How did people come up with superstitious beliefs?

Answer 1

Well, I'm going to give a different take on this one. Superstition is a by-product of organized religion. There are mythologies and folklore. There are worldviews created by indigenous peoples to "explain" the mysteries of the natural world.

When organized religion came on the scene, they had to tell the populace that what *they* believed, i.e., the "common" worldview, the mythologies and folklore of the culture, was superstition, but what the church taught was the real story. Thus, superstition was born.

My point? That mythology and folklore is a far different tale than superstition. They are not one and the same thing. Superstition feeds on fear and relies on the strength of gullibility. Mythologoy and folklore feeds on intuitive wisdoms, a personal understanding of the land and its natural phenomena.

Ah, but it's just my own personal discernment after all. ;)

Answer 2

Superstitions are a way that people use to explain the unexplainable..

For example.. Joe Shmo walks under a ladder and gets trampled by horses.. months later Molly Mae walks under a ladder and gets an illness that kills her.. hence the belief that walking under ladders is bad luck.. basically that belief was created as a form of explaining the unexplainable..

As time progressed, even though the validity of those superstitious beliefs may have been doubted and questioned.. no one dared to take that chance.. and so those superstitious beliefs more or less became an unwritten rule..
don't break a mirror, don't let a cat cross your path.. etc.

As time further progressed and science developed and religion did too.. people learned to pu t faith in God.. and science helped explain much of what was unexplainable..

Hence the end of superstitious beliefs. For the most part most people don't put much credance in superstitions.. if you ask them.. but many people in real life still don't take the chance.. look how many buildings that don't have a 13th floor.. or people who won't open an umbrella in a building.. etc.. so superstitions are still relevant in a quiet subtle way.

Answer 3

Since past, things that were beyond explanation, people will start to talk about it, when more people talk about it, people will start to believe. This lead to many superstitious beliefs.

We all know, today science had proved many things that mislead the ancient people. But we also know, they are still many things that science cannot be proven. For things that still beyond proven, some people may still choose their superstitious beliefs, and some may choose to believe that it's just the current human's knowledge unable to prove it.

Whatever you choose to believe, so long we respect each other beliefs, it will not affect anyone life.

Answer 4

All superstitions come about from empirical, mostly anecdotal, events. Enough anecdotal evidence and a tale becomes a superstition.

When I was young we would put pennies on trolley car tracks. In a few years, such squashed pennies had small holes drilled in them and they were worn as good luck charms because of lucky stories attached to them.

The trolleys are gone now and also the lucky squashed pennies.

Answer 5

It was the only way early man had for explaning things that were happening around him.

Answer 6

You never heard of Murphy's law
If you don't understand something...blame it on something
And be trapped by it's power if you will