Superstition
A word for beliefs and habits judged irrational by the speaker, and one that scholars use with care because it carries a verdict.
Also: superstitious belief, folk belief, old wives' tales
The Latin superstitio first meant excessive or misdirected religious feeling and, in Roman usage, a foreign or improper cult. Christian writers used it for other peoples' rites, and the Enlightenment widened it to cover anything held to be unreasonable. Because the word always judges, folklorists and anthropologists often prefer folk belief or popular belief. They do record the same facts: the belief that a broken mirror brings bad luck, or that Friday the thirteenth is unlucky. Surveys show such habits are common among educated people. Psychologists link them to a wish for control, and sociologists note that one person's superstition is another's faith.