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[Fromsupersisto, "to stand in terror of the deity" (Cicero, "De Nat. deorum", I, 42, 117); or fromsuperstes, "surviving": "Qui totos dies precabantur et immolabant, ut sibi sui liberi superstites essent, superstitiosi sunt appellati", i.e. "Those who for whole daysprayed and offered sacrifice that their children might survive them, were called superstitious" (Cicero, ibid., II, 28, 72). Cicero also drew the distinction: "Superstitio est in qua timor inanis deorum, religio quæ deorum cultu pio continetur", i.e. "Superstition is the baseless fear of the gods, religion thepious worship." According toIsidore of Seville (Etymolog., l. 8, c. iii, sent.), the word comes fromsuperstatuo orsuperinstituo: "Superstitio est superflua observantia in cultu super statuta seu instituta superiorum", i.e. "observances added on to prescribed or established worship"] is defined bySt. Thomas (II-II:92:1) as "a vice opposed to religion by way of excess; not because in the worship ofGod it does more thantrue religion, but because it offers Divine worship to beings other thanGod or offers worship toGod in an improper manner". Superstitionsins by excess of religion, and this differs from the vice of irreligion, whichsins by defect. Thetheological virtue of religion stands midway between the two. (II-II:92:1)
There are four species of superstitions:
This division is based upon the various ways in which religion may be vitiated by excess. Worship becomesindebitus cultus when incongruous, meaningless, improper elements are added to the proper and approved performance; it becomesidolatrous when it is offered to creatures set up as divinities or endowed with divine attributes. Divination consists in the attempt to extract from creatures, by means of religious rites, aknowledge of future events or of things known toGod alone. Under the head of vain observances come all thosebeliefs and practices which, at least by implication, attributesupernatural or preternatural powers for good or forevil to causes evidently incapable of producing the expected effects. The number and variety of superstitions appear from the following list of those most in vogue at different periods of history:
The source of superstition is, in the first place, subjective. Ignorance of natural causes leads to thebelief that certain striking phenomena express the will or theanger of some invisible overruling power, and the objects in which such phenomena appear are forthwith deified, as, e.g. in Nature-worship. Conversely, many superstitious practices are due to an exaggerated notion or afalse interpretation of natural events, so that effects are sought which are beyond the efficiency of physical causes. Curiosity also with regard to things that are hidden or are still in the future plays a considerable part, e.g. in the various kinds of divination. But the chief source of superstition is pointed out in Scripture: "All men are vain, in whom there is not theknowledge ofGod: and who by these good things that are seen, could not understand him that is, neither by attending to the works have acknowledged who was the workman: but have imagined either the fire, or the wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun and moon, to be the gods that rule the world" (Wisdom 13:1-2). It is to thisignorance of thetrue God, coupled with an inordinate veneration for human excellence and thelove of artistic representations appealing to the senses, thatSt. Thomas ascribes the origin ofidolatry. While these are dispositive causes, the consummative cause, he adds, was the influence ofdemons who offered themselves as objects of worship toerring men, giving answers through idols and doing things which to men seemed marvellous (II-II:94:4).
These causes explain the origin and spread of superstition in thepagan world. They were to a large extent eliminated by the preaching ofChristianity; but so deep-rooted was the tendency to which they gave rise that many of the ancient practices survived, especially among peoples just emerging from barbarism. It was only by degrees, through the legislation of theChurch and the advance of scientificknowledge, that the earlier forms of superstition were eradicated. But the tendency itself has not wholly disappeared. Side by side with theRationalistic philosophy and the rigorous scientific methods which are characteristic of modern thought, there are still to be found various sorts of superstition. So far as this includes the worship of things other thanGod, it is not only an essential part, but the foundation also of the Positivistic system (Comte), which sets up humanity as the object of religious worship (seePOSITIVISM). Nor canPantheism, which identifiesGod and the world, lead consistently to any but superstitious practices, however it may in theory disclaim such a purpose. Thehumanmind, by a natural impulse, tends to worship something, and if it is convinced thatAgnosticism istrue and thatGod is unknowable, it will, sooner or later, devise other objects of worship. It is also significant that just when many scientists supposed that abelief in a future life had been finallyproved an illusion,Spiritism, with its doctrines and practices, should have gained such a strong hold not only on theignorant, but also, and in a much more serious sense, on leading representatives ofscience itself. This may indeed be interpreted as a reaction againstMaterialism; but it is none the less, at bottom, an evidence of man's restless desire to penetrate, by any and every means, the mystery that lies beyond death. While it is easy to condemnSpiritism as superstitious and vain, the condemnation does not do away with the fact thatSpiritism has become widespread in this age of enlightenment. Now as in the past the rejection of Divinetruth in the name of reason often opens the way tobeliefs and practices which are at once unworthy of reason and dangerous to morality.
Superstition of any description is a transgression of the First Commandment: "I am theLord thy God,-- thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is inheaven above, or in the earth beneath . . . thou shalt not adore them nor serve them" (Exodus 20:2-5). It is also against the positive law of theChurch, which visits the worst kinds of superstitions with severe punishments, and against thenatural law inasmuch as it runs counter to the dictates of reason in the matter of man's relations toGod. Such objective sinfulness is inherent in all superstitious practices fromidolatry down to the vainest of vain observances, of course in very different degrees of gravity. With regard to the subjective guilt attaching to them it must be borne in mind that nosin is mortal unless committed with fullknowledge of its grievous wickedness and with full deliberation and consent. Of these essential factors the first is often wanting entirely, and the second is only imperfectly present. The numerous cases in which the event seemed to justify the superstitious practice, and the universality of such incongruousbeliefs and performances, though they may not always induce inculpableignorance, may possibly obscure theknowledge and weaken the will to a point incompatible with mortalsin. As a matter of fact, many superstitions of our own day have been acts of genuinepiety at other times, and may be so still in the hearts of simple folk.
The principal species of superstition —idolatry, divination, occult arts — have received adequate treatment in other articles. Something remains to be said on:
The first type of improper worship,cultus indebitus, consists in introducingfalse or superfluous elements into the practice oftrue religion. Suchfalse elements, be their origin culpable deceit or inculpable credulity, vitiate the virtue of religion by substitutingerror fortruth in the service ofGod. Alayman performingpriestly functions, a pardoner selling spuriousindulgences, a fanatic devotee inventingfalsemiracles and answers toprayers in order to introduce or spread his own favourite devotion, wholesale believers insupernatural apparitions, visions, revelations, which serve no good purpose — all these are guilty of superstition, at least material. As regards formal guilt, this is often reduced to the vanishing point by the prevailing credulity and common practice of the period. The worship of imaginarysaints orrelics, devotion based uponfalse revelations, apparitions, supposedmiracles, orfalse notions generally, is usually excusable in the worshipper on the ground ofignorance andgood faith; but there is no excuse for those who use similar means to exploit popular credulity for their own pecuniary profit. The originators of such falsehoods are liars, deceivers, and not rarely thieves; but a milder judgment should be pronounced on those who, after discovering the imposture, tolerate the improper cultus. For it is no easy matter, even for the highest authorities, to eradicatebeliefs or to check the growth of devotions which have taken a strong hold on the popular mind: the long struggle of theInquisition with the SpiritualFranciscans, who, on the assumption that the rule of St. Francis was a direct revelation fromheaven, attributed to the practice of poverty an exaggerated importance, and cheerfully went to the stake rather than relinquish their ways, is but one example among scores that could be cited. There is always the fear of uprooting the wheat with the tares, and the hope of seeing the improper worship die a natural death; for devotions also have their changing seasons. Thepope and thebishops are the proper authorities to act in these matters, for to them belongs the regulation of worship, both public and private, and it is theduty of everyCatholic to abide by their decision.
