Americans lose trust in religious institutions while belief in ghosts and magic persists

A national survey of 1,812 U.S. adults released on Oct. 15, 2026 found that confidence in religious institutions continues to erode even as belief in ghosts, curses and other magical phenomena remains widespread.

The findings matter because they challenge the assumption that a turn toward science automatically crowds out supernatural belief. The study suggests that many Americans are crafting a hybrid worldview that blends scientific reasoning with personal spirituality.

Researchers analyzed responses from the 2025 Baylor Religion Survey, a Gallup‑fielded questionnaire that measured “secular rationalism” – the view that science is the prime way to understand the world and that morality should rest on reason rather than religious doctrine. Participants were also asked about belief in six supernatural events, including ghosts, curses and communication with the dead.

Among respondents who said they believed in God, those who also scored high on secular rationalism were about twice as likely to endorse magical beliefs (40 % versus 19 %). A similar pattern appeared for people who regularly attended religious services: 28 % of the high‑rationalism group believed in magic compared with 19 % of the low‑rationalism group. No link emerged for respondents who neither attended services nor believed in God.

The survey comes at a time when organized religion is losing members – roughly three‑quarters of a dozen American adults now identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research. Yet many of those without a formal affiliation still report a sense of spirituality or belief in forces beyond nature, underscoring the distinction between institutional faith and personal supernatural belief.

Our research shows, magic thrives where individual rationality and spirituality meet.

Authors caution that the data capture a single moment in time, so they cannot determine whether magical beliefs are growing or shrinking in the long run. They recommend following the same respondents over multiple years to track how attitudes toward religion, science and the supernatural evolve together.