Citation

The findings of past research on the relationship between paranormal belief and religiosity are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship based on a sample from Austria and also with respect to different aspects of paranormal belief as well as religious belief. A sample of 596 students completed a measure of paranormal belief and a questionnaire on various indices of religiosity. The results revealed rather low but significant correlations between paranormal belief and religiosity. Intrinsic religiosity and self-reported religiosity were much more strongly related to paranormal belief than was extrinsic religiosity. For subjects without religious affiliation, the relationship between religiosity and paranormal belief was higher than for Catholics and Protestants. These results suggest a modified version of the substitution hypothesis indicating that paranormal belief can be, but must not necessarily be, a substitute for traditional religion.