Atheism, Agnosticism, and the Paranormal: A Discussion of the Relationship Between Religious and Paranormal Beliefs
Written Spring 2022 for REL 3203
Atheism constitutes the disbelief in a God or Gods, while agnosticism constitutes an understanding that nothing can be truly known or disproven about the existence of such beings. Because of these definitions, one might expect atheists to deny all belief in the supernatural and the paranormal; however, research has shown that this is not the case. While many studies have found that religious individuals are more likely to believe in paranormal occurrences than nonreligious individuals, this trend is not overwhelmingly evident, and the relationship is not as linear as expected. As such, it is naive to disregard non-religious belief in the paranormal; evading organized religion does not inhibit one from believing in such phenomena.
In my opinion, many atheists and agnostics are not deterred by the paranormal for the simple reason that it is not religious to them. To be more clear, while the paranormal finds its way into a multitude of religious doctrines and practices, it is not unique to religion. It may be comparable to the importance of authority figures in religions: an integral part of many religions, but not inherently religious in and of itself. Like authority figures, the meaning of the paranormal differs widely among religious and non-religious groups, and even between the individuals and classifications within such groups. For instance, life after death, apparitions, and mediumship are all widely utilized and valued in both contexts. Appearing in religious and non-religious contexts alike, paranormal belief is not uncommon in those who don’t identify with a religion, because it itself is not religious.
I am suggesting that this relationship is much more dependent on culture and individual tendencies, experiences, and ideas than it is on religion. In other words, paranormal experiences and beliefs are a common occurrence of what is simply the human experience.
An Overview of the Relationship Between Paranormal and Religious Belief
While there has not been an abundance of research done on this topic, one study found that “… atheists endorse belief in Psi, Witchcraft, Superstition, Spiritualism and Precognition, only slightly less than religious people” (Smith & Simmonds, 2006). The principal investigator of the project, John F. Schumaker, explains this phenomenon by explaining that these paranormal beliefs of atheists, though aligning with those of the religious, are less “conspicuously religious” (Schumaker, 1993). My goal in this thought paper is to expand on this idea; I assert that paranormal belief differs among atheistic and religious individuals because the bases of such beliefs are inherently different, and that this stems from the fact that such phenomena are not “para”-normal at all, solely common occurrences that define the human experience among religious practitioners and non-religious practitioners.
The relationship between religiosity and paranormal belief is not as direct as might be assumed. The paranormal may serve as a supplement to religion for some people, and at the same time, may be removed entirely from it for others. If religious and paranormal beliefs were unequivocally correlated, one would expect the following graph to show an entirely linear and direct relationship. This would convey that those with the lowest instances of paranormal belief are the least religious, and the most religious have the great instances of paranormal belief. In other words, we would not see the very evident redirection of the graph from mean religiosity to high religiosity, which I will address below (Bader et al., 2012).
Religiosity Index: -3 (Low)
This group, which in religious terminology, would be classified under atheism and/or agnosticism, showed low amounts of paranormal belief. However, this is not entirely telling of the collective nature of the non-religious; those fitting into the category between low and average religious belief scored significantly higher than the low group and exceptionally close to the majority of those in the mean group. To that, I offer this potential explanation: the atheist and agnostic individuals who are invested in such ideas may self-identify as slightly religious due to these beliefs and lack of adequate defining terms. For instance, many people consider themselves to be spiritual, but not necessarily religious; however, when forced to classify their beliefs under the confines of religious or not religious, many may opt to define their beliefs and practices as such to avoid delegitimization associated with an atheist label.
Religiosity Index: 0 (Mean)
The group of those who are moderately religious showed the highest instances of paranormal belief.
Religiosity Index: 3 (High)
The group reporting the highest religiosity index showed the lowest instance of paranormal belief. The most interesting part of this, to me, is the linear, consistent relationship showing paranormal belief declining consistently as religious belief increases from the mean. This relationship is much more consistent and gradual than that of the nonreligious group and its tendencies toward paranormal belief. It is my belief that paranormal belief decreases as religiosity increases, because contrary to atheists, the paranormal is solely religious to those in this group. In other words, a linear relationship between paranormal belief and religiosity would be expected in this group, due to their direct relationship. Paranormal beliefs aren’t a category of phenomena to these people, because such events coincide with their religious beliefs already. As such, these phenomena would not be considered paranormal at all, only a religious instrument.
