Witchcraft broadly means the practice and belief in magical abilities and skills that can be exercised by individuals and certain social groups. Witchcraft is a complex concept that varies culturally and socially; Therefore, it is difficult to define precisely and cross-cultural assumptions about the meaning of the term must be applied with caution. Witchcraft often occupies a role religious, divinatory or medicinal and is usually present in societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical view of the world.
The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have persisted through recorded history. They have been present or central at various times and in various forms between cultures and religions throughout the world, including "primitive" and "highly advanced" cultures, and they continue to play an important role in many cultures today. Scientifically, the existence of magical powers and witchcraft is believed to lack credibility and is not supported by high-quality experimental evidence, although individual witchcraft practices and effects may be open to scientific explanation or explained through mentalism and psychology..
Historically, the predominant concept of witchcraft in the Western world derives from the Old Testament laws against witchcraft, and entered the mainstream when the belief in witchcraft gained the approval of the Church in the early modern period. There is a theosophical conflict between good and evil, where witchcraft was generally evil and often associated with the worship of the Devil and the Devil. This culminated in deaths, torture and scapegoats (guilty of human misfortune), and many years of large-scale witch trials and witch hunts, especially in Europe.Protestant, before largely ceasing during the European Age of Enlightenment. Christian views in modern times are diverse and span the gamut of views from intense belief and opposition (especially from Christian fundamentalists) to non-belief, and in some churches even approval. Beginning in the mid-20th century, witchcraft - sometimes called contemporary witchcraft to clearly distinguish it from older beliefs - became the name of a branch of modern paganism. It is most notably practiced in both Wiccan and modern witchcraft traditions, and is no longer practiced in secret.
