Bigfoot, UFOs and ghosts focus of author’s virtual chat
FREMONT – A California professor specializing in paranormal beliefs and discoveries on who believes in what when it comes to the supernatural discussed his findings through a virtual event this week at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums.
Bader is a sociology professor at Chapman University in Orange, California, studying paranormal beliefs, religion, and has interest in criminology.
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His book, “Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture” details findings of how beliefs shape people.
Bader spoke virtually Wednesday as part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum’s special exhibit “Ohio: An Unnatural History,” which is on display through Halloween 2021.
“If you are coming to this talk hoping that I would tell you the paranormal is real or tell you all the reasons you shouldn’t believe it, then you are going to be disappointed on either end,” Bader said. “As a sociologist, that doesn’t really interest me.”
For Bader, he has also spent a long time studying fear and what people are afraid of and how it affects their behaviors.
Unexplained interests
Growing up in Washington State, Bader said he was always interested in “In Search Of” shows, but said when he grew up, he realized no one was really looking at topics from an academic perspective.
He said he remembers thinking Bigfoot was in the woods outside his home, and fondly recalls watching the “Six Million Dollar Man” fighting the creature on TV.
As a sociologist, Bader said he is more interested in how paranormal beliefs change over time or how they shape people and culture.
“What we believe about UFOs today is not the same things we believed about UFOs in the 1970s,” Bader said.
And those changes apply to Bigfoot, such as appearance, size, and where the creature may live.
The science of paranormal
Bader said many scientists do not believe in UFOs or ghosts as a whole, saying they can generally tell someone why that UFO they believe they saw was likely a shooting star or a bird, and also with religion, and some of the inherent beliefs that come from religious factions.
Ghosts are the most commonly believed creatures in paranormal activity, with 58% of people believing that places can be haunted by spirits, according to data from a 2018 Chapman University study.
Bigfoot garnered 21% from the study, while aliens visiting Earth in the ancient past (41%) and those believing aliens have visited Earth in modern times makes up 35%.
There are more people, according to the study, who believe people can move objects with their minds (26%) than belief in Bigfoot being real at 21%.
Though Bigfoot belief may appear to be low, Bader said about seven years ago only 14% of people believed in the creature, making it the largest percentage growth among paranormal beliefs.
Understanding belief trends
Through his research, Bader said belief in the paranormal does follow key factors including gender, income, education, and religion.
Bader said men tend to get more involved in the paranormal, using equipment and going on ghost hunts, while women lean more towards how to better yourself by going to a psychic.
One stereotype of those who believe in the paranormal is that they have lower levels of education and therefore lower income levels. Bader said that is not true, having studied those who believe in the paranormal and find they often have a higher level of education and income.
Religion and paranormal
Religion does have a “complicated” effect on the paranormal, Bader said.
He said atheists tend not to believe in the paranormal, saying it makes sense that if someone rejects religion or the idea of religion that having faith in something beyond the physical world would not align with their views.
“We also found that very religious people don’t believe in the paranormal either, or if they do, they tend to believe in it in a different way,” Bader said.
He said some extreme religious groups will either tell their congregation that the paranormal does not exist or that if it does exist, it is the work of the Devil.
Moderate levels of religious belief are where Bader found the most belief in the paranormal, such as a person who goes to church once or twice a month, believes in the Bible but does not believe it should be taken literally.
cshoup@gannett.com
419-334-1035
Twitter: @CraigShoupNH
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