false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173680227m/314102.jpg 314102 11 Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today's "underdeveloped areas." The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death; many were illiterate; epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London's inhabitants by a sixth; fire was a constant threat; the food supply was precarious; and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy. In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural. Science and technology have made us less vulnerable to some of the hazards which confronted the people of the past. Yet Religion and the Decline of Magic concludes that "if magic is defined as the employment of ineffective techniques to allay anxiety when effective ones are not available, then we must recognize that no society will ever be free from it." 304949 book 1971 Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England total:54|5:25|4:22|3:6|2:1|1:0| 54 233 115 11 4 0 false false Mon Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 14:45:32 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 14:59:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 05:45:32 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 08:00:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Nov 15 14:42:51 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 19 13:03:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 12:19:13 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 14:50:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 09 13:07:33 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 13:17:14 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 14 07:11:46 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 07:12:03 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Aug 19 15:49:57 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 15:49:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 21:46:29 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 20:18:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat May 16 21:35:32 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 21:35:32 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jul 05 13:55:07 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 05 13:55:20 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Dec 03 21:10:34 -0800 2008 Thu May 14 08:45:14 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 19:19:08 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 19:19:08 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 15 00:30:10 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 00:30:10 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 14 13:53:03 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 13:53:03 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 17:09:17 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 17:09:17 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 04:22:37 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 04:22:37 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 25 05:41:36 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 05:41:36 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 24 12:15:51 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 12:15:55 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 15 01:31:02 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 01:32:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 14 19:23:26 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 19:23:26 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=314102