superstition
Sign in to savethumb|Witch-hunting is commonly motivated by religious superstition; pictured is an imaginative depiction of the [[Salem Witch Trials|240x240px]] A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, fate, magic, amulets, astrology, fortune telling, spirits, and certain paranormal entities, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.
AI overview
A superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or supernatural by those who don't follow it, such as beliefs about luck, magic, fortune-telling, or the idea that unrelated events can predict the future. Superstitions matter because they can significantly influence people's decisions and actions, sometimes motivating harmful practices like witch-hunting, and they reveal how people try to understand and control uncertainty in their lives.
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Article
25 sectionsContents
- Contemporary use
- Alternative religious beliefs as superstition
- Classifications
- Criticism of definitions
- Subjective perceptions
- Etymology
- Superstition and psychology
- Origins
- Behaviorism perspective
- Evolutionary/cognitive perspective
- Mechanisms
- Occurrence
- Consumer behavior
- Superstition and politics
- Opposition to superstition
- Regional and national superstitions
- Animals
- Numbers
- Objects
- Actions
- See also
- Bibliography
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Witch-hunting is commonly motivated by religious superstition; pictured is an imaginative depiction of the [[Salem Witch Trials|240x240px]] A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, fate, magic, amulets, astrology, fortune telling, spirits, and certain paranormal entities, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.
The word superstition is also used to refer to a religion not practiced by the majority of a given society regardless of whether the prevailing religion contains alleged superstitions or to all religions by the antireligious.