Are you superstitious?

oobydooby

Following from a more serious post here on exorcism, I was wondering what people think of milder forms of superstition. For the purposes of this poll, I have separated superstition from theism (mainstream theism I guess) and am curious about the behaviour/attitudes of both theists and atheists.

For instance I would never damage a fairy tree; when I spill salt I throw a bit over my left shoulder, sometimes even consciously:); I would never treat voodoo stuff lightly and I've a pile of football-related superstitions which range from not jinxing my team to not singing or thinking about a particular song when I'm playing. The voodoo one is the only one that I might take seriously though!

Theist, not superstitious:


Theist, but respect superstition:
By this I mean that I believe in a supreme Deity, but that superstitious practices are real; whether or not they have a medical/scientific/psychological explanation, they are not to be dismissed as a delusion or a diversion.

Theist, superstitious:

Atheist, not superstitious:

Atheist, but respect superstition:
Don't believe in a God, but some superstitious practices are real; while they surely have a medical/scientific/psychological explanation, they can encode deeper wisdom.

Atheist, superstitious:

To avoid unnecessary antagonism, I've tried to avoid the possible theism=superstitious or the Virgin Mary/saints/statues/angels = superstition interpretations.

Also if anyone has any funny and not heartfelt superstitions I'd love to hear about them.

Malari

I'm an atheist and not superstitious in any way - will walk under ladders, stay in room 666 on the 13th floor of a hotel, point out solitary magpies, etc. I equate a lot of religious habits (praying, blessing yourself) with superstition, though, unlike you.

I do keep a magic eight ball on my desk in order to make important business decisions though (kidding ). The lyrics of an Elbow song spring to mind...

"I'm not superstitious but if I can get
This ball in the basket then he'll wake up dead"

PS: What's a fairy tree??

Fanny Cradock

Theist, not superstitious

Voted for 'Theist, but respect superstition'. By this I mean that I don't believe in superstitious rituals like knocking on wood or not walking under ladders etc. but I don't have any problem with people who do.


As for Fairy Trees, they are the abode of fairies as told in Celtic mythology.

BrianCalgary

Atheist, superstitious

Have trouble with superstition. I don't mind habit. There are those who consider habit a superstition, what I mean by that is how you dress before a hockey or soccer game becomes a superstition.

Shorts, then left shin pad, left sock, right shin pad, right sock then shoes left then right and finally jersey. (Hockey is far more complicated). And if one doesn;t dress that way they have a bad game. I'd put it and not being superstition but being comfort. If you don't get dressed that way something is different, it's off and it makes you feel uneasy for the whole game.

Puck

Atheist, superstitious

I am not superstitious, I'm a Christian. I don't respect superstitions either, they are worthless.

JimiTime

Atheist, superstitious

Puck wrote: »

I am not superstitious, I'm a Christian. I don't respect superstitions either, they are worthless.

Pretty much the same here.

oobydooby

Theist, not superstitious

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Voted for 'Theist, but respect superstition'. By this I mean that I don't believe in superstitious rituals like knocking on wood or not walking under ladders etc. but I don't have any problem with people who do.

I think I may have rushed some of the wording on the poll and perhaps 'respect' is a loaded word. I'd take it for granted that any person would respect a superstitious person but I don't think that entails a respect for their superstitious beliefs. For instance, in the case of entering a haunted house, I would feel very queasy, despite knowing (as a scientist!) and believing (as a theist) that there is nothing threatening there. I would say I repect this superstition (particular haunted house) in the sense that I fear it slightly and that I'm aware that this is an irrational position.

Whereas knocking on wood or saluting magpies I consider charming quirks but I don't really respect them as superstitions. However, in all honesty, I do respect some superstitions without actually believing in them.

MrPudding

Malari wrote: »

stay in room 666 on the 13th floor of a hotel

That can be quite tricky. Most hotels don't have a 13th floor, well they kind of do, there isn't a gaping hole or anything, but the numbering will go 11, 12, 14... Hotel owners are, apparently, superstitious, or at least cater for superstitious guests.

MrP

AtomicHorror

Perhaps unsurprisingly: atheist, no belief in superstition. I should say that in the past I have felt the need to be superstitious, but rationally I discard superstitions as false in the absense of evidence.

cmcsoft

'Theist, but respect superstition'. everyone to their own and all that. I wouldn't go out of my way to try and prove it wrong, put it that way

Malari

MrPudding wrote: »

That can be quite tricky. Most hotels don't have a 13th floor, well they kind of do, there isn't a gaping hole or anything, but the numbering will go 11, 12, 14... Hotel owners are, apparently, superstitious, or at least cater for superstitious guests.

MrP

I noticed that before actually in a few places I've stayed. Funny thing is, the "bad" number is different depending on where you are from, so kind of silly for hotels to do this :rolleyes:

6th

Exorcism is a superstition? Really?

Asiaprod

Malari wrote: »

I noticed that before actually in a few places I've stayed. Funny thing is, the "bad" number is different depending on where you are from, so kind of silly for hotels to do this :rolleyes:

Point of interest. In Japanese Hospitals there is never a no 4 waiting room. The number 4 is linked to death over here. Is also the same with old Japanese apartments, no number 4.

robindch

Asiaprod wrote: »

Point of interest. In Japanese Hospitals there is never a no 4 waiting room. The number 4 is linked to death over here. Is also the same with old Japanese apartments, no number 4.

Same in Chinese -- no fourth floor in chinese hotels.

And there are crossover cultures like in Jakarta, where you can find yourself in hotels without either a fourth or a thirteenth floor.

ChocolateSauce

robindch wrote: »

Same in Chinese -- no fourth floor in chinese hotels.

And there are crossover cultures like in Jakarta, where you can find yourself in hotels without either a fourth or a thirteenth floor.

That's a bit...odd. Just because you label the 4th floor the 5th doesn't make it not the 4th!

robindch

ChocolateSauce wrote: »

That's a bit...odd. Just because you label the 4th floor the 5th doesn't make it not the 4th!

Aha, but if you have a really strong faith that the fourth floor isn't there, then -- hey, presto -- it's not there!

It's a bit like believing in god, only the other way around.

stevejazzx

robindch wrote: »

And there are crossover cultures like in Jakarta, where you can find yourself in hotels without either a fourth or a thirteenth floor.

lol...can only be business related..?