1. Why Does Religiosity Relate to Belief in the Paranormal?
Edward Clint, Caleb W. Lack,
Alisa Huskey, & Kelly Jent
University of Central Oklahoma
Why Does Religiosity Relate to
Belief in the Paranormal?
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between religiosity and paranormal belief, generally and for specific types of paranormal belief. Results indicate that religiosity strongly relates to level of paranormal belief. When examined closely, the primary driver of this relationship is questions related to traditional religious belief rather than other paranormal beliefs.
Method
Participants
663 undergraduates at a metropolitan university
GENDER–69% female
AGE–range 17-66; M = 20.18, SD = 4.48
ETHNICITY–55% Caucasian; 11% African American; 7% Asian; 3% Native American
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION–52% Protestant; 14% “None”; 7% Catholic
Measures
Each participant completed the questionnaires about demographic data and the following measures:
Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire
Paranormal Belief Scale – Revised Precognition
Results (cont.)
A positive relationship was found between Strength of Religious Faith and four of the PBS-R subscales
Traditional Religious Practices (r = .748, p < .001)
Spiritualism (r = -.206, p < .001)
Extraordinary Life Forms (r = -.277, p < .001)
Precognition (r = -.154, p < .001)
Negative relationships were found between level of religious faith and belief in Psi (r = , p = .003)
Discussion
Our study suggests that observed positive relationships between paranormal belief and religiosity in past studies may be an artifact of the measures used to examine paranormal belief. That is, the most commonly used measure (the PBS-R) contains a number of items which are a direct measure of religious belief. When those items are removed, those with higher religiosity actually show fewer “traditional” paranormal beliefs, such as the existence of aliens and Bigfoot or psychic powers than the non-religious.
Table 1
Correlations between Strength of Religious Faith and Paranormal Belief Subscales 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. Strength of Religious Faith
2. PBS - Religious Belief
.748**
3. PBS - Psi
-.115**
-.013
4. PBS - Witchcraft
-.050
.087*
.531**
5. PBS - Superstition
-.063
.055
.304**
.292**
6. PBS - Spiritualism
-.206**
-.043
.528**
.586**
.429**
7. PBS - Ex. Life Forms
-.277**
-.125**
.348**
.405**
.301**
.509**
8. PBS - Precognition
-.154**
-.016
.484**
.524**
.503**
.666**
.452**
Note. *p ≤ .05; ** p ≤ 01
Introduction
In this study, relationships between levels of religious affiliation, religiosity, and specific paranormal-belief characteristics are investigated. Much evidence indicates a positive relationship between religiosity and paranormal belief (Orenstein, 2002; Shumaker, 1987), although there are many differing explanations of this relationship (Irwin, 1993). We examined which specific aspects of commonly defined “paranormal belief” predict religiosity levels. Literature suggests a dichotomy between traditional religious paranormal beliefs and belief in other paranormal phenomena (Rice, 2003). Accordingly, religiosity levels are expected to relate differentially to specific types of paranormal belief, predicting more traditional religious aspects of paranormal belief.
Results
Hierarchical Regression
Criterion: Strength of Religious Faith
On step one, Traditional Religious Belief accounted for 56% of variance in religiosity, (R2 = .56, p < .001).
On step two, Belief in Extraordinary Life Forms accounted for 3.4% additional variance, (R2 change = .034, p < .001)
On step three, Spiritualism accounted for less than 1% additional variance, (R2 change = .008, p < .001).
Overall, the whole model accounted for 60% of variance in strength of religious faith, (R2 = .602, F(3, 659) = , p < .001)
This project was supported by funds from the UCO College of Education & Professional Studies, the UCO Department of Psychology, and the UCO Department of Academic Affairs
Please address correspondence regarding this poster to: Caleb W. Lack, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, 307F Education Bldg, Edmond, OK or and