The Popularity of Paranormal Experiences in the United States

Paranormal experiences are defined as those instances in which persons perceive phenomena that appear to defy scientific explanation. Such experiences include feeling as though one has encountered the spirit of someone who has died (an idionecrophany), mental communication with another person (telepathy), the ability see events happening at great distances, or happening in the future (clairvoyance) and the feeling that one has been in a particular place or situation before (deja vu). These experiences, often thought of as forms of extrasensory perception (ESP), are so common in the United States that they may indeed be considered normal (Greeley, The Sociology 7). Recent research shows that 36 percent of persons in the United States have had idionecrophanic experiences (MacDonald 218), while 25 percent have reported communicating with someone without the use of the traditional five senses (Gallup and Newport 137). Moreover, the popularity of paranormal experiences in the United States has apparently been experiencing a revival (Grimmer 172).To date, the sociological perspective of the paranormal has seen little development. Only a handful of scholarly studies might be viewed as dealing with the paranormal (e.g., Ben-Yehuda; Greeley; Haraldsson; Kalish and Reynolds; Long; Lyon; MacDonald; Malinowski; Simon-Buller, Christopherson, and Jones), and none offer a comprehensive theoretical framework. However, this should not be surprising. A truly sociological perspective must not trivialize paranormal experiences by dismissing them as illusions, yet must also not take the leap of faith that would categorize them as genuine. To do so would be unscientific. Thus, there is a narrow margin within which the sociologist can work; and in this margin, the sociological study of the paranormal must be agnostic (Greeley, The Sociology 8).From such an agnostic perspective, the present study examines the reported occurrence of deja vu, telepathy, idionecrophanies, and clairvoyance during 1973, 1984, 1988 and 1989. Additionally, the sociodemographic characteristics of persons who report these experiences are examined. Finally, by employing the concepts of social change, alienation (Seeman) and the social construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann) this study attempts to put paranormal experiences into a sociological perspective.It should not be surprising that paranormal experiences are prevalent in the United States--American culture contains a wide range of paranormal beliefs (Lett 382). An understanding of the prevalence of these beliefs will facilitate an understanding of the popularity of paranormal experiences. The key to this understanding lies in the crises of the human condition. On a large scale, these crises involve "death, ambiguity, tragedy, and injustice" (Greeley, The Sociology 83). As Greeley notes in The Sociology of the Paranormal (82-83), only the most stoic individuals may remain undaunted in the face of these crises, while most humans need something to help them cope. Generally, science fails to provide answers to these complex and chaotic dilemmas which often produce feelings of meaninglessness and powerlessness (Seeman). As a result, humans are left with nonrational methods for determining the meaning of many life experiences. Thus, paranormal beliefs arise in response to the alienation produced by crises of the human condition. Besides convincing us that there is something after death (Grimmer), these beliefs give us control over events otherwise not understood (Malinowski) and they assure us that life's events are meaningful (Berger and Luckmann).Among primitive societies, insight into life's crises might have come through the magic of the shaman (Malinowski). Today, humans may find answers to life's most threatening problems through mainstream religious institutions. For instance, in order to come to terms with the crisis of death, a person may turn to his or her religious beliefs or seek the counsel of a priest or rabbi. …