On the Devil, Witch Trials, and the Repeal of Roe v. Wade
A 1494 copy of the Malleus Maleficarum (‘Hammer of Witches’) by Heinrich Kramer, currently on display at The British Museum’s ‘Feminine Power’ exhibit. From The Syndics of Cambridge University Library, Inc.4. A.7.2 [4165]
Like any religious or mythic trope, the character of the Devil has evolved significantly over time. Very little of what modern Christians believe about their Devil is actually rooted in scriptural tradition. Even referring to him 'Lucifer' (Gk. Eosphoros, He. Hêlêl) is entirely non-canonical - this was never *intended* to be the Devil’s personal name. Rather, Lucifer, like the other names, is a poetic epithet for Venus when she appears as the Morning Star, referenced metaphorically by Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible to describe the impending ‘fall’ of the Babylonian king.
The entire ‘fallen angel’ motif, and its association with Satan, is almost entirely apocryphal, much like perceptions of ‘hell’ as a fiery pit of eternal torment like that seen in Dante's Inferno. This latter idea is particularly egregious, since Christians use the threat of damnation to literally ‘scare the hell out’ of people (especially queer young people) and coerce them into conforming to their ludicrous cherry-picked ‘moral’ framework. Telling kids that they will burn for eternity if they’re gay is child abuse, and *should* be criminal.
None of this was a part of mainstream Judaism. The notions of hell and an omnimalevolent anti-God only began to emerge with the rise of Jewish Apocalyptic movements like Christianity (most likely as a result of Zoroastrian influence). In the Hebrew Bible, the word śāṭān was a generic term for ‘accusers,’ and ‘The Śāṭān’ (as found in Job) refers to a minor angelic prosecutor (or ‘accuser’) acting in service to Yahweh. There is no absolute embodiment of evil in Judaism. The snake in the garden was never the Devil. All of this was a later innovation tied to Jewish Apocalyptic movements, who claimed the Devil would be a key character in the then-impending end of the world (which was expected to be imminently approaching 2000 years ago).
Even though Christianity popularised the notion of the Devil, in the early centuries of the Catholic church he was a rather hapless and oft-ridiculed character. No benefits whatsoever could be seen to result from engaging with him or his ‘demons.’ This began to change in the 13th-14th centuries with the writings of folks like Thomas Aquinas, and by the time the Black Death hit in 1346, lots of Europeans began to think of the Devil as a clear and present influence in the day-to-day-world, and some began to wonder whether sorcery might have something to do with the onslaught of plague, famine, and war in late medieval Europe.
The Devil you Know
A key turning point came in 1485, when an Austrian woman named Helena Scheuberin was brought to trial under allegations of witchcraft. A Dominican inquisitor named Heinrich Kramer had taken up residence in her town, operating under a papal decree to tackle a growing scourge of ‘witchcraft’ on behalf of the Catholic Church. Helena publicly boycotted his sermons, proclaiming that Kramer himself was doing the Devil’s work by sewing discord in her community. She became a thorn in Kramer’s side, who ultimately decided to take her to court and try her as a witch.
Kramer characterised Helena as an "aggressive, independent woman who was not afraid to speak her mind.” (1) On top of her more general charges of heresy, she stood accused of using diabolical magic to kill a local knight, who had recently fallen ill and died. Kramer presided over the trial himself, along with several other tribunal members. In the trial, he specifically focused on Helena’s *sexual* character to substantiate his claims of sorcery, but ultimately the tribunal deemed there to be insufficient evidence and Helena was set free. This enraged Kramer, who tried to push the matter forward, but his obsession with Helena and fixation on her sexual behaviours ultimately led the local Bishop to expel him from Innsbruck and send him back to Cologne.
