Superstition

The Wall Street Journal reported: "A comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians."[1]

Superstition is a belief without justification based on fear of the unknown, ignorance, or on a false principle of causation.

## Contents

* 1 Irreligion and Superstition
* 2 Superstition and faith
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Irreligion and Superstition[edit]

See also: Irreligion and superstition

In September 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported:

“  |  The reality is that the New Atheist campaign, by discouraging religion, won't create a new group of intelligent, skeptical, enlightened beings. Far from it: It might actually encourage new levels of mass superstition. And that's not a conclusion to take on faith -- it's what the empirical data tell us.

"What Americans Really Believe," a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians....

This is not a new finding. In his 1983 book "The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener," skeptic and science writer Martin Gardner cited the decline of traditional religious belief among the better educated as one of the causes for an increase in pseudoscience, cults and superstition. He referenced a 1980 study published in the magazine Skeptical Inquirer that showed irreligious college students to be by far the most likely to embrace paranormal beliefs, while born-again Christian college students were the least likely.[2]

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## Superstition and faith[edit]

Some people have argued that the beliefs of several religions (including Western Christianity) match the criteria which define "superstition", citing the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition.[3] However this argument fails to distinguish between superstition and faith.

## See also[edit]

* Astrology
* Geomancy

## References[edit]

1. ↑ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html
2. ↑ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html
3. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superstition