![]() "Unfortunately, for decades people believed to be sorcerers or witches have been killed in a cruel way in many parts of the world." "Similar ideas of witchcraft to those of the early modern period actually exist today in other parts of the world as an explanation for calamity," ethnologist Iris Gareis told DW. ![]() This was common in the past, but still exists today in some countries. Whatever the misfortune - disease, dead livestock, failed harvests, a failed business - a scapegoat was needed. Allgöwer/imageBROKER/picture allianceīarbara, however, doesn't want to put a curse on anyone, she told DW emphatically: "This classic image of a witch sneaking out at night, flying on a broom and conjuring up something evil for people, that's of course total nonsense." Scapegoats for calamityįor centuries, many people, especially women, fell victim to this notion of the witch, and particularly between about 1450 and 1750 in Europe. The authors of the study also define those who believe in the evil eye and in curses as "believers in witches." Amulets are believed to ward off evil spirits Image: Walter G. That figure fluctuates from country to country: In Tunisia, it is around 90%, in Germany just 13%. In the Middle Ages, she would probably have been burned at the stake for such a statement.īarbara is not the only one who still believes in witchcrafttoday.Īccording to "Witchcraft Beliefs around the World: An Exploratory Analysis," a global study released in November by economist Boris Gershman of American University in Washington, D.C., a remarkable 40% of the global population across 95 countries is convinced that witches exist. "I'm a modern witch, I stand by that," says Barbara from Cologne.
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