Science and superstition

A four-year-old girl lies critically injured in a hospital in Gujranwala. According to police, her own mother and siblings set her on fire during what they believed was an exorcism, convinced that she was possessed by a jinn or affected by black magic. Sadly, it is not an isolated tragedy. It is the predictable consequence of a society that has steadily allowed superstition to displace science, reason and education.

Every society carries folklore, myths and religious traditions. They are part of its cultural fabric. The danger begins when superstition ceases to be folklore and starts dictating decisions about health, justice and human life. When fear triumphs over evidence, children become victims, the sick are denied medical care, and vulnerable people are branded as possessed instead of being treated with compassion.

Over the past several decades, the country has invested far less in nurturing scientific temper than in amplifying irrational beliefs. Our schools prepare students to memorise rather than question. Public discourse increasingly rewards certainty over curiosity. TV screens and social media platforms frequently elevate self-proclaimed spiritual healers and miracle workers while scientists, psychologists, historians and educators struggle for public attention.

The result is a society where extraordinary claims often face less scrutiny than scientific evidence. The consequences extend far beyond cases of alleged black magic. Vaccine hesitancy, climate change denial, miracle cures, financial scams disguised as spiritual blessings, mob violence fuelled by rumours, and even resistance to modern medicine all stem from the same problem: the gradual erosion of critical thinking.

Science is often misunderstood as merely a collection of facts taught in labs. In reality, science is a way of thinking. It teaches people to ask for evidence, test assumptions, revise conclusions and distinguish between belief and proof. Literature performs a different but equally vital function. Through stories, novels and poetry, readers learn empathy. They experience lives unlike their own and develop the capacity to understand suffering without resorting to fear or hatred. The arts, too, cultivate imagination and emotional intelligence. Music, painting, theatre and cinema help societies process grief, question authority and celebrate diversity. They humanise us.

Education, at its best, combines all three. It equips people with scientific reasoning, emotional maturity and ethical judgment. When these pillars weaken, superstition readily fills the vacuum.

The consequences are visible in every sector. Climate misinformation undermines adaptation efforts. Medical myths delay treatment. Financial fraud exploits religious sentiments. Mental illness is mistaken for possession. Domestic abuse is justified through supernatural explanations. Children grow up fearing invisible forces while remaining unfamiliar with the scientific method.

The Gujranwala incident should therefore provoke more than outrage. It should compel introspection.

Why do families place greater trust in exorcisms than in paediatricians? Why are psychological disorders so often attributed to supernatural causes? Why do fraudulent faith healers continue to flourish while mental health professionals remain scarce and stigmatised? Why do our classrooms emphasise memorisation more than curiosity?

These questions cannot be answered through arrests alone.

The long-term solution lies in strengthening education - not merely by increasing literacy rates, but by cultivating scientific reasoning from the earliest years of schooling. Children should learn not only mathematics and science but also how evidence is evaluated, how misinformation spreads, and why extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

Equally important is the revival of literature and the arts. A society that reads widely, values creativity and celebrates intellectual inquiry is less likely to surrender to fear. Libraries, museums, theatres and cultural institutions are defences against ignorance.

The suffering of the four-year-old girl in Gujranwala is a reminder that the battle between science and superstition is not an abstract philosophical debate. It is a matter of life and death.