Surveying the landscape => A paranormal, religious future?

[Laird]

We asked Australians if they believe in God or the supernatural. Here's what they said

An Easter 2021 (4 April, AEST) article by Natasha Moore on the ABC News website.

Surprisingly, perhaps, it was the youngest age group — 18-26-year-olds — who expressed the most openness to the non-material : 49 per cent said they believe in the soul, and 48 per cent in life after death (in both cases, another 28 per cent were open to the possibility).

The percentage who said "I believe this does not exist" about any of the options never rose to double digits for this cohort (9 per cent for ghosts, only 4 per cent for life after death).

By contrast, the oldest age bracket (76+) were much more sceptical: a full 40 per cent said they do not believe in ghosts, and 28 per cent dismissed the possibility of life after death.

The gender disparities will be less surprising to some. Men were on average more than twice as likely as women to tick the "I believe this does not exist" box.

When it comes to the existence of God or a higher power, men and women said they believed or were open to it at almost the same rate. But for the rest, women were markedly more willing to profess belief: 50 per cent to 38 per cent for the soul, 38 per cent to 30 per cent for life after death, 34 per cent to 26 per cent for angels.