Catolicismo ilustrado e feiti aria. Resultados e paradoxos na senda da liberta o das consciências

Although the Portuguese world did not experience witch hunts, the demonological theories at the movement’s origins found broad echo within the country. The new theological tendencies that started to take hold in Portugal from the second half of the 13th century led to changes in the way the literate elite thought about magic. Thus, under the influence of erudition and the thought of the Enlightenment, criticism in intellectual circles of belief in magic or witchcraft became increasingly more severe. In 1774, the Royal Censorial Court examined a request to print the translation of an Italian book called Difesa de Cecilia Faragò, inquisita di fattucchieria, whose well-reasoned thesis argued for the inexistence of the magical art ascribed to witches and wizards. Based on the Royal Censorial Court’s long report on the work, written by its Deputy, Father José da Rocha, in which the Court’s position on the matter is expounded, this paper intends to show how the assumptions of Catholic insight contribute to the change in how witchcraft in Portugal came to be regarded. The sociocultural implications of this change are also explored, particularly with regard to the manner in which it shaped a more tolerant or intolerant attitude towards magical practices, on the part of state and ecclesiastic authorities.