Humiliated and indignant, Kramer decided to write a book, which he entitled the Malleus Maleficarum (the 'Hammer of Witches'), the single most influential demonological work ever composed in the Christian tradition. It was initially condemned by Cologne’s top theologians as being unethical and inconsistent with Catholic doctrine, which had long held that ‘magic’ and ‘witchcraft’ were fundamentally unreal - the “fantasies of overwrought human minds.”(2) But over time, witchcraft went from being a ridiculous fairy tale to a very serious Christian concern. The Malleus Maleficarum was embraced across Europe as the gold standard for witch-hunting, and by some accounts it was the most widely published and circulated book in Europe (after the Bible) for several centuries. The significance of this text, and the witch-hunting culture that surrounded it, cannot be understated when attempting to make sense of modern Christian theology and demonology.
Of the six primary activities that Kramer associates with witchcraft, *half* are directly tied to female sexuality and reproduction. Promiscuity, sex rituals, sex with the Devil, and the sacrifice (and consumption) of babies and fetuses were all seen as common practices of witches. On this basis, any suspicions of sexual impropriety (or abortions) could be fashioned as reasonable grounds for a death trial. Kramer argued that the Devil orders women (and midwives) to kill as many children as possible in their sinister rituals, making ointments and potions out of their bodies in order to gain ‘evil knowledge,’ supernatural powers, and longevity.(3)
‘Witchcraft: witches giving babies to the devil.’ Woodcut, 1720. Via Wellcome Collection (https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ymnjkmcu).
By the 16th-17th centuries, the Devil became a far more powerful and active figure in Christian religion, and women were seen to be key co-conspirators in his diabolical plans. Rather than simply being deceived by Satan, these women were perceived as colluding with him in a grand conspiracy against God.(4) This was a wholly novel innovation in theology and demonology, leading to a conceptualisation of the Devil that prevails to this day.
By the end of the 17th century, 40,000-60,000 people were executed during the European witch-trials. Of these, around 80% were women, and most were over 40 years old.(5) We often talk about this chapter of history in a bizarrely romantic light. Tales of witches are fodder for scary stories or Halloween tours, but the reality is that this was religiously-sanctioned genocide (specifically gendercide). **NONE** of these women were actually in magical ‘league with the Devil,’ and the vast majority had no involvement with nature-based practices, spell-craft, or healing whatsoever. The only clear consistency in their cases is that most (though not all) of them were women. This is the context for the modern Devil - Christian perceptions of his role in the world are *intimately* tied to these crimes against humanity, through which femininity itself became characterised as diabolical and female sexuality became a favoured domain for this new-and-improved figure of 'Satan.'
An obsession with female reproduction was a key driver of the witch-trials, but it would be a mistake to think that this was only driven by male accusers. Part of what allowed the witch-trials to have such remarkable ramifications was the fact that allegations of witchcraft could be levied against *anyone* by *anyone*, and other women often provided key testimonies. Despite the remarkable claims of the accusers (i.e. ‘women are gaining supernatural powers by having sex with the Devil and sacrificing babies’), remarkable evidence was never necessary to result in a death sentence. Approximately half of all witch-trials resulted in execution. Naturally, we can assume that exactly *none* of the plaintiffs or witnesses *actually* had proof that the accused were successfully performing Satanic magic. And yet they burned nonetheless.(6)
As an extension of the crime of *heresy* against the Christian god, non-Christians were also naturally implicated in this process quite gravely. Stories and depictions of witches have long relied on antisemitic dogwhistles,(7) ultimately merging with medieval blood libel myths (which also arose in the 13th c.) to establish a perception of Jewish people as Satanic sorcerers. And in Scandinavia, hundreds of indigenous Sámi peoples were burned at the stake for engaging in traditional animistic practices.(8.)
To put it simply, the European witch-trials helped to establish a conceptual link between women, nature, and an active and engaged Devil. This was all an important backdrop for the Protestant Reformation, in which Martin Luther established a Protestant approach to demonology closely inspired by these contemporary witch beliefs.(9) To Luther, Satan wasn’t a passive and internal force, but a dynamic and embodied agent with a direct impact on both our day-to-day lives and the historical trajectory of mankind.
