The words superstition and religion are often used interchangeably but members of most religions would almost certainly reject this but perhaps without a clear sense of the difference. The term Superstition is often used casually without a real understanding of what it’s talking about. This is something that I have thought about a lot since childhood as I will explain and it’s become an important theme for me over the years. I believe I have gained some valuable insights not just into the nature of superstition but also into the nature of religious experience and belief, primarily within the Christian faith to which I belong.
What I am trying to collect in these pages, then, are thoughts have arisen from a personal journey. They contain a reflection on the characteristics and nature of superstition and on whether the equation of superstition with religion is justified. The core of my argument is that the equation is unjustified and that there are significant distinctions but that those distinctions are very often not clearly understood which has often led to confusion and that the confusion has had some significant consequences. My thoughts have taken me further, however, because if what I suggest is correct there are a number of implications, some of which are quite fundamental to the way that faith is often understood. Inevitably I have attempted to express and explore some of these.
I prefer to use the term faith rather than religion in most cases because my focus is primarily on the experience of individuals and groups, which is where the term faith is most appropriate. I use the term religion to refer to the organised systems of belief to which individuals and groups adhere. I will explore some of the implications of the confusion between superstition and faith that has occurred and continues to occur amongst Christians and in the history and life of the church and will offer some thoughts on the biblical and other material that I believe is relevant to understanding the distinctions.
As I write from within a Christian background I can’t presume to do it from any other perspective except that as Judaism is the soil out of which Christianity has grown, I inevitably draw on Jewish as well as Christian scriptures and hope that my Jewish friends will feel that I do them justice. I should also, of course, say that as a protestant, liberal, non-conformist I also write from within one particular Christian strand! Members of other strands may also wish to take issue with my conclusions. It may be that some may feel that I am attacking them. That is never my intention; if I am critical I am certainly trying to be constructive and not destructive.
I am also aware that some of those reading this may have little or no background in understanding the nature or character of Christian or Jewish scriptures so it has seemed right to try to provide some appropriate explanation when I use certain terms and references in order to be able to refer to them usefully.
Before I reach that stage, however, I need to begin with personal recollections as, in many ways and as I have already said, what I am sharing is the record of an individual journey of discovery.
Thinking Aloud 