Understanding mass allegations of satanist child abuse in early modern Sweden: demographic data relevant to the Rättvik outbreak of 1670-1671.
Demographic characteristics of 79 women who were accused of satanist child abductions in the parish of Rättvik, Sweden, in 1670-1671; 53 adults who promoted such accusations by bringing children to interrogations; and samples from the general population of Rättvik were compared. Results indicate that men were more likely to promote allegations of satanism than women and that these men were more likely to be married than the average Rättvik male. Promoters of allegations were older than average parishioners, and land-owning people who were involved in the panic owned more land than landowners who were not involved. People who were involved in the panic knew less about Luther's catechism than members of the general population. It is suggested that most of these findings may reflect a tendency of people who lived in the proximity of children to become involved in the panic.
Sjöberg
Rickard L
RL
rickard.sjoberg@ipm.ki.se
D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000266:history*; D003710:Demography; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D013548:Sweden; D018599:Witchcraft / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology*