Section 1: Nature of Superstition

1. DEFINITION.—Superstition (δεισιδαιμονία, superstitio, falsa religio) is the vice of excess in religious worship. Not as if it were possible to give God too much honor, but we may honor Him in the wrong way (modo indebito) or give to other persons (or to things) the worship due to Him alone (cultus falsus).¹

¹ St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 92, art. 1: “Superstition is a vice opposed to religion according to excess, not because it offers more in divine worship than true religion, but because it offers divine worship either to whom it ought not or in a manner in which it ought not.”

St. Thomas divides superstition into four classes, namely: worshipping God in the wrong way, idolatry, divination, and vain observance.²

² Ibid.

Superstition, therefore, not only involves a false religious belief, but adds to that belief (vana opinio) a misdirected act (vana observantia). In other words, it substitutes for the true faith and the right worship of God a false belief and a wrong worship. Therefore supersti- tion is directly opposed to the virtue of faith, like heresy and unbelief, and more generally, to the virtue of religion (virtus religionis),³ and is consequently called the false imitator of true piety (verae pietatis falsa imitatrix).⁴

³ Supra, Part I.

⁴ Conc. Trident., Sess. XXII, Decr. de Observand. et Evitand. in Celebrat. Missae.—On the derivation of the word “superstition” see Walter, Der Aberglaube, pp. 11 sq.

2. NATURE OF SUPERSTITION.—Superstition as a false belief and a wrong worship is both an intellectual aberration and a moral fault. It is a grievous sin because it runs counter to true faith and right reason. It surrenders the substance of the true faith (fides quae creditur) as well as its theological motive (fides qua creditur) by substituting its own notions for the revealed truth and by rendering obedience, not to the legitimate divine authority, but to irrational human opinion.

Superstition, moreover, entails many evil consequences. Under the influence of fear and terror it produces fanaticism and fatalism, makes men hard and cruel, and thereby corrupts individuals and endangers society.

Superstition, when complete, that is, when consciously harbored and allowed to influence one’s moral and religious life, is ex genere suo a mortal sin because it contravenes the faith, religious practice, and reason.

However, not every kind or degree of superstition is eo ipso destructive of the Catholic faith and of the true worship of God, more particularly if, as is often the case, the false belief arises from invincible ignorance.⁵

⁵ Gury, Comp. Theol. Mor., I, n. 257: “Vain observance is a grave sin of its kind, because it gives divine honor to a creature by expecting from it what ought to be expected from God alone, and because it rests upon an implicit pact with the demon. Nevertheless, it can often be venial because of the imperfection of the act, simplicity, some ignorance, or timidity, as happens especially among the uneducated in the observance of events.”

Pastors are in duty bound to acquaint themselves with the different forms of superstition current among their people. Superstition fears the light and is, therefore, hard to combat. The most effective weapon against it is instruction on the nature and operation of God, for the purer man’s knowledge of God, the less chance has superstition to grow in the soul. We must show that superstition is both foolish and dangerous.⁶ It is folly to assume that superstition, because it leads people to believe too much, is apt to strengthen religion and piety. Superstition means not merely to believe too much, but to believe what is false, and therefore is essentially inimical to true piety. On the contrary, the firmer the grasp a man has on his religion, the more energetically will he reject every kind of superstition and unhealthy craving for miracles.⁷

⁶ 2 Kings I, 2–4; Acts XIII, 8–11.

⁷ C. Krieg, Die Wissenschaft der Seelenleitung, Vol. I, pp. 248 sq., Freiburg 1904.

Faith does not engender superstition; contrariwise, superstition is a child of unbelief. As Pascal justly observes, “Unbelievers are the most credulous of men.” We have all known persons who boasted of their unbelief, yet were scared to death if they happened to be one of a group of thirteen sitting at table.⁸

⁸ J. H. Graf, Ueber Zahlenaberglauben, insbesondere die Zahl 13, Bern 1904.

Superstition may manifest itself in the natural, in the preternatural, and in the strictly supernatural sphere.

READINGS.—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 92 sq.—St. Alphonsus, Theol. Mor., l. III, n. 1–11, 14–28.—Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, s. v. “Superstitio.”—H. Th. Simar, Der Aberglaube, 2nd ed., Cologne 1879.—J. B. Wirthmüller, Die moralische Tugend der Religion, pp. 608 sqq.—F. A. Göpfert, Moraltheologie, Vol. I, 6th ed., pp. 493 sqq.—F. Walter, Aberglaube und Seelsorge, Paderborn 1904.—W. Fischer, Aberglaube aller Zeiten, Paderborn 1906.—H. Noldin, S.J., Summa Theol. Mor., Vol. II, pp. 163 sqq.—A. Lehmkuhl, S.J., Theol. Mor., Vol. I, pp. 275 sqq.—J. Wilhelm, art. “Superstition” in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 339 sqq.