The majority of Swedish women believe in the supernatural

Published 11 March 2024 at 17:00

Domestic. Believing in phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, the sea monster and fortune tellers is common in all social groups in Sweden. A new study at Uppsala University shows that 41 percent of adult Swedes believe in some form of paranormal phenomena, and if you look only at women, it is as many as half. But among ufologists, men dominate.

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– There are few studies and I thought it was time to update the state of knowledge about the scope of various controversial beliefs that for example parapsychological abilities and hauntings. Even if you are an enemy of these types of activities, it is important to know how many people believe in them, isn't it? says the religious researcher Cristoffer Tidelius.

He has a dissertation on the subject, which shows that around 41 percent of adult Swedes confirm that they believe in paranormal phenomena, i.e. things that cannot be explained. But there is a big difference between women and men – there the figures are 52 percent of women and 37 percent of men. Cristoffer Tidelius believes that parallels can be drawn between religion and spirituality, where more women are believers.

– It could be explained by the fact that several paranormal ideas and practices appeal to traditionally female rather than male characteristics, for example a rich inner emotional life, self-awareness and personal development, intuition, caring for oneself and others. Such qualities are often actively cultivated within alternative spiritual, alternative medicine and paranormal contexts.

Cristoffer Tidelius' research is based on a survey study that was conducted in the fall of 2020 with randomly selected participants via the Citizen Panel. It was sent to 1,900, of which just over 1,100 answered the survey. He has also done field studies by accompanying ghost hunters in scattered locations in Sweden, trained as a medium for four days and attended a course on how to assess UFO reports from the public. As part of this, he has also interviewed 37 participants.

The research also shows that among those who are actively involved in organizations interested in paranormal phenomena, for example ghost hunters, ufologists and cryptozoologists, there is either an even gender distribution or a predominance of men.

– It shows that some paranormal ideas and practices, especially among those who actively invest time and commitment, actually attract more men. That men are more inclined to believe in UFOs has also been shown in international studies, says Cristoffer Tidelius.

A paradox is also found in the fact that the majority of those who believe in phenomena that have so far not been recognized by science still found science to be the most reliable source of knowledge.

The study also shows that there is a general but weaker relationship between paranormal belief and practice on the one hand, and tendencies towards conspiracy theory thinking on the other.