A newly compiled dataset makes it possible to gauge how widespread beliefs about witchcraft are worldwide and to investigate the key factors associated with them. It becomes clear that these beliefs vary by country and according to socioeconomic status. The study’s details are published in the journal PLOS One.
Witchcraft, in its strict sense, denotes the art of probing fate (chance, destiny). More broadly, however, the term refers to a form of magic in which “witches” and “wizards” work with supernatural forces to alter the course of existence or to cause harm.
Numerous studies conducted in the past have documented the various beliefs surrounding witchcraft. Indeed, understanding them can be important for shaping policy and other community engagement efforts. However, until now, global statistical analyses of beliefs in witchcraft were lacking due to a shortage of data, hence the interest of these new efforts.
For this study, researchers used a large dataset collected between 2008 and 2017 by the Pew Research Center (an American research organization specializing in statistics). “Do you believe in the evil eye?” “Can some people cast curses or spells on others to harm them?” In total, more than 140,000 people from 95 countries across all continents answered a series of questions of this kind related to belief in witchcraft.
4 in 10 people
According to the study, more than 40% of survey respondents reported believing in these different forms of magic. However, these beliefs are not evenly distributed across the world. For example, whereas nine in ten people in Tunisia think that some individuals are capable of casting spells on others to harm them, only 10% of Swedes share that belief.
Furthermore, women, city dwellers and younger people were most likely to believe in these supernatural powers. Conversely, those with higher education, greater financial security and living in smaller households appeared less inclined to believe in these forms of witchcraft. Nevertheless, differences based solely on socioeconomic status are not stark. For instance, people in a “very good” economic situation were only 6% to 7% less likely to believe in witchcraft than those in a “very poor” situation.
Finally, the most religious individuals tended to believe that some humans possessed supernatural powers. This is not particularly surprising given that the notion of “curse” is present in most of the world’s major religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. “Overall, religious beliefs and beliefs in witchcraft, both centered on the pivotal role of supernatural powers in life, go hand in hand,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Note, however, an important limitation of the study: it did not survey anyone in India or China. Yet these two countries together host around 2.8 billion people.
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