GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- What exactly do Americans believe in when it comes to the paranormal, the occult, and "out-of-this-world" experiences? The Gallup Poll recently updated its audit of Americans' beliefs in a variety of these types of phenomena. The results suggest a significant increase in belief in a number of these experiences over the past decade, including in particular such Halloween-related issues as haunted houses, ghosts and witches. Only one of the experiences tested has seen a drop in belief since 1990: devil possession. Overall, half or more of Americans believe in two of the issues: psychic or spiritual healing, and extrasensory perception (ESP), and a third or more believe in such things as haunted houses, possession by the devil, ghosts, telepathy, extraterrestrial beings having visited earth, and clairvoyance.
Basic Beliefs
The list of 13 experiences tested in the poll is eclectic, ranging from Halloween- and occult-oriented phenomena such as ghosts and witches, to mental experiences such as ESP, clairvoyance, and psychic or spiritual healing.
Americans' overall beliefs in the experiences tested range from a slight majority who believe in the power of the human mind to heal the body, to a low of 15% who believe in the New Age concept of channeling or allowing a "spirit-being" to assume control of a body during a trance.
Here is the overall pattern of results:
|
For each of the following items I am going to read you, please tell me whether it is something you believe in, something you're not sure about, or something you don't believe in. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
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|||
|
2001 May 10-14 |
|
|
Don't believe |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body |
54 |
19 |
26 |
|
ESP or extrasensory perception |
50 |
20 |
27 |
|
That houses can be haunted |
42 |
16 |
41 |
|
That people on this earth are sometimes possessed by the devil |
41 |
16 |
41 |
|
Ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations |
38 |
17 |
44 |
|
Telepathy, or communication between minds without using the traditional five senses |
36 |
26 |
35 |
|
That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth at some time in the past |
33 |
27 |
38 |
|
Clairvoyance, or the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future |
32 |
23 |
45 |
|
That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died |
28 |
26 |
46 |
|
Astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives |
28 |
18 |
52 |
|
Witches |
26 |
15 |
59 |
|
Reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death |
25 |
20 |
54 |
|
Channeling, or allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a human body during a trance |
15 |
21 |
62 |
Belief in a Number of These Phenomena Is up Since 1990
Belief in several of these experiences has not changed significantly over the last 11 years. For seven experiences tested, however, there has been an increase in belief of more than five percentage points:
- Haunted houses
- Ghosts
- Witches
- Communicating with someone who has died
- Psychic or spiritual healing
- That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth
- Clairvoyance
There has been a significant downturn in belief in just one of the experiences tested: possession by the devil, in which 41% of Americans believe today, compared to 49% in 1990.
|
For each of the following items I am going to read you, please tell me whether it is something you believe in, something you're not sure about, or something you don't believe in. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
|
|||
|
2001 May 10-14 |
Believe |
Believe |
CHANGE OVER TIME |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body |
54 |
46 |
+8 |
|
ESP or extrasensory perception |
50 |
49 |
+1 |
|
That houses can be haunted |
42 |
29 |
+13 |
|
That people on this earth are sometimes possessed by the devil |
41 |
49 |
-8 |
|
Ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations |
38 |
25 |
+13 |
|
Telepathy, or communication between minds without using the traditional five senses |
36 |
36 |
+0 |
|
That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth at some time in the past |
33 |
27 |
+6 |
|
Clairvoyance, or the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future |
32 |
26 |
+6 |
|
That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died |
28 |
18 |
+10 |
|
Astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives |
28 |
25 |
+3 |
|
Witches |
26 |
14 |
+12 |
|
Reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death |
25 |
21 |
+4 |
|
Channeling, or allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a human body during a trance |
15 |
11 |
+4 |
Differences by Subgroup
Belief in these phenomena shows significant differences within major demographic and belief groups of the American population:
- Age
There are interesting differences in belief in these varied experiences by the age of the respondent. Younger Americans -- those 18-29 -- are much more likely than those who are older to believe in haunted houses, in witches, in ghosts, that extraterrestrials have visited earth, and in clairvoyance. There is little significant difference in belief in the other items by age group. Those 30 and older are somewhat more likely to believe in possession by the devil than are the younger group.
- Gender
Women are slightly more likely than men to believe in ghosts and that people can communicate with the dead. Men, on the other hand, are more likely than women to believe in only one of the dimensions tested: that extraterrestrials have visited earth at some point in the past.
- Education
Americans with the highest levels of education are more likely than others to believe in the power of the mind to heal the body. On the other hand, belief in three of the phenomena tested goes up as the educational level of the respondent goes down: possession by the devil, astrology and haunted houses.
