At least one billion people on Earth believe in curses and the ‘evil eye’, international survey reveals
Belief in various magical practices is unexpectedly widespread worldwide, although with wide variations from country to country, new scientific research shows. Indicatively, more than 40% of people – that’s at least four in ten – state how they believe that “some people are capable of casting curses or doing magic that causes bad things to happen to someone”.
Boris Gersman of the American University in Washington, who made the relevant publication in the scientific journal “PLoS One”, analyzed data on more than 140,000 people in 95 countries, which were obtained from in-person and telephone interviews. The study estimates that at least one billion people on Earth believe in witchcraft in one way or another, to a greater or lesser extent.
In the past several studies have shown that the idea that some people have supernatural abilities and can cause harm to others is widespread. The new research is the most comprehensive of its kind and shows that religious people and women are more prone to witchcraft than men.
However, such magical beliefs exist in all socio-demographic groups. People with higher educational and economic levels are less likely to believe in witchcraft, aand the difference is not great: people in “very good” financial conditions are only 6% to 7% less likely to believe in witchcraft than those in “very poor” financial conditions.
However, there are big differences from country to country. For exampleonly 9% of Swedes believe in witchcraft compared to 90% of Tunisians. Various cultural, institutional, psychological, and socioeconomic factors affect belief in witchcraft differently. Indicatively, the weaker the modern institutions in a country, the lower the levels of social trust among citizens, the lower the level of innovation and the more conformist a culture is, the more the tendency to believe in magic in a country increases.
In any case, he points out, we may be in the 21st century, but “as research shows, magical beliefs remain widespread around the world.” A survey by the Pew Research Center found in 2021 that the belief that people can (successfully) curse someone is accepted by believers of most major religions (Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, etc.).
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
