A miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker. Many folktales, religious texts, and people claim various events they refer to as miraculous. People in different cultures have substantially different definitions of the word miracle. Even within a specific religion there is often more than one of the term. Sometimes the term miracle may refer to the action of a supernatural being that is not a god. Thus, the term divine intervention, by contrast, would refer specifically to the direct involvement of a deity.

In casual usage, miracle may also refer to any statistically unlikely but beneficial event, such as the survival of a natural disaster, or even that regarded as wonderful regardless of its likelihood, such as birth. Other miracles might be survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or beating the odds.

In this view, a miracle is a violation of normal laws of nature by some supernatural entity or unknown, outside force. Some scientist-theologians like Polkinghorne suggest that miracles are not violations of the laws of nature but exploration of a new regime of physical experience.

The logic behind an event being deemed a miracle varies significantly. Often a religious text, such as the Bible or Quran, states that a miracle occurred, and believers accept this as a fact. However, C.S. Lewis noted that one cannot believe a miracle occurred if one had already drawn a conclusion in one’s mind that miracles are not possible at all. He cites the example of a woman he knew who had seen a ghost and had discounted her experience, claiming it to be some sort of hallucination.

Many conservative religious believers hold that in the absence of a plausible, parsimonious scientific theory, the best explanation for these events is that they were performed by a supernatural being, and cite this as evidence for the existence of a god or gods. Some adherents of monotheistic religions assert that miracles, if established, are evidence for the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God.

Followers of the Indian gurus Sathya Sai Baba and Swami Premananda claim that they routinely perform miracles. The dominant view among skeptics is that these are predominantly sleight of hand or elaborate magic tricks.

Some modern religious groups claim ongoing occurrence of miraculous events. While some miracles have been proven to be fraudulent, others such as the Paschal Fire in Jerusalem have not proven susceptible to analysis. Some groups are far more cautious about proclaiming apparent miracles genuine than others, although official sanction, or the lack thereof, rarely has much effect on popular belief.