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Superstition surprisingly high in those with scientific background

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In “Will science banish superstition for ever?: Which makes people more superstitious: fervent scientism or fervent religious belief? The answer may surprise you,” we learn, among other things:

 In Britain, during National Science Week (2003), University of Hertfordshire psychologist Richard Wiseman and associates surveyed 2068 people on superstitious behaviour. They found, among other things, that

“The current levels of superstitious behaviour and beliefs in the UK are surprisingly high, even among those with a scientific background. Touching wood is the most popular UK superstition, followed by crossing fingers, avoiding ladders, not smashing mirrors, carrying a lucky charm and having superstitious beliefs about the number 13.”

Twenty-five percent of the people who claimed a background in science were very or somewhat superstitious. (Mercatornet, August 10, 2011) More.

Comments
In evangelical society superstition was a bad word. In Christianity there are real ideas and the superstitions are not a part of Christian doctrines. they are not articulated in the bible. in fact, off the record, a historical, some present, criticism of Catholicism was that it nurtured superstitions because while accepting the super natural they were not controled by what the bible says and easily added or allowed a lot of superstitions. In fact in puritan Protestantism there is no belief in ghosts. Demons but no ghosts. once dead one is somewhere else. impossible to be a ghost. This is why there there were few or no ghost stories in New England or Presbyterian Scotland. Anglican Virginia or England would have them.Robert Byers
August 13, 2011
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