The 21st Century Witch Trials
Fast-forward 400 years, and there is again a growing number of individuals (largely Evangelical Christians) who have come to believe that abortion is a Satanic rite, and that elite members of liberal society (like Hillary Clinton) are engaged in a global conspiracy to sacrifice as many fetuses, babies, and children as possible to perform their diabolical rituals. A not-insubstantial portion of the American *voting* public earnestly believes that this is occurring, and that institutional abortion is integral to this process.(10) A remarkable 15-20% of the American public believes at least *some* of the conspiracies peddled by QAnon, of which this abortion myth is a central pillar.(11) This may sound profoundly ridiculous - and it most certainly is - but this ridiculous myth remains a powerful driver of American politics in 2022, whether we like it or not.
In some places, measures will now be put in place that allows *anyone* to personally sue patients, doctors, or those who help ‘aid and abet’ abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Most troublingly, in places like Texas, these abortion-hunters can receive a bounty of up to $10,000.(12) Similar paradigms may quite possibly become the law of the land for up to half of the United States, despite the fact that two-thirds of Americans *support* the right of a woman (or anyone with a uterus) to terminate a pregnancy on their own terms.(13) The full range of ramifications, including the potential criminalisation of miscarriages and life-saving procedures, are bound to be catastrophic. And having citizens take matters into their own hands, especially when so many people are deeply mired in conspiracy theories, is bound to be an absolute fucking disaster.
One doesn’t need to be a historian to recognise this terrifying repetition of history here. While androcentrism and misogyny are obviously at the core, the specifically mythic and theological dimensions of this crisis cannot be overlooked. This is the level that most voters are operating on, even if the politicians themselves generally realise that it’s all nonsense. The modern conception of the Christian Devil was born out of misogyny. The creation of an active, engaged, and sex-obsessed omni-malevolent adversary was *specifically* invented to accommodate a belief in witches.
Conservatives in America have been complaining about abortion for decades - basically ever since they realised that they were (and still are) on the losing end of the Civil Rights debate. While changes in the Supreme Court are clearly a large part of what enabled this travesty to occur, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that such an unprecedented shift in legal policy only came after the right wing took such a harsh conspiratorial turn in their anti-abortion rhetoric. We are quite literally barreling towards a 21st century revival of witch-trials. And it won't be limited to abortions.
Don’t get me wrong - I don’t think for a moment that the majority of GOP politicians *actually* believe that abortionists are sacrificing babies to Satan. But many of their constituents certainly do, and by perpetuating such rhetoric (even merely by not rejecting it), they can ensure that people will perceive their position of authority as divinely-mandated. Voters in a ‘democratic’ system have been effectively led to believe that voting for a pro-choice candidate is a vote for the Devil himself, and that the GOP (the party of assault rifles, white nationalism, industrial deregulation, and free market capitalism) is a sole beacon of Biblical values in a world rife with liberal evil.
This is poison for a democratic system - fundamentally undermining the efficacy of such a method of governance. We’re facing an array of tremendously serious issues right now (like climate change and global pandemics) that require intelligence, tact, and wisdom from our political leaders. But a disproportionately powerful faction of voters currently believe that a covert cabal of Jewish reptilian-witches are routinely sacrificing and imbibing fetuses to gain supernatural powers.
Now, you may say that not *all* anti-choice activists believe in this myth, but the same can be said for many of the people involved in the witch-trials (particularly the plaintiffs). But that didn't really matter. The 'public' began to see it as a real possibility, and allowed these atrocities to occur on that basis. As John Stuart Mill said, “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
In the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion, Justice Samuel Alito specifically quotes one Sir Matthew Hale, a 17th century English jurist who codified the 'marital rape exemption,' and whose writings on abortion are cited frequently throughout the document. Alito writes, for instance, that "Two treatises by Sir Matthew Hale likewise described abortion of a quick child who died in the womb as a 'great crime' and a 'great misprision.'"(14) Most notably, Hale was, as you might have guessed, directly involved in witch-trials. And unlike his colleagues, many of whom were starting to come out of the spell of witch-mania, he remained firm in his conviction that witches are a real and present danger.(15) With the direct and obvious links between witches, female sexuality, reproduction, and abortion, we can now say that US policy on the matter is directly influenced by the policies of witch-hunters.
