Conventional Christian Beliefs and Experimentation with the Paranormal
We know from previous research that some individuals with strong, conventional Christian beliefs may also profess beliefs in paranormal phenomena incongruent with Christian beliefs (extrasensory perception, psychic abilities, communicating with the dead, etc.). What we don't have a full grasp o...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2008
|
| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2008, Volume: 50, Issue: 2, Pages: 194-205 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
|
| Summary: | We know from previous research that some individuals with strong, conventional Christian beliefs may also profess beliefs in paranormal phenomena incongruent with Christian beliefs (extrasensory perception, psychic abilities, communicating with the dead, etc.). What we don't have a full grasp on is to what extent people with conventional Christian beliefs will also experiment with these paranormal activities. It is one thing to believe in psychic abilities, but quite another to consult a psychic. We draw upon different perspectives in sociology of religion and present competing hypotheses about the relationship between conventional Christian beliefs and paranormal experimentation. We use the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey and count regressions to model the number of reported paranormal experiences. In general, conventional Christian beliefs have no direct effect on the reported number of paranormal experiences, but, these effects are conditioned by the level of church attendance. Among those who attend church often, conventional Christian beliefs significantly decrease the reported number of paranormal experiences. Among those who do not attend church, holding conventional Christian beliefs increases the number of reported paranormal experiences. Implications for theory and research are discussed. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
|