Americans Who Go to Church and Trust Science Are Also More Likely to Believe in Ghosts and Curses, New Research Shows

A July 2026 study published in Social Forces reveals that Americans who maintain their religious beliefs but also trust science and reason are more likely to believe in supernatural phenomena such as ghosts and curses. The research, based on the latest Baylor Religion Survey of 1,812 American adults, found that those who score high on "secular rationalism" – the belief that science should be the sole means to understand the world and that morality should be based on reason rather than religious teachings – are more inclined to accept the existence of magic.

This trend was particularly pronounced among individuals who still identify as believers or attend religious services. Among those who believe in God, roughly 40% of secular rationalists believe in magic compared to 19% of those who reject secular rationalism. Similarly, among regular church attendees, 28% of those embracing secular rationalism believe in magic, compared to 19% who do not.

However, among those who do not believe in God or attend religious services, secular rationalism was not linked to belief in magic. The study suggests that magic tends to thrive where individual rationality and spirituality intersect, allowing believers to retain their spiritual beliefs without adhering to religious institutions.

This finding challenges the notion that the decline of organized religion will inevitably lead to the decline of supernatural beliefs, as many Americans who leave organized religion may still hold onto spiritual or magical beliefs.