Religion was eventually banned from the Elizabethan stage because of its sensitive nature. Doctor Faustus was the last play from this period to deal directly with a religious topic. However, as the play demonstrates, Elizabethans blurred the line between religion and magic. Religion involves faith or belief in the supernatural and the existence of good and evil. In Elizabethan England, as well as in much of Europe, this went hand in hand with the belief in witches and witchcraft. Renaissance interest in alchemy, astrology, and magic tended to support this belief. Furthermore, the first printed books were religious in nature, and many circulated ideas about witches, deals with the devil, and magical abilities. In parts of Europe witches were hunted, tortured, and killed by the thousands. The hysteria did not reach these heights in England, though Queen Elizabeth passed a harsh witchcraft law in 1562. The character Doctor Faustus, who makes a pact with a devil and becomes a magician, was seen as a witch by Elizabethan audiences. Yet his downfall and fate were viewed in light of redemption, salvation, and eternal damnation, all of which are Christian ideas.