The Parapsychological Association will host the online symposium Parapsychology and the Study of Religion and Spirituality on August 28, 2021. We look forward to you attending.

Research Abstracts for oral presentations are now being accepted for consideration by Program Chair Everton Maraldi. Abstracts will be accepted with any study design from theoretical discussions to qualitative and quantitative studies.

Submission Deadline: July 5, 2021, at 23:59 Pacific Time.

Please submit your submissions here.

About the event

Frederic Myers once stated that the chief purpose of psychical research is “to prove the preamble of all religions”. Rhine, in his turn, argued that “parapsychology has in a real sense confirmed the spiritual (i.e., extra-physical) nature of man”. On the part of theologians and other religious studies scholars, many have also recognized the profound interconnection between parapsychology and the study of religion. Curiously enough, few studies have investigated the relationship between psi and religious or spiritual variables, and the study of the relations between these two fields does not feature as a prominent aspect of contemporary psi research. Some parapsychologists might see such topics as problematic, perhaps because of criticisms raised by skeptics that parapsychology is a spiritual movement (rather than a science), or because of their own views regarding the relevance of spiritual or religious issues in experimental investigation. However, one can hardly deny the influence (even if only implicit) of different spiritual traditions over the history of parapsychology including Christianism, Spiritualism, Eastern mysticism (particularly Indian philosophical traditions), shamanistic practices, esoteric and psychedelic religions.

The purpose of this symposium is to get together researchers from different disciplines to reflect on the many relations between parapsychology, religion, and spirituality, and their implications for an understanding of the past, present, and future of psi research. The idea is to open up an interdisciplinary space that would allow for a more prolific dialogue between these different research fields. All contributions in this regard, from theoretical considerations to empirical assessments, are equally welcomed.

Submission Requirements

Submissions must include the following information:

• Contact and biographical information for all presenters
• Abstract title (maximum of 100 characters)
• Abstract - Up to 1200 words. Empirical studies should include the following sections: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusion.

Evaluation
Abstracts must present original discussion or data. All proposals will undergo peer-review. Acceptance will be determined based on the relevance of the proposal to the research topic and the adequacy of methods in relation to the study’s objectives and research design. If numerous excellent submissions are received, an ePoster session may be added to the symposium.

Status Notification
Notification of your proposal status will be sent by July 19, 2021.
 
Submit Abstract