Why are Americans losing trust in religion and the church but still believe in ghosts, curses and magic

The choice for Americans does not always mean having to either trust the science or have faith in the supernatural. According to a recently conducted study, those people who prefer scientific reasoning to religious authority are also more prone to belief in ghosts, curses, and magic in general – so long as they still maintain a link to religion. The results of the study, which were published in the journal Social Forces in July 2026, refute the assumption that more science means less of the supernatural.

On the contrary, the study demonstrates how complex the issue is.

The study was based on the analysis of surveys conducted among 1,812 American adults participating in the 2025 Baylor Religion Survey, organised by Gallup.


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The aim was to find out if those individuals who appreciate science and reason more than religious doctrines tend to believe in supernatural occurrences which do not require any gods, churches, or religions.

Apparently, some Americans do not leave their spirituality behind when they are sceptical about religious establishments; rather, they make their own choices regarding what to believe in.

This is important in a society in which the number of people belonging to a religion is reducing, but belief in some power beyond nature still exists. This research offers insight into this belief system, even though it cannot prove whether spirituality is increasing among people.

Why trusting science does not always mean rejecting magic

To test this hypothesis, the authors created an index that was called “secular rationalism”.

This index included three items that reflected acceptance of the views that science is the only way to comprehend the world, that morality should be based on rationality and not on religious dogmas, and that individuals should have an independent attitude towards spiritual matters.

In addition, the authors compared the level of acceptance of those views with beliefs in six supernatural events, among which were ghosts, curses, and communicating with dead people. They also examined beliefs in miracles that are more directly connected with God and religion.

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The interesting finding was that individuals with a high level of secular rationalism tended to believe in magic only when they also held religious beliefs.

Of those who had faith in God, 40% of the individuals who accepted secular rationalism tended to believe in magic, as compared to only 19% of those who did not accept secular rationalist ideas. Among those who attended religious services, 28% and 19% of the two categories, respectively, held the views mentioned above.

The correlation became non-existent among those who neither attended religious services nor believed in God. This clearly shows that the link between secular rationalism and magic is partially contingent upon the maintenance of some religious linkage.

This does not imply that the sciences themselves lead to a belief in astrology, psychics and ghosts.

The results show that an inclination towards rationalism instead of religious dogma is possible in some religious communities at the same time as belief in the supernatural.

Moreover, the study included other magical beliefs as well; hence it cannot be interpreted to show that all respondents who favoured secular rationalism consulted psychics and astrologers.

Why Americans are choosing spirituality on their own terms

They come at a time when organised religion is becoming increasingly fluid in America. Three out of every ten American adults are religiously unaffiliated according to a report by the Pew Research Center.

However, lack of formal religious affiliation does not imply lack of spirituality.

The findings of Pew regarding religious and spiritual beliefs indicated that even among Americans who define their religion as “nothing in particular”, there exists something spiritual beyond nature. It is thus essential to make the distinction between lack of affiliation with a religious body and rejection of supernaturalism.

One explanation for such contradictory views offered by the study’s authors is the fact that unlike organised religions, magic lacks elements of belonging to a congregation, theology, and submission to priests.

An individual can believe in God while independently deciding on the existence of ghosts, the power of curses, and communication with the dead.

A similar argument was made by French sociologist Émile Durkheim as early as 1912 when he claimed that a magician does not have a church but clients. In fact, this is another attempt to distinguish between institutionalised religion, which depends on collective structures, and private supernatural beliefs.

Moreover, it may be argued that distrust toward institutions among young Americans is another aspect of the phenomenon under discussion. Nonetheless, the survey conducted by these scholars cannot confirm institutional distrust as a reason for magical beliefs and vice versa; the same concerns the direction of change in younger generations.

What the study reveals — and what it cannot prove

The study presents a contradiction to an assumption in social science that as societies become increasingly scientific, and religion declines, beliefs in the supernatural will eventually disappear. The results show that for certain Americans, it is possible to have scientific reasoning coexist with magical beliefs.

However, the findings need to be taken into context. For example, the survey only provides opinions about people’s beliefs at a particular period in time. There is no way of knowing whether the respondents have been moving away from organised religion, towards it, or remaining at the same level of religiosity and supernatural beliefs.

Also, some of the groups under investigation were relatively small. The scholars pointed out that less than 1% of Americans surveyed neither believed in God nor adhered to secular rationalism while actively disagreeing with it. On the other hand, 18% believed in God but adhered to secular rationalism.

Thus, the research proves a correlation but not a causal relationship between the phenomena under examination. Moreover, the data collected by the researchers cannot confirm that magical beliefs grow nationwide and that every kind of spirituality becomes more popular in America.

To move further in studying the issue in question, it will be necessary to track the changes in beliefs of the respondents in the future and find out what makes magical beliefs attractive to young Americans and what promotes them.

At present, the results suggest that the issue of beliefs in America is a little bit more complex than the dichotomy between science and religion and the picture of spirituality is far from disappearing among Americans.