M embers of the first panel were tasked with giving short 5-minute presentations about their current research projects. Further to this, they critically contemplated the conceptual tools that scholars of the subject rely on – should we talk about “beliefs” in witchcraft? Is “ magic ” the right word, or should we rather think in terms of what is and is not “enchanted”? These reflections were punctuated by the sound of church bells ringing, which was strangely fitting and added an extra layer of magic to the event. As Chris Gosden put it, we are “in a mess,” and we need new ways to deal with that mess. The various panelists reflected on where the field stand s today, with some speakers pointing out that we may need magic now more than ever. It was divided into three pa nels of interdisciplinary speakers : f irst, “The Decline of Magic Today” ( Sir Noel Malcolm, Robin Briggs, Chris Gosden, Michelle Pfeffer, Will Pooley, Laura Sangha, and David Zeitlyn ).įollowed by “The Legacy of Religion and the Decline of Magic ” ( Paul Slack, Michael Hunter, Alan Macfarlane, Jan Machielsen, Sophie Page, Alexandra Walsham ) a recording of which can be watched below:Īnd f inally, a response from Sir Keith Thomas himself, which can be viewed below:

The event was a resounding success, with more than 300 people joining in both virtually and in-person to celebrate the rich legacy of Religion and the Decline of Magic. While some early reviewers critiqued the book for making use of “ out of date ” anthropological approaches, Thomas’s book has since been heralded as a landmark of socio-historical research and has become a classic point of reference for scholars and students of early modern religion and culture. Originally published in 1971, Religion and the Decline of Magic offers an incredibly vast and detailed overview of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English supernatural. A ttend ee s were able to live react to the celebration s using the Twitter hashtag #SirKeithFest. The event was held in the Old Library of All Souls College, University of Oxford, and was also livestreamed via Microsoft Teams. In recognition of this momentous milestone, the Past & Present Society generously supported “50 Years of Keith Thomas’s Religion and the Decline of Magic ,” an event jointly organized by Michelle Pfeffer, Jan Machielsen, and Robin Briggs. This year marks the 50 th anniversary of the publication of Sir Keith Thomas’s Religion and the Decline of Magic.

The decline of magic