Research On Religion » astrology

Chris Bader on the Paranormal

tonygill — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 08:00:20 +0000

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Who believes in the ghosts, UFOs, and Bigfoot? And why? This has been the topic of investigation of Prof. Christopher Bader, a professor of sociology at Chapman University, for over two decades. As Chris was one of our very first guests on this podcast, we invite him back to discuss the second edition of his book Paranormal America, co-written with Joseph Baker and Carson Mencken. Few scholarly books receive such an honor as to be published in a second edition, but the popularity of this work combined with a great deal of new data and fieldwork made the decision easy for NYU Press. Prof. Bader notes that nearly 75% of the content of this work is new and updated material. Our discussion begins with one of Chris’s new tales — an account of a haunted classroom in Smith Hall on the campus of Chapman University. Chris found it exciting to be at the “ground floor” of this “making of a ghostly legend,” and he details how the professor involved and his students investigated the strange footsteps that several people heard. After another tale of a night spent at a haunted coffee house, Chris explains what falls under the scope of “paranormal” and provides some of the basic demographics for who is most likely to be attracted to beliefs in different phenomenon. He emphasizes the point that his work is about how such beliefs affect the behavior of individuals holding these ideas, and that he is not out to prove whether such things as ghosts or UFOs exist. We also discuss how beliefs in the paranormal relate to both religion and science, with Chris noting that paranormal beliefs fall between those two realms and are “doubly damned.” Getting into the sociology of religion, Chris explains how religious organizations that are fairly strict will often see the paranormal as a main competitor to their faith tradition and spend a great deal of time denouncing such beliefs, whereas individuals who do not have strong attachments to strict religious traditions will often dabble in a portfolio of beliefs. We further explore the reasons why many individuals are drawn to the paranormal, with Chris laying out two major reasons — a search for meaning in one’s life and/or a thrill of being in on a discovery of something new. He peppers the discussion with examples of each, including his visit to various psychic fairs and a conversation with a women who claims to be abducted by extraterrestrials. Over conversation also covers the extent to which such paranormal beliefs can find an organizational representation and what the future holds for such beliefs, particularly in an era when the religiously non-affiliated (or “nones”) appears to be increasing. We finish off with a brief discussion on Chris’s new research on fear in society and what he has learned over the course of his two decades investigating these topics. Recorded: October 3, 2016.

Russell Kleckley on Religion, Science, and Johannes Kepler

tonygill — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 08:00:22 +0000

We all know Johannes Kepler as one of history’s great mathematicians and astronomers, but did he have anything to say about theology? Of course he did, and Russell Kleckley, an associate professor of religion at Augsburg College, details the life and times of this fascinating individual who both reflected and challenged the thinking of his age. Before diving into the topic of Kepler, though, we talk about scuba diving as it was on a dive trip in the Florida Keys where the two of us met. We share a brief story about the famous “Scuba Jesus” that is located about 30 feet underwater in the Atlantic Ocean.

Following this bit of fun banter, we turn to the serious historical topic of Johannes Kepler. Prof. Kleckley provides a quick “textbook” summary of Kepler’s life for those of us who may have missed that day in high school. We learn about his mercenary father, his mother who was accused of witchcraft, some important moments in Kepler’s life such as the observation of the Great Comet of 1577, and his major scientific contributions. It is then I probe how Russell became interested in studying this “natural philosopher” as a topic of his doctoral dissertation. He explains how Kepler, whose theological musings often go unnoticed, was representative of the intellectual ferment that was occurring in the century following the Protestant Reformation. This historical context is also reviewed for listeners and we chat about why scientists — as we would call them today — were considered to be “natural philosophers” back then. The desire to explain the workings of the natural world were intimately tied to finding theological meaning in the world, including a greater understanding of God’s design of the universe. We learn that Kepler considered himself a “priest of the book of nature,” indicating that he saw no conflict whatsoever with his spiritual beliefs and his empirical quest to explain the world around him.

The conversation then moves into an examination of Kepler’s theology, specifically his differences with Lutherans, Calvinists, and Catholics. The fact that Kepler lived at the geographic intersection of these faiths, was raised a Lutheran, and had to move around to different town due to theological conflict plays an important role of how Kepler developed his own understanding of faith and orthodoxy. We discuss the meaning of two revealing statements written by Kepler himself that reflected his thought and historical context — “I am neither a Lutheran nor a Calvinist” and “One should be pious, but not at all too pious.” Both statements indicate his frustrations with the growing orthodoxy of the day. Russell details a number of theological differences Kepler had with the two dominant Protestant faiths at the time, particularly centering around ideas about free will/predestination and his understanding of Article VIII of the Formula of Concord. This latter controversy revolved around the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We see Kepler’s discomfort with orthodoxies that had developed after the Reformation and how he preferred a hierarchy of authority that started with Scripture and then deferred to the Early Church Fathers. Later doctrine needed to be approached with more skepticism and flexibility. Russell also points out how Kepler’s concern over more recent orthodoxies (for his era) led him to advocate for more ecumenical relations among Christians, seeking to build bridges across Protestant theologies as well as with Catholics.

We finish the discussion with Russell’s personal reflections on his study of this topic. While noting that Kepler probably did not have much of an impact on the theological debates of his era, his thought and life history is an indication for us today that science and religion need not be antithetical to one another but can really work well hand-in-hand. Recorded: September 8, 2014.

Chris Bader on Ghosts, UFOs and the Paranormal

tonygill — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:00:59 +0000

How pervasive is belief in UFOs, Bigfoot and the paranormal in America? Christopher Bader — professor of sociology and resident scholar at ISR at Baylor University — discusses his extensive research into this topic. Our podcast begins with an examination of the survey data, demonstrating that belief in the paranormal is wider than many have supposed. We examine various demographic patterns related to these beliefs. Interestingly enough, dabbling in the paranormal is not exclusively the purview of the uneducated. Chris describes how conventional religious belief has a curvilinear relationship with interest in the paranomal — individuals who are marginally associated with mainstream religions are more likely to be adherents to belief in one aspect of the paranormal, whereas those in strict religion or those with no interest in religion typically have no interest in UFOs, ghosts, astrology or other such things. We also find out that adherents to the paranormal are average, everyday kind of folks. In the second half of the podcast, Chris discusses his in-depth field work into this area, including participation in Bigfoot hunts, attending UFO abduction sessions, having his aura photographed at paranormal conferences and spending the night in a haunted coffee house. You won’t want to miss these stories!

We finish the podcast with discussion of The Association of Religious Data Archives (housed at Penn State University). Prof. Bader is the manager of web development at The ARDA and tells us what a great resource this is for scholars, students, homeschoolers and anyone interested in religion. In addition to having an extensive collection of databases, The ARDA also has several features that makes it easy for anyone to explore what people believe in the cities that they live in. Give it a try! Recorded: September 28, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Chris Bader’s website at Baylor University.

Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and other Curiosities in Religion and Culture by Christopher Bader, F. Carson Mencken, and Joseph Baker.

Website for Paranormal America.

The Association of Religious Data Archives (www.TheARDA.com).