We shouldn’t overestimate our rationality and ‘disenchantment’ as a modern society. We might reasonably look upon holy wars with a cynical eye and recognise that most conflicts have far more to do with power and resources than real religious beliefs. But particularly in a democratic society, the political manipulation of *religion* and *myth* deserves at least as much attention as the worldly political ambitions of the powerful.
Abortion has been contrived into a core Christian crusade, and thus, it *is* a Christian crusade. ‘No true Scotsman’ arguments are useless here. There is certainly no canonical basis for the notion that a fetus’s life is equal to that of an autonomous human in Jewish law (see Exodus 21:22-25), and the idea that life begins at conception is likewise a matter of creative interpretation and not canon.(16) Notably, we *do* have this in idea Buddhism, but most American Buddhists are staunchly pro-choice.
Regardless, modern iterations of Christianity (both in Catholicism and Protestantism) are not built upon canon. Religion is not a fixed thing - it evolves over time. Modern obsessions with the Devil in American Christianity are quite specifically dangerous, and the religious assimilation of conspiracies like QAnon are actively setting the stage for a revival of the evils of the witch-trial era.
In short, this isn’t just about the ‘sanctity of life’ for modern American Christians. The topic of abortion is *directly* tied to the modern conceptualisation of Satan established in the witch-trial era, which was itself largely codified by a butt-hurt friar who wasn't able to burn a woman he hated at the stake for being sexually immoral. As a result, the mythic trope of the promiscuous, Satan-banging, baby-eating, abortion-seeking witch was born, and now American communities living in the most advanced era of human civilisation in history have decided to base the entirety of their political identity on this very myth - using it as a justification for the subordination of women and the establishment of a totalitarian pseudo-theocratic state.
(1) Broedel, H. P. (2003). *The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft: Theology and Popular Belief.* Manchester: Manchester UP, p. 1
(2) Broedel, H. P. (2003). *The Malleus Maleficarum*, p. 22.
(3) Mackay, C. S. (2009), *The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum.* Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(4) Montesano, M. (2018), ‘Horns, Hooves and Hell: The Devil in Medieval Times,’ *National Geographic,* ([https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/.../horns-hooves-and...]
(5) Mackay, C. S. (2009), *The Hammer of Witches*, p. 19.
(6) Gendercide.org (ND), ‘Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450-1750 and Witch-Hunts Today,’ [http://www.faculty.umb.edu/.../Witch.../case_witchhunts.html]
(7) Trachtenberg, J. (nd), 'Jewish Magic & the Blood Libels' [https://www.myjewishlearning.com/.../jewish-magic-the.../]
(8.) Oberg, S. (2020), ‘Landshövding vägrade bränna häxor,’ ([https://slakthistoria.se/.../landshovding-vagrade-branna...]
(9) Levack, B. P. (2013), *The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America*. Oxford: Oxford UP, pp. 75-6.
(10) Posner, S. (2021), ‘QAnon and the Assault on Planned Parenthood,’ Rolling Stone, ([https://www.rollingstone.com/.../qanon-planned.../]
(11) Smith, D. (2022), 'Belief in QAnon has strengthened in US since Trump was voted out, study finds,' The Guardian. ([https://www.theguardian.com/.../qanon-believers-increased...]
(12) Tavernise, S. (2021), 'Citizens, Not the State, Will Enforce New Abortion Law in Texas,' The New York Times. ([https://www.nytimes.com/.../abortion-law-regulations...]
(13) Bowden, J. (2022), 'Two-thirds of Americans want abortion rights to remain in place, poll finds,' Independent. ([https://www.independent.co.uk/.../abortion-poll-supreme...]
(14) [https://s3.documentcloud.org/.../scotus-initial-draft.pdf]
(15) Thomas, T. (2022), 'Relying on the Precedent of Witch Trials in the Draft Dobbs Abortion Opinion', [https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/.../relying-on-the...]
(16) Schenker, J. G. (2008), 'The beginning of human life,' J Assist Reprod Genet., 25(6), 271-76. DOI 10.1007/s10815-008-9221-6
Also see Strauss, E. (2017), 'When Does Life Begin? It's Not So Simple,' Slate, [https://slate.com/.../when-does-life-begin-outside-the...]