- Importance of Religion
Perhaps not surprisingly, the major difference in belief in these phenomena by importance of religion focuses on the devil: 55% of those who say religion is very important in their daily lives say they believe in devil possession, compared to just 14% of those who say religion is "not very" important to them. Religion is also correlated to belief in extraterrestrials: Those for whom religion is very important are less likely to say they believe in beings from other worlds that may have visited this planet than are those who are less religious.
|
For each of the following items I am going to read you, please tell me whether it is something you believe in, something you're not sure about, or something you don't believe in. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
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|
AGE |
GEN- |
EDUCATION |
IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION |
||||||||||
|
Total |
18-29 |
30-49 |
50+ |
M |
F |
Post- |
Col- |
Some Col- |
High Sch. or Less |
Very |
Fair- |
Not very |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body |
54 |
49 |
56 |
54 |
53 |
55 |
65 |
57 |
57 |
48 |
55 |
50 |
58 |
|
ESP or extrasensory perception |
50 |
48 |
50 |
50 |
47 |
52 |
52 |
53 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
48 |
48 |
|
Telepathy, or communication between minds without using the traditional five senses |
36 |
33 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
34 |
41 |
38 |
36 |
35 |
35 |
37 |
41 |
|
Clairvoyance, or the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future |
32 |
42 |
33 |
26 |
33 |
31 |
29 |
27 |
34 |
34 |
32 |
33 |
32 |
|
That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died |
28 |
36 |
30 |
20 |
24 |
31 |
25 |
28 |
27 |
29 |
28 |
30 |
20 |
|
Channeling, or allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a human body during a trance |
15 |
22 |
16 |
10 |
13 |
17 |
14 |
12 |
15 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
11 |
|
Reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death |
25 |
25 |
22 |
28 |
25 |
24 |
22 |
19 |
21 |
30 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
|
That people on this earth are sometimes possessed by the devil |
41 |
36 |
42 |
44 |
39 |
43 |
32 |
35 |
41 |
46 |
55 |
28 |
14 |
|
That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth at some time in the past |
33 |
48 |
31 |
29 |
38 |
29 |
25 |
29 |
36 |
35 |
28 |
40 |
41 |
|
Astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives |
28 |
32 |
26 |
29 |
26 |
30 |
16 |
20 |
29 |
33 |
28 |
30 |
28 |
|
That houses can be haunted |
42 |
58 |
44 |
32 |
40 |
44 |
33 |
37 |
41 |
48 |
43 |
42 |
38 |
|
Ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations |
38 |
46 |
44 |
29 |
34 |
43 |
36 |
39 |
38 |
40 |
39 |
39 |
36 |
|
Witches |
26 |
34 |
30 |
16 |
27 |
24 |
22 |
24 |
30 |
24 |
26 |
24 |
27 |
Survey Methods
The results reported here are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,012 adults, 18 years and older, conducted May 10-14, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
For each of the following items I am going to read you, please tell me whether it is something you believe in, something you're not sure about, or something you don't believe in. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
A. ESP or extrasensory perception
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
50 |
20 |
27 |
3 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
48 |
22 |
27 |
3 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
49 |
22 |
29 |
-- |
B. That people on this earth are sometimes possessed by the
devil
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
41 |
16 |
41 |
2 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
42 |
13 |
43 |
2 |
|
1991 Oct 24-27 |
37 |
18 |
45 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
49 |
16 |
35 |
-- |
C. Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to
heal the body
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
54 |
19 |
26 |
1 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
46 |
20 |
34 |
-- |
D. Telepathy, or communication between minds without using the
traditional five senses
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
36 |
26 |
35 |
3 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
35 |
24 |
39 |
2 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
36 |
25 |
39 |
-- |
E. That houses can be haunted
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
42 |
16 |
41 |
1 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
33 |
19 |
47 |
1 |
|
1991 Oct 24-27 |
28 |
18 |
54 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
29 |
17 |
54 |
-- |
F. That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth at some time in the past
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
33 |
27 |
38 |
2 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
27 |
32 |
41 |
-- |
G. Clairvoyance, or the power of the mind to know the past and
predict the future
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
32 |
23 |
45 |
* |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
27 |
25 |
46 |
2 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
26 |
23 |
51 |
-- |
H. Astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
28 |
18 |
52 |
2 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
25 |
22 |
52 |
1 |
|
1994 Dec 16-18 |
23 |
16 |
61 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
25 |
21 |
54 |
-- |
I. Ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
38 |
17 |
44 |
1 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
30 |
19 |
50 |
1 |
|
1991 Oct 24-27 |
28 |
17 |
55 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
25 |
19 |
56 |
-- |
J. Reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
25 |
20 |
54 |
1 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
22 |
22 |
55 |
1 |
|
1994 Dec 16-18 |
27 |
20 |
53 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
21 |
22 |
57 |
-- |
K. That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
28 |
26 |
46 |
* |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
20 |
22 |
56 |
2 |
|
1994 Dec 16-18 |
28 |
21 |
51 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
18 |
20 |
62 |
-- |
L. Witches
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
26 |
15 |
59 |
* |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
19 |
11 |
69 |
1 |
|
1991 Oct 24-27 |
16 |
13 |
71 |
-- |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
14 |
8 |
78 |
-- |
M. Channeling, or allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume
control of a human body during a trance
|
Believe in |
Not sure about |
Don't believe in |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 May 10-14 |
15 |
21 |
62 |
2 |
|
1996 Sep 3-5 |
12 |
21 |
64 |
3 |
|
1990 Jun 14-17 |
11 |
22 |
67 |
-- |
* Less than 0.5%
