Lonely people more likely to believe in supernatural

Lonely people more likely to believe in supernatural

news.yahoo.com

People who feel lonely are more likely to believe in the supernatural, whether that is God, angels or miracles, a new study finds.

(visit the link for the full news article)

That is an interesting study, but it makes sense. People who aren't thrilled with what is happening with their everyday life, seem more vested in there being something more out there.

I would imagine that if you were to survey the terminally ill, you would find that they are more open to believing in an afterlife, since they are facing that reality.

It makes sense to me.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

i wonder if this includes UFO's and the such

I believe in the paranormal and I'm not lonely nor can I ever remember a long period of time in my life in which I was lonely. I've always been surrounded by friends and family and yet I've experienced some odd things.

however I do get the point of the study... lonely and yes you would probably "speak to god or yourself more" ... perhaps this internalizing is a trigger or a door opener to paranormal experiences, which in turn then strengthens the person's belief in the paranormal.

Interesting article.

We can makeup cause and effect relationships here all day as to why this correlation exists.

But I am pretty sure that loneliness DOES NOT induces a belief in supernatural. Likewise, a strong supernatural belief probably DOES NOT cause loneliness. One does not cause the other. A third thing probably causes them, which is general "frame of mind".

I know plenty of people who are alone but not lonely, and people who are always lonely, even when surrounded by friends. Both loneliness and belief are strong emotions. Both are states of mind. If you find yourself intensely in one frame of mind, you might find yourself in another frame of mind as well.

Thanks for the post. I'm interested in any other comments as well.

(Edit: for spelling mistakes. That is my frame of mind....)

[edit on 25-1-2008 by Buck Division]

I still think many people who believe in supernatural things are not lonely people. I can see how some lonely people might have nothing else to do but, I think its kind of unfair to say that even if the study says other.

Maybe the more social a person is, the less they care for alternative topics.

If they are kept occupied by a full-time relationship or busy social life, then they don't have any time or motivation to research alternative/supernatural topics.

So it's not that they've researched the supernatural and decided that they don't believe it. It's simply that they are content with their lives, so as long as they are happy they don't see any reason to even learn about anything alternative.

Saying that, I have a good social life, i'm just not that busy during the daytime. And I find these topics interesting, so I put some of my spare time into discussing them. If I had a busier lifestyle then maybe I wouldn't.

Just thoughts.

That was a very good post malganis

Thats kind of what I was thinking, its not that they don't believe in the supernatural its just that they don't have the time to think about it.

Well put malganis. That pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject. My problem with the survey / article is that it really seems to be dismissing all things paranormal or "supernatural" because lonely people are using it as an escape. I don't think that is the case. Now, I am not here to argue the validity of all things supernatural, but I don't think you can dismiss them simply because lonely people are more likely to believe in them.

It is an interesting discussion and it makes sense. I just get the feeling from the article that they are trying to use this statistic to help discredit the "supernatural".

reply to post by Karlhungis


As somebody who's had a lifelong interest in the human psyche, I feel pretty confident in interpreting the evidence above in the reversed sense: people who are uncommonly open-minded - which includes many people who believe in the "supernatural" (obviously not all of them, not automatically) - tend to be "loners" more than the gregarious (= literally, "belonging to a herd") types, either by choice or forced by the circumstances.

Makes sense to me.

Excellent point. I think you are correct. It does take a sense of open mindedness to even entertain the notion of many of the supernatural theories out there. The simple act of entertaining the possibility of the supernatural would get you ostracized in most social circles.

Actually, aint everybody lonely deep inside?

reply to post by Metaphysic


exactly.

that is the whole point!