Spirit Research

A survey links secular reasoning and magical beliefs among religious Americans

Americans who favor science and reason over religious authority can also hold beliefs in ghosts and magic when they retain a connection to religion, PsyPost reports. The finding comes from a study published in the journal Social Forces.

The researchers analyzed responses from 1,812 American adults in the latest wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, which Gallup conducted in early 2025, according to The Conversation. The nationally representative survey asked about religious ties, attitudes toward science and beliefs in supernatural phenomena.

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Religious ties shaped the survey results#

Among respondents who believed in God, 40% of those who also agreed with secular rationalist ideas leaned toward magical beliefs, compared with 19% of those who rejected those ideas, study co-author Paul Froese wrote in The Conversation.

Among people who attended religious services, the corresponding shares were 28% and 19%. The researchers found no link between secular rationalism and magical belief among respondents who never attended services or did not believe in God, Froese wrote.

The study examined an association rather than establishing whether spirituality is increasing among Americans, according to The Economic Times. Its findings complicate the assumption that valuing scientific reasoning necessarily excludes belief in supernatural phenomena.

Researchers compared science and supernatural beliefs#

The team used four survey questions to measure secular rationalism, an outlook that places science at the center of understanding the world and favors reason over religious teaching as a basis for morality. It also includes a preference for interpreting spiritual matters independently of religious authorities, Froese wrote.

Respondents rated their belief in six things the researchers grouped as magic, including ghosts, curses and communication with the dead, according to The Conversation. For comparison, the team also asked about miracles, including whether they still happen and whether God is their source.

Froese, a Baylor University sociologist, led the study with Isaiah King of Carson-Newman University and Ruiqian Li of American University, PsyPost reports. The team set out to examine supernatural beliefs among people who value science and individual judgment over organized religion.

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