What religion were the characters in The Crucible?

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Religion

Religion is woven into the everyday life of Salem in The Crucible. The townsfolk practice a form of Christianity centered on a set of clearly defined rules: you go to church every Sunday, you don’t work on the Sabbath, you believe the Gospel, you respect the minister’s word like it is God’s, and so on.

For people accused of witchcraft, any deviation from these rules in the past can be used as evidence for much greater sins in the present. But ultimately, even good and respected and highly religious women like Rebecca Nurse are accused and put to death, so past respectability and religiosity doesn’t necessarily protect anyone.

Questions About Religion

1. How would you characterize the play’s attitude toward organized religion? Does Miller see all forms of religion as corrupt, or only the particular form embodied by men like Rev. Parris?
2. How do the religious beliefs of certain characters help them survive or at least cope with difficult situations?

Chew on This

Rebecca Nurse is the character in the play who best embodies a positive form of religiosity.

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The Selfishness of Religion Arthurs Millers play, The Crucible, highlights the display of religion that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and resulted in the now infamous Salem Witch Trials. Although the play is fiction, Miller portrayed a realistic use of religion for personal gain by making parallel examples of the characters of the play to actual religious conquests throughout history. Throughout the play, numerous characters use religion for their advantage and their own benefit. Abigail Williams is a very jealous and psychedelic girl who is envious of Elizabeth Proctor’s relationship with John Proctor. Abigail hates Elizabeth for firing her and taking her away from close proximity from Elizabeth’s husband, in which she had an affair with. Abigail thinks that she is a “cold, sniveling woman,” and is not as good for John as she would be (Miller 205). Abigail cares more about herself than the marriage between Elizabeth and John. She lusts for John, which is a sin, and drinks a blood to cast a charm upon Elizabeth. Abigail eventually accuses Elizabeth, along with many other towns peoples witchcraft, which will eventually get the, hanged and killed. Abigail Williams uses fear of religion in an attempt to get what she wants. Similar to Abigail’s use of accusation, Rev. Parris is unwilling to put his power of the church in jeopardy, so he …show more content…
John Proctor asks Marry Warren to stand before the court and testify that the young women “never saw Satan” but were “marvelous pretenders” (Miller 191). Danforth asks Proctor “what is your purpose,” to Proctor’s response, is to free his wife Elizabeth (Miller 184). Danforth become defensive and suspicious and believes Proctor’s “purpose is somewhat larger’ than merely trying to free his wife (Miller 185”. Danforth did not want anyone to hear testimony that might weaken his court and bring uncertainty about his

Given a story about a suspected possession of young women by the Devil, the core of the tale being that of religion is an obvious aspect. The Crucible is about what can only come naturally after children confess to making deals with Satan; a Crucible. Beginning with an onslaught of finger-pointing and denial of the deed, the Acts that follow the eventual confession consist of interpersonal relationships with the play 's characters and conflicts that 're set to messily resolve themselves. With characters who believe that their children, nieces, granddaughters, neighbors, etc. are taken by the hands of Lucifer, the fact that they are all Christians is painfully present. Though, some being religious to a fault is not an option scratched out by the author.
A prime example of those lead astray by their blind belief are the Putnams, who shout witchcraft as soon as they discover their daughter to be ill, without any symptoms but complete unconsciousness and with the knowledge of only what she had done the night before. A fellow character that shares the belief, John hale enters the story as a sophisticated doctor to diagnose the true cause of the mysterious…show more content…
The story of the Crucible itself tells of how reckless complete faith in God can be. While religion isn 't necessarily a bad thing, nor a characteristic shared by incorrect people, it can lead to inessential and unjust actions when taken into accord too strongly. Say the girls ' confession may have been true, and the sickened ones could have been truly ill from the touch of the Beelzebub. Where would it take society in the future? Although the one incident was riddled with truth and Satan was as real and as present as tax collectors, the world today would be filled with declarations of children being possessed by the Devil when they had nothing but the modern day stomach flu. As much as belief provides answers, it does not bring the same verification a conducted study and results with lists of scientific

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