Is there something out there? Aliens for example? Have “extraterrestrials’ visited Earth? Is there a government cover-up?
What about belief in ghosts, premonitions, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and so on?
A Canadian polling firm took a break from their usual somewhat drier polling and research activities for a survey of Canadian attitudes on these slightly offbeat questions.
Shachi Kurl is the executive-director of the Angus Reid Institute, a non-partisan, not-for-profit polling organization.
Listen
Kurl says it was a bit of a more lighthearted survey than their usual fare, but nonetheless quite interesting.
The survey found most Canadians, about 80 percent, think Aliens exist, that is, that there is other intelligent life out there in the universe, but only one in ten believes strongly that the Earth has been actually visited by extraterrestrials.
However, while not a majority, some 43 percent believe the governments of the US and/or Canada have been involved in some kind of a cover-up over ET’s and UFOs.
That belief hasn’t been helped by US secrecy over the existence of the still mysterious “Area 51” in Nevada, which the CIA only grudgingly admitted to in 2013.
As for the spirit world, just three-in-ten (30%) say people who die with unfinished business can remain on Earth as spirits.
Interestingly there is a notably split between men and women on the issue, with far more men saying this isn’t true, (48%) than women (29%)
Ghosts, and the here-after
As for communicating with the spirit world, nearly one-in-three (30%) say it’s either “definitely” or “probably” possible to communicate with the dead (or vice versa), while one-third (33%) rule it out entirely, but again there’s a noticeable difference between men and women, with twice as many women than men likely to say is it either definitely or probably true that humans are able to communicate with those who have died.
This passion for the paranormal among women extends further: they are also more likely than men to say that some people may possess psychic powers, allowing them to predict future events, and are also more likely to say that there are simply events that happen on earth that cannot be explained by science.
Nessie, Ogopogo, Big Foot, Sasquatch
When it comes to mysterious creatures here among us, the majority say that’s not likely. In fact, 74 percent say these creature definitely or probably don’t exist.
The Angus Reid Institute polled some 1,500 Canadians across the country for this on-line survey.
additional information
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.