Paranormal Tips

10) Beliefs

While the existence of paranormal phenomena is controversial and debated passionately by both proponents of the paranormal and by , surveys are useful in determining the beliefs of people in regards to paranormal phenomena. These opinions, while not constituting scientific evidence for or against, may give an indication of the mindset of a certain portion of the population (at least among those who answered the polls). The number of people worldwide who believe in parapsychological powers has been estimated to be 3 to 4 billion.

A survey conducted in 2006 by researchers from Australia's sought to determine the types of phenomena that people claim to have experienced and the effects these experiences have had on their lives. The study was conducted as an online survey with over 2,000 respondents from around the world participating. The results revealed that around 70% of the respondents believe to have had an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way. About 70% also claimed to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there; 80% have reported having a , and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life.

Polls were conducted by Bryan Farha at and Gary Steward of the in 2006. They found fairly consistent results compared to the results of a in 2001.

A 1996 Gallup poll estimated that 71% of the people in the U.S. believed that the government was covering up information about . A 2002 poll conducted for the reported that 56% thought UFOs were real craft and 48% that had visited the .A survey by Jeffrey S. Levin, associate professor at , found that more than two thirds of the United States population reported having at least one mystical experience.

A 2001 survey found that 9% of people polled thought was very , and 31% thought it was somewhat scientific. About 32% of Americans surveyed stated that some numbers were lucky, while 46% of agreed with that claim. About 60% of all people polled believed in some form of and 30% thought that "some of the unidentified flying objects that have been reported are really space vehicles from other civilizations."

In 2017 the Survey of American Fears asked about seven paranormal beliefs and found that "the most common belief is that ancient advanced civilizations such as once existed (55%). Next was that places can be haunted by spirits (52%), aliens have visited Earth in our ancient past (35%), aliens have come to Earth in modern times (26%), some people can move objects with their minds (25%), fortune tellers and psychics can survey the future (19%), and is a real creature. Only one-fourth of respondents didn't hold at least one of these beliefs."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal