folk belief
Passed-down popular notion
A folk belief is a traditional idea passed down through generations within a community, often about the natural world, health, luck, or the supernatural.
Folk beliefs typically lack scientific basis but persist through cultural practice: the folk belief that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck, folk beliefs about curing warts.
The term is neutral—it describes transmission and origin, not validity.
- ancestor worshipReligious honoring of forebears
- creation storiesAccounts of existence's origin
- cursesSworn oaths or hexes
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
- astrologyDivination by celestial positions
full moon · harvest moon · omens · black cat · broken mirror · herbal remedies · trickster tales · water spirits · rituals · legends · fortune-telling · gift-giving customs · wishing well · fairy ring · seasonal rituals · reincarnation beliefs · marriage traditions · faith healing
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, fairy tale, folktale
- Misconceptionsmisconception, myth, fallacy, misbelief, false assumption
- superstitionssuperstition, superstitions, hexes, black cats, broken mirror
- Folkwayscustom, superstition, taboo, rite, tradition
- unreasonirrationalism, irrationality, unreason, illogic, anti-rationalism
- Folk ReligionsSanteria, Shinto, spirit worship, animism, nature worship
folk beliefscientific theory
Substantiated explanation of nature
scientific knowledge · evidence-based medicine · scientific consensus · empirical evidence · experimental data
folk beliefformal education
Systematic study in institutions
scholarly tradition · legal statute · professional expertise · technical manual
folk beliefexpert opinion
Informed judgment from specialists
scholarly consensus · high culture · professional expertise · received wisdom · authoritative source
belief, folk, folklore, popular belief, folkway, folk tradition