Dreams of Ancestors: Perceived spiritual relevance Sharifa Kato, Biola University T.L. Brink, Crafton Hills College

Dreams of Ancestors (Kato & Brink)

Dreams Hallucinations & Illusions

Dreams Hallucinations & Illusions Memory for & Meaning of dreams is accomplished retrospectively (Brink, 2003)

Question How are attitudes regarding dreams correlated with religiosity?

Question How are attitudes regarding dreams correlated with religiosity or denominational affiliation?

Religiosity Not about which religious tradition one adheres to …

Religiosity

About how religious one is.

Religiosity

METHOD

“Inland Empire” Between Los Angeles & Palm Springs

“Inland Empire” Between Los Angeles & Palm Springs San Bernardino & Riverside Counties

Population Riverside300k San Bernardino210k Redlands 70k Highland 53k Yucaipa 51k Beaumont 37k Banning 30k

Population Riverside300k minor San Bernardino210k minor Redlands 70k major Highland 53k major Yucaipa 51k major Beaumont 37k minor Banning 30k minor

Household Income Redlands$58k Riverside$42k Highland$41k Beaumont$40k Yucaipa$39k Banning$32k San Bernardino$20k

Adults with BA degrees California30% Redlands38% Riverside20% San Bernardino11%

Population Based on enrollment data from Fall 2011

Enrollment Between 5,500 and 6,500 over past five years

Enrollment Full-Time = 12+ units 37.3% Part-Time = under 12 units 62.7%

Gender Male49% Female51%

Age Under % 20 – % 25 – % 30 – % 35 – % 40 – % 50 or older 3.0% Unknown 1 0.0%

Age Median and Modal category of 20-24

Ethnicity Asian 5% African Am6.3% Hispanic 34.8% Native Am 0.6% Caucasian 52.5% Unknown 1.1%

Transfer to U.C. Riverside Cal State S.B. U of Redlands Loma Linda U Cal Baptist U

Career & Technical Fire Science Paramedic Respiratory Radiography Child Dev

Represented + Seventh-day Adventist + Latter Day Saint + Roman Catholic + Evangelical Christian

Under-Represented -Jehovah’s Witness -Jewish -Muslim -Buddhist

Under-Represented -Hindu -Jain -Sikh -Zoroastrian

Sample size N = 59

Sample gender Males = 35%

Sample age Under age 25 90%

Sample ethnicity Hispanic 47%

Sample denominations JW 2% SDA 5% Catholic 23% Other Christian 13%

Sample denominations Jewish 2% Muslim 2% Buddhist 5% Other religion 28% None 20%

Norenzayan & Hansen (2006) one item measures of religiosity are commonly employed

Religiosity (Gallup, 2013) How important would you say religion is in your own life?

Religiosity norms (Gallup, 2013) Very55% Fairly26% Not very19%

Religiosity

RESULTS

Religiosity of sample Very30% Fairly40% Not very30%

Sample vs. Gallup

Sample is less religious P <.01 Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Dream Recall How often, upon awakening in the morning, do you recall the previous night's dream?

Dream Recall MOST OF THE TIME 33% ABOUT HALF THE TIME 42% SELDOM 20% NEVER 5%

Deceased Relatives How often have you had a dream about a deceased family member?

Deceased Relatives NEVER 47% ONCE 22% SEVERAL TIMES 18% MANY TIMES 13%

Spiritual significance Do you agree that your dreams have a real spiritual significance?

Spiritual significance STRONGLY AGREE 18% MOSTLY AGREE 23% NOT SURE 43% MOSTLY DISAGREE 7% STRONGLY DISAGREE 3%

Coping Have your dreams helped you cope with real life problems you experience while awake?

Coping DEFINITELY 17% PROBABLY 25% POSSIBLY 30% NO WAY 28%

Correlations

Rho = +.29, p <.03 Those who recalled dreams more frequently were more likely to recall dreaming of deceased family members

Rho = +.32, p <.02 Those who recalled dreams more frequently were more likely to perceive their dreams as helpful in coping with real life

Rho = +.36, p <.01 Those who recalled dreams more frequently were more likely to perceive their dreams as spiritually relevant

Rho = +.54, p <.001 Those who considered dreams to be spiritually relevant were also more likely to report dreaming of deceased family members

Rho = +.45, p <.001 Those who considered dreams to be spiritually relevant were also more likely to view dreams as leading to effective coping

Rho = +.32, p <.02 Those with higher religiosity were more likely to contend that dreams had spiritual relevance

Rho = +.26, p <.05 Those from “other religious traditions” were more likely to contend that dreams had spiritual relevance

Rho = -.27, p <.04 Those reporting “no religious affiliation” were less likely to contend that dreams had spiritual relevance

P <.01 Women were more likely to report dreams of family members

P <.03 Women were more likely to regard dreams as having spiritual significance

DISCUSSION

Explanation If you dream about the dear departed, you come to regard your dreams as more important (spiritual) and capable of assisting daily coping, and therefore you become more likely to remember them.

Explanation These findings must be explained in the personal and social functions of religion.

Riesebrodt (2010) "a complex of practices that are based on the premise of the existence of superhuman powers …

Riesebrodt (2010) "a complex of practices that are based on the premise of the existence of superhuman powers, whether personal or impersonal, that are generally invisible"

Riesebrodt (2010) "all religions claim to have the ability to avert misfortune, overcome crises, and provide salvation." (p. 89)

Dillon & Wink (2009) Longitudinal study of religiosity over the life cycle

Brink (1993) The epidemic of depression is due to loss of reliance on religion.

Future Research Larger sample Instructions Sites Other variables

Future Research Religious studies must use qualitative (e.g., focus groups, ethnographies) in addition to, rather than instead of, quantitative methods (Brink, 1995)

Future Research The next cycle of research should utilize qualitative methods (e.g., participant observation, focus groups) to figure out the relationships between religious components and the cultural context in which they are accepted (Brink, 1999).

Link to Kato’s paper

Link to Kato’s data

Link to this presentation

Dreams of Ancestors: Perceived spiritual relevance Sharifa Kato, Biola University T.L. Brink, Crafton Hills College