People were being tortured and burned as heretics for not converting and accepting the new religion. Disagreeing with the church was a crime of heresy and was punishable by death. There are reports of whole towns being murdered. Whole towns were wiped out of women and young female children. Although, men who stood up for these women and any children and even their pets were often murdered and it was common to be burned at the stake although the torture was not limited to being burned. To burn in this world was to condemn the victim to the eternal lake of fire of Hell.