Paranormal America (second edition): Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture

by Christopher D Bader, Joseph O Baker, F. Carson Mencken

Overview

An “engrossing and intellectually stimulating” portrait of the countless Americans who believe in paranormal phenomena (Journal of Religion and Culture).
 
Popular culture makes clear that there’s a seemingly insatiable public appetite for information and entertainment about what we call the paranormal, supernatural, or mystical. But how many Americans believe in the paranormal, and who are they? Based on extensive research and their own unique experiences, Christopher Bader, Joseph Baker, and Carson Mencken reveal that a significant number hold these beliefs, and that for better or worse, we undoubtedly live in a paranormal America.

Paranormal America follows the authors as they participate in psychic and palm readings, have their auras photographed, join a Bigfoot hunt, follow a group of celebrity ghost hunters as they investigate claims of a haunted classroom, and visit a support group for alien abductees. The second edition also includes new and updated research based on findings from the Baylor Religion Survey regarding America’s relationship with the paranormal.
 
Drawing on these diverse and compelling sources of data, the book offers an engaging account of the social, personal, and statistical stories of American paranormal beliefs and experiences. It examines topics such as the popularity of paranormal beliefs in the United States, the ways in which these beliefs relate to each other, whether paranormal beliefs will give rise to a new religion, and how believers in the paranormal differ from “average” Americans. Brimming with fascinating anecdotes and provocative new findings, Paranormal America offers an entertaining yet authoritative examination of a growing segment of American religious culture.
 
“An engaging and eye-opening book that offers an abundance of new insights, dispelling some popular stereotypes and reaffirming others.” —Roger Finke, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479814619
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	319
Sales rank:	555,820
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christopher D. Bader (Author)
Christopher D. Bader is Professor of Sociology at Chapman University and affiliated with the Institute for Religion, Economics and Culture (IRES). He is Associate Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives (www.theARDA.com) and principal investigator on the Chapman University Survey of American Fears, as well as coauthor of Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture, second edition (also available from NYU Press).

Joseph O. Baker (Author)
Joseph O. Baker is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at East Tennessee State University and a senior research associate for the Association of Religion Data Archives.

F. Carson Mencken (Author)
F. Carson Mencken is Professor and department chair of Sociology at Baylor University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

1 The Interrupted Lecture 1

2 The Truth Is Within 23

3 The Truth Is Out There 49

4 The Thrill of the Haunt 81

5 Round Trip to Hell in a Flying Saucer? 107

6 Paranormal Subcultures 129

7 Paranormal People 163

8 Darkness and Light 193

9 Out on a Limb 227

Appendix: Methods and Findings 241

Notes 259

References 281

Index 301

About the Authors 311

Editorial Reviews

"Within the academy, it will be of particular interest to scholars focusing on the paranormal, esotericism, and the other blurred boundaries between the religious and non-religious in Western society."

Reading Religion

"Paranormal America takes the reader on a thought-provoking journey into the study of paranormal beliefs and experiences in the United States. The authors do not take a position with regard to the reality of the paranormal, but, as is appropriate for social scientists, simply seek to describe the prevalence of paranormal beliefs and the characteristics of the people who hold them. This is done not only by summarizing the results of surveys, but also by relating personal accounts and interactions. For example, in this book we are introduced to psychics, UFO abductees, and a self-proclaimed warlock. We go on a hunt for ghosts and a search for Bigfoot, and we learn about the types of equipment that ghost hunters and Bigfoot searchers use. Regardless of one’s personal view with regard to the paranormal, it makes for interesting reading, and the personal accounts serve to develop and put faces on the survey data."

Review of Religious Research

"Paranormal Americais an excellent text for parlaying this interest into an exploration of the sociology of religion."

Nova Religio

"It’s a rare delight when a book comes my way from a publisher that is both engrossing and intellectually stimulating. Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture, is one that ably checks both columns and will likely soon be nestled on my shelf next to Glen Chilton’s The Attack of The Killer Rhododendrons and Gregory L. Reece’s Weird Science and Bizarre Beliefs: Mysterious Creatures, Lost Worlds and Amazing Inventions... I wholeheartedly recommend this second edition as a strong entry point for anyone interested in the paranormal, whether as a curiosity or academic pursuit."

Journal of Religion and Culture

"This is a fun read. Armed with a wealth of stories and a trove of recent surveys, the authors introduce us to those who believe and experience the paranormal. This is an engaging and eye-opening book that offers an abundance of new insights, dispelling some popular stereotypes and reaffirming others."

Roger Finke

"This is not merely a second edition of an already fine book, but a landmark in the evolution of modern culture, documenting the significant increase of public interest and richness of popular culture about possibilities that exist just outside the boundaries of science and religion. Nicely blending research data with descriptions of first-hand experiences, it raises the possibility that secularization is actually spiritual diversification, rather than religious decline, and provides a rigorous but poetic basis for many future scholarly studies and personal explorations."

William Sims Bainbridge

"This is a fun read. Armed with a wealth of stories and a trove of recent surveys, the authors introduce us to those who believe and experience the paranormal. This is an engaging and eye-opening book that offers an abundance of new insights, dispelling some popular stereotypes and reaffirming others." -Roger Finke,Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

“Within the academy, it will be of particular interest to scholars focusing on the paranormal, esotericism, and the other blurred boundaries between the religious and non-religious in Western society.”- Reading Religion

"This is not merely a second edition of an already fine book, but a landmark in the evolution of modern culture, documenting the significant increase of public interest and richness of popular culture about possibilities that exist just outside the boundaries of science and religion. Nicely blending research data with descriptions of first-hand experiences, it raises the possibility that secularization is actually spiritual diversification, rather than religious decline, and provides a rigorous but poetic basis for many future scholarly studies and personal explorations."-William Sims Bainbridge,author of eGods: Faith Versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming and Across the Secular Abyss

“Paranormal America is an excellent text for parlaying this interest into an exploration of the sociology of religion.”- Nova Religio

From the Publisher