Witch-Hunt part 2

The witch-hunts took place in a time of instability. The black plague was ravaging all of Europe at an alarming pace. The economic situation was very poor; thousands upon thousands of people were living in squalor causing many to starve. The Thirty Years War raging on between the Catholics and the Protestants and sparked fear in the hearts of many. And with the ever so common change in ruler, mainly in England, people became weary. The church needed to draw the attention back to religion to calm the masses. Because of the hyper focus on Christianity, people had little tolerance of any difference.