The same reflections apply to another kind of improper worship, thecultus superfluus which consists in expecting from certain pre-arranged circumstances a greater efficacy of the religious performance; e.g. to expect a greater benefit from Masses said before sunrise with a certain number of candles disposed in a certain order, by apriest bearing a special saint's name or being of the supposed stature of Christ. Triduums, novenas, First Friday Communions, nine consecutive First Friday Communions, Saturdayfasting, though they seem to attach special importance to number and dates, are approved by theChurch, because these dates and numbers are convenient for shaping and regulating certain excellent devotions. TheCatholic devotions which are connected with holy places, holy shrines, holy wells, famousrelics, etc. are commonly treated as superstitious by non-Catholics who either reject all worship ofsaints andrelics or assumepiousfrauds on the part of thepriests who benefit by the worship. It must be admitted that these hallowed spots and things have occasioned many legends; that popular credulity was in some cases the principal cause of their celebrity; that here and there instances offraud can be adduced; yet, for all that, the principles which guide the worshipper, and his good intentions, are not impaired by an undercurrent oferrors as to facts. If superstition there be, it is only material. Moreover, theChurch is always careful to remove anyfraud orerror inconsistent withtrue devotion, although she is tolerant of "piousbeliefs" which have helped to furtherChristianpiety. Thus, allegedsaints andrelics are suppressed as soon as discovered, butbelief in theprivate revelations to which the feast ofCorpus Christi, theRosary, the Sacred Heart and many other devotions owe their origin is neither commanded nor prohibited; here each man is his own judge.
Turning now to vain observances in daily life, properly so called, we first meet with the superstitions observed in the administration ofjustice during many centuries of theMiddle Ages, and known as ordeals or "judgments ofGod". Among the early Germans a man accused of a crime had to prove his innocence, noproof of his guilt being incumbent on his accusers. Theoath of a free man, strengthened by theoaths of friends, sufficed to establish his innocence, but when theoath was refused or the required number of "compurgators" failed, the defendant, if he was a free man, had to fight his accuser in single combat; bondmen andwomen had either to find a champion to fight for them or to undergo some other form of ordeal as fixed by law, arranged by the judge, or chosen by one of the parties. Besides the judicial combat the early Germanlaws recognized as legitimate means to discriminate between guilt and innocence the casting or drawing of lots, trial by fire in several forms — holding one's hand in fire for a determined length of time; passing between two piles of burning wood with no covering for the body except a shirt impregnated with wax; carrying with the naked hand a red-hot iron weighing from one to three pounds a distance of from nine to twelve paces; walking barefoot over nine red-hot ploughshares disposed in a line nine steps long. At the root of these and many analogous practices (seeORDEALS) lay the firmbelief thatGod would work amiracle rather than allow the innocent to perish or the wicked to prevail. These "judgments ofGod" gave rise to new superstitions. Whether guilty or not,persons subjected to the trials would often put more confidence in charms, magic formulas, and ointments than in the intervention of Providence. The ordeals gradually gave way before therationalistic temper of modern times; trials by torture, which survived the ordeals, seem to have been inspired by the sameidea, thatGod will protect the innocent and give them superhuman endurance.
The power of theevil eye (fascinatio) has been believed in for a long time, and is still dreaded in many countries. The number thirteen continues to strike terror into the breasts of men who profess not to fearGod. The apparent success which so often attends a superstition can mostly be accounted for by natural causes, although it would be rash to deny allsupernatural intervention (e.g. in the phenomena ofSpiritism). When the object is to ascertain, or to effect in a general way, one of two possible events, thelaw of probabilities gives an equal chance to success and failure, and success does more to support than failure would do to destroy superstition, for, on its side, there are arrayed the religiousinstinct, sympathy and apathy, confidence and distrust, encouragement and discouragement, self-suggestion and — perhaps strongest of all — the healing power of nature.
ST. THOMAS,Summa, II-II, QQ. 92-96; ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI,Theol. Mor., IV, i. See also DIVINATION; NECROMANCY; ORDEALS; SPIRITISM.
APA citation.Wilhelm, J.(1912).Superstition. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14339a.htm
MLA citation.Wilhelm, Joseph."Superstition."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 14.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14339a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Frank O'Leary.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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