Supposedly Smart College Students Believe in Ghosts

The Bigfoot debacle a couple of weeks ago really makes you wonder… Who are these people who believe in silly Sasquatchs and UFOs and the like?
 

Well it may not be who you think.
 

Carson Mencken, a sociology professor at Baylor University, is soon publishing two papers on the topic and he found that the least religious are the most likely to believe in the paranormal. See, and just because they accept that Jesus walked on water, the Christians get a bad rap for believing in the absurd.
 

Fox News reports on Mencken’s findings:

"Among Christians, those who attend church very often (and are exposed to stigma and sacrifice within their congregations) are least likely to believe in the paranormal," Mencken told LiveScience. "Conversely, those Christians who do not attend church very often (maybe once or twice a year) are the most likely to hold paranormal beliefs."

Another study to published in December in the Review of Religious Research, shows that those who go to church "are much less likely to consult horoscopes, visit psychics, purchase New Age items," and so on, Mencken said. "However, among those Christians who do not attend church, there is a much higher level of participation in these phenomena."

But it’s not just the crazy non-Christians who believe in this nonsense. It’s you too! Yup, you there at college:

In a 2006 study, researchers found a surprising number of college students believe in psychics, witches, telepathy, channeling and a host of other questionable ideas. A full 40 percent said they believe houses can be haunted.

Belief in the paranormal — from astrology to communicating with the dead — increases during college, rising from 23 percent among freshmen to 31 percent in seniors and 34 percent among graduate students.

There's nothing like spending thousands and thousands of dollars only to end up a haunted-house-fearing fool.
 

But at least you’ll be a haunted-house-fearing fool with a degree.