What events or experiences bring about SUPERSTITIONS? What perpetuates them ACROSS GENERATIONS?

Answer 1

Superstitions are a common human response to anxiety. They reassure, because they make it appear that the world is more controllable than it actually is - for example, if you avoid walking under ladders you can avoid bad luck. (Luck, of course, is otherwise uncontrollable - by definition!)

Any "meme" or cultural belief that provides a sense of reassurance in an unpredictable world will pass easily from the older to younger generations, regardless of its actual utility in controlling our fates. Hence they persist longer than we would otherwise expect them to.

Answer 2

Religion is a good example of a superstition that is perpetuated across generations. If you look at a particular religion's history, you can see how the substance of the superstition comes from the society it came from. That's why, for example, Christianity is so awfully patriarchal. The reason that religion is perpetuated is because of emotional hooks. Religion is different than most superstitions, though, in that it actively uses emotional tactics to sway people to join it.

Answer 3

I have an elder friend who is a professor of English and also a member of the Masonic Order. The Order has been in his family for generations, as well as mine. Alot of people consider this to be "superstition", but then consider alot of university professors are also members of the Order, and it takes on an air of legitimacy all by itself. Some really big assumptions here, no doubt.

Answer 4

superstitions arise out of FEAR.
FEAR comes from satan and his angels.
satan and his angels follow family lines.

Answer 5

Caps lock buttons getting overused. ARGH i was hoping for a thumbs down for that one! The least you could do is slap me.

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