Study: More than 40% of people believe in witches and witchcraft
Miscellaneous / / April 05, 2023
These beliefs cannot be banned, but they can be dealt with in other ways.
Time middle agesWhen would-be witches were burned at the stake are long gone, but the belief in witchcraft and curses in the world is still strong. According to new research American scientists, more than 40% of people around the world believe in the existence of such witches.
Although the prevalence of these superstitions varies greatly from country to country, researchers have identified several cultural, political and economic factors that seem to encourage such beliefs.
The scientists used the results of surveys involving more than 140,000 people in 95 countries. All responses were collected into one massive dataset, providing a broad picture of witchcraft beliefs around the world.
It turned out that on average 43% of respondents agreed with the statement that "some people can cast curses or spells that cause something bad in someone."
The study says that such results suggest that in 95 countries, the sample of believers in witchcraft could be close to a billion. And this number is still underestimated due to the sensitivity of the issue for some respondents.
The authors note that the answers vary greatly depending on the region, which is logical and expected. For example, only 9% of Swedes believe in witchcraft, but among the inhabitants of Tunisia, 90% of such people turned out to be.
Researchers have sought to clarify and understand the social function of such beliefs. For centuries on witches often wrote off the misfortunes in people's lives and, thus, helped to cope with them and survive. Accordingly, these beliefs are correlated with exposure to certain shocks, such as agricultural drought or unemployment.
The authors also note that the concept of witchcraft helps to maintain order and cohesion in the environment. lack of effective governance mechanisms and is therefore more common in countries with weak social institutions. At the same time, these potential functions and benefits are likely to come at a high cost in destroying the social fabric, contributing to unrest and economic stagnation.
Analyzing different approaches to combating these beliefs, the authors of the study found that simply trying to tell people about the delusion is likely to backfire. For example, a person may fully understand that diseases are caused by mosquito bites, but that same person may still write off their chances of being bitten by curses or corruption.
Similarly, researchers warn against banning such beliefs, as it could heighten the fear that pseudo-witches will be "unleashed" and protected by new laws.
Thus, the best approach, according to the authors of the study, is to focus on creating social institutions that provide more security, protecting people from physical and economic disasters and thus reducing the need for belief in witchcraft as a strategy survival.
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