Superstition and Faith

A black cat crossing one's path is often regarded as a 'superstition', because while it might be thought to be a harbinger of 'bad luck', misfortune rarely, if ever, actually ensues upon it.  Accordingly, 'superstition' can be defined as an 'object of belief lacking empirical support'.  In other words, a superstition is independent of earnestness or fervor of doxic attitude.  Thus, for example, whether or not placing a curse on someone is a superstition depends not on the intensity of utterance, but on the subsequent experiences of the cursed.  Likewise, whether or not a prayer for a medical recovery is a superstition depends not on piety, but on subsequent physiological phenomena.  Now, 'faith' is usually conceived as 'belief despite the absence of empirical support'.  Hence, the distinction between faith and superstition is unclear.