A Closer Look at Paranormal Belief Among the Nonreligious
If these paranormal beliefs among atheists and agnostics are not religious, then what are they?
Paranormal beliefs are diverse, and cannot be consistently contained or classified under the constraints of organized religion. They, like religion, are simply ways of understanding the world that may or may not supplement other modes of belief, values, and ideals.
To explore this idea further, I would like to discuss yet another figure– this one that displays the prevalence of individual paranormal beliefs among atheists and agnostics (Bullivant et al., 2019).
I appreciate that these data and graphs present the paranormal under various subcategories, not as an encompassing field; in my opinion, it is impossible to standardize something as vast as the paranormal. While discussing the previous figure, this was suitable, as I was simply displaying that lack of religious belief and belief in the paranormal are not mutually exclusive, and in an even broader context, that the paranormal is not inherently religious. It is important to view data such as this in order to understand how subcategories within the broad field that is the paranormal can supplement many belief systems, or lack thereof. The sheer diversity of topics encompassed in this field allows the paranormal to participate in multiple systems and support a wide array of claims and ideas.
To view the legend of the figures detailing paranormal belief by country simply allows a viewer to see that there are other variables, like region and culture, that affect religious and paranormal thinking. Because of the importance of the paranormal in folk stories and oral history, I would argue that an understanding and accreditation to the importance of culture is inherent to understanding the paranormal and its relationship with religion.
To expand on this point, consider a belief in life after death. Viewed in a religious context, life after death may constitute reincarnation, liberation, Nirvana, heaven, hell, or purgatory, among other things, of course. Likewise, Near-Death Experiences (NDE) are experienced and interpreted within the scope of such beliefs. Interpretations draw from and therefore align with what one already knows, so a dramatic experience like an NDE can and will be contextualized in a religious framework for people who are familiar with that mode of thought. If two people witnessed another flying, one may simply deem it paranormal (i.e., not encompassed in any other label), while a devout Roman Catholic may ascribe religious meaning in relation to one of the multiple patron saints who were reported to levitate and esteemed by the Catholic Church. This concept is even applicable to paranormal phenomena that seem objectively far removed from religion. In Diana Pasulka’s book, American Cosmic, she discussed the case of a mysterious, glowing object with incredible healing abilities witnessed by both a husband and wife; however, the husband interpreted it as some craft or object related to extraterrestrials, while the wife was adamant about its Catholic prevalence, claiming that it was an angel. As far as we know, both people experienced the same event, but they interpreted it in drastically different manners in accordance with their belief systems. In this way, a paranormal event was employed as a religious tool, and simultaneously in support of a belief system seemingly removed entirely from religion.
Conclusion
The way I see it, religious and paranormal beliefs are solely two different ways of understanding the world and the human experience as a whole. Like any two methods and ideas, they may complement each other in some aspects, and are not strictly defined or deemed mutually inclusive or exclusive. Perhaps the most effective and encompassing way to define the paranormal is within the context in which someone sees or uses it; one could argue that there is beauty in its diversity and adaptiveness in context and statement. However, this conclusion leaves much to be desired; there is a considerable amount of research to be done regarding the relationship between human consciousnesses, interpretation, and the paranormal.
The paranormal encompasses a wide range of phenomena. In this way, it is a unifying experience among a diverse array of people, cultures, and organizations, such that a better understanding of its significance could better human relations, cultural competency, tolerance, and simply increase our understanding of the human experience.
References
Bader, C. D., Baker, J. O., & Molle, A. (2012). Countervailing Forces: Religiosity and Paranormal Belief in Italy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(4), 705–720. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01674.x
Bullivant, S., Farias, M., Lanman, J., & Lee, L. (2019). Understanding Unbelief: Atheists and agnostics around the world. St. Mary’s University. https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief
Schumaker, J. F. (1993). The mental health of atheists. Free Inquiry.
Smith, A. F., & Simmonds, J. G. (2006). Help-seeking and paranormal beliefs in adherents of mainstream religion, alternative religion, and no religion. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 19(4), 331–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070601095724
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