Exactly this.
I happen to think biblical paintings of the renaissance era are nothing less than beautiful. And I’m a [gasp] Atheist!
If someone really does feel better and less anxious because they have their lucky dollar coin in their pocket, is that not a benefit for them? Superstition gives people a feeling that there is something they can do about things that are ultimately out of their control. People like feeling that they are in control- that’s why so many people are more scared of flying than they are of driving, despite the indisputable fact that flying is safer.
Basically, I don’t think you’re going to win this one. Superstition probably ultimately comes from the human ability to recognize patterns. We’re very good at this, so good that we see patterns where there really aren’t any. This is why we see things like a face on Mars. This may have an evolutionary basis. Suppose you live in a place where you regularly encounter tigers. If the part of your brain that recognizes patterns recognizes something that isn’t a tiger as a tiger, what probably happens is that you run or try to kill the tiger when you didn’t need to- you’ve lost a little time, maybe made a fool of yourself. If the part of your brain that recognizes patterns doesn’t see a tiger when there is one, it’s not unlikely that you will be lunch. You can see how the people who are better at recognizing patterns are more likely to have living descendants. Their modern-day descendants see a pattern of things going better when they have their lucky dollar coin, even if such a pattern isn’t there.
I think you’re especially unlikely to win against superstition with kids. They have less experience with reality than adults do, and their brains are less developed. It’s harder for them to do things like think critically, which is why our legal system doesn’t let them do things like enter into contracts.
If someone is indulging in a superstition to such a degree that it’s interfering with the rest of their lives, that’s another story, of course. They might be being scammed, or might have an anxiety disorder that could benefit from treatment.
Your daughter’s noticing that the magic 8 ball doesn’t always give the right answer might have been the start of a bit of independent critical thinking. You should encourage that kind of thing if you’re against superstition, not discourage it with a grumpy answer. Believing that whatever adults or authority figures tell you must be true is at least as dangerous and wrong as believing in the predictive powers of a magic 8 ball. It’s probably worse, because the magic 8 ball is not sentient and can’t be trying to influence you to do something that benefits it but harms you. Authority figures can do that, and there are numerous examples of cases where they have.
The haunting will make them quickly forget the throwaway remark.
BOO!