Paranormal Beliefs in the Former Soviet Union: Relations with Religiosity and Spirituality
Paranormal Beliefs in the Former Soviet Union: Relations with Religiosity and Spirituality
Author(s): Tekla Svanidze, Jennifer SchneiderSubject(s): Social history, Politics and religion, Crowd Psychology: Mass phenomena and political interactions, History of Communism, Sociology of Religion, Psychology of Religion
Published by: Latvijas Universitātes Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūts
Keywords: paranormal belief; spirituality; religiosity; the former Soviet Union; belief systems;
Summary/Abstract: Suppression of religious institutions during the Soviet regime might have caused the former Soviet population to substitute religion with paranormal belief, and therefore it is important to study paranormal belief in relation with religiosity and spirituality, in the light of the Soviet Union. The participants (N=229) were from five post-soviet countries (Russia, Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan). Participants completed an online survey consisting of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) plus the Ghosts subscale from Manchester Metropolitan University paranormal belief scale (MMUpbs), Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS) and the abbreviated version of Springfield Religiosity Scale (SRS). Participants reported low religiosity, while paranormal belief was moderate, and spirituality was high. Spirituality was a significant predictor for paranormal belief, while no relation was found between religiosity and paranormal belief. The article discusses the possible explanations for such results.
Journal: Religiski-filozofiski raksti
- Issue Year: XXXI/2021
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 372-399
- Page Count: 28
- Language: English