A new study reveals that over 40% of people still believe in witchcraft, as determined by the researchers. According to reports, these beliefs could be dictated by various cultural, political and economic factors.
Insiders did a survey where they have analyzed responses from more than 140,000 people in 95 countries and territories which have been compiled into a huge data set, allowing one to draw a general picture of the state of witchcraft beliefs around the world (this is where the origin of the witch myth comes from).
43% of participants agree with the statement that “some people can cast curses or spells that make bad things happen to someoneor,” say the scientists. “A simple calculation based on adult population data yields nearly a billion believers in the 95 sample countries alone.“
Things change from country to country: ‘only’ 9% of Swedes he stated that he believed witchcraft to be credible, while 90% of Tunisians admitted to believing in witches. Such beliefs are “related to exposure to certain shocks such as agricultural drought and unemployment“, a balance that helps maintain order and cohesion in the absence of effective governance mechanisms”more prevalent in countries with weak institutions.“
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
