As a representative of the state government, is Danforth neutral and fair? How would his statement, “Do you know, Mr. Proctor, that the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?” be received in a court today? Why was it received as valid in Salem in 1692?

Danforth in Arthur Miller’s iconic play, The Crucible, is perhaps one of the most complex and disturbing characters in American literature.
A magistrate obligated to uphold and enforce the law with impartiality and wisdom, Danforth is nevertheless blinded not by faith but by religious zeal—and a determination to see only what he wants to see.
In this case, what Danforth wants to see or, rather, to hear, is the voice of God speaking through these young girls as they accuse their elders of witchcraft, a capital offense in Puritan New England.
What Danforth does not see, however, are the girls’ sinister motives. He cannot possibly fathom that the girls could be lying about such a grave matter. His own faith is such that he cannot, does not, or simply will not entertain the notion that the girls could be using Christian teachings for their own purposes, to punish those they don’t like or even to cover up their own sins and transgressions.
Danforth’s zealotry makes him unable to see the truth, even when the evidence before his very eyes is clear and unmistakable. His desire to be seen as a champion for God’s law makes him unable to uphold his sworn responsibilities as a defender of secular, government law.
Such blindness, ultimately, leads to the execution of the accused witches, wrongfully condemned through the callous actions of the young girls and the foolishness of a gullible judge.
The striking example of Danforth and the Salem trials explains why the concept of the separation of Church and State is so important in the US legal system today. When the real Salem trials occurred, there was no such concept. The sacred and the secular were very much intertwined, and, in Puritan communities especially, religious doctrine was often used to shape public policy and define and enforce public laws.