What's the difference between "believe" and "believe in" in the following sentences?
I.
Kate: Hey, John, do you believe in black magic and astrology?
John: No, I don't believe in all those things.II.
Kate: Hey, John, do you believe in black magic and astrology?
John: No, I don't believe all those things.
Best Answer
We believe a statement, that it is true.
We believe a person (who has spoken), that what they say is true.
We believe in a person (we have faith in them or trust them).
We believe in [the existence of] something, that it is real.
Astrology makes predictions, and thus is in some ways it is like a statement. Both of these would be idiomatic:
But "magic" makes no statements. This would be not be idiomatic: