There are still parallels that we can see today that invoke imagery of the past. We still have individuals who are convinced that witchcraft leads to deals with Satan and those who practice witchcraft will burn in the fires of hell which is very much similar to what was going on in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While society may not be as extreme nowadays as it has been in the dark past - we're not publicly hanging those who are "involved" in witchcraft - you can still see in other parts of the world how much still hasn't changed. Upon doing some internet and Google searching one can see that many parts of the Eastern world are still afflicted with ongoing witch hunts, which can be seen in many African and Asian countries. I enjoyed in class the mention of witches being a way to publicly shame and exterminate those in society who hold low positions of power and using the accusation of witchcraft as a device to "cleanse" society. Much of this can also be tied to the Eastern countries practicing these witch hunts, as much of what they're doing is more of a mass hysteria to find ways to ostracize as many people as they can. Also, while the majority of the witch hysteria is found in the Eastern world, even American society can find itself dealing with similar situations. For the religious fundamentalists we can see a craze against witchcraft as well even though there's an overwhelmingly scientific argument against it. Prayers, deliverance, hope - these are promised for those who seek God and repel all witchcraft. Check the link I've provided (http://dianarasmussen.com/2015/03/12/how-to-recognize-a-witch-that-comes-to-church/) and see for yourself how witchcraft must be avoided at all costs.