Content Analysis of an Anomalous Memorate Collection: Testing Hypotheses Regarding Universal Features

Sociology of Religion, Summer, 2000 by James McClenon

James McClenon [*]

The experiential source theory suggests that certain types of anomalous experiences are a source of recurring folk beliefs in spirits, souls, life after death, and magical abilities. The theory implies that these anomalous perceptions have physiological bases. Content analysis of a collection of oral accounts of anomalous memorates (N = 1215) indicates that experiences of apparitions, paranormal dreams, and waking extrasensory perceptions have cross-culturally uniform structures and that these experiences coincide with recurring elements within folk traditions. These findings support the experiential source theory and a broader ritual healing theory explaining the origin of religion.

Even though "religious experiences" are thought to be central to religiosity, scholars find precise definitions for the concept to be elusive (Yamane 1998). Varieties of religious experience often appear under other labels such as mystical, ecstatic, numinous, anomalous, and paranormal. Some theorists argue that there is nothing specifically religious about any piece of human data and that religious experiences are merely cognitions labeled as such (Proudfoot 1985). Within this paradigm, no universal features exist which allow any experience to be defined as uniquely "religious." In opposition to this orientation, the experiential source theory hypothesizes that certain anomalous experiences have biological bases which generate prevalent forms of folk belief in spirits, souls, life after death, and magical abilities.

Content analyses of collections of anomalous accounts allow evaluation of this hypothesis. The present study seeks to overcome definitional problems by analyzing a collection of experiences regarded by informants as sufficiently "unusual" to be worth telling others. When informants present first-hand accounts as authentic, folklorists label their reports as memorates. Memorates dealing with the supernatural will be termed anomalous, since they are often thought to involve scientifically unexplained forces. Anomalous experiences are defined as perceptions with qualities making their explanation problematic. People feel memorates are worth telling when they believe their narratives have bearing on unresolved issues of interest.

According to the experiential source theory, folk religions are constructed, in part, when people exchange and evaluate information about such anomalous incidents (Bennitt 1987; Hufford 1982; McClenon 1994). These cognitive events are hypothesized to have (1) universal features derived from their physiological basis and (2) the capacity to generate beliefs regarding spirits, souls, life after death, and magical abilities. Questions regarding whether anomalous memorates are beyond scientific explanation will not be addressed.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES WITHIN ANOMALOUS EXPERIENCE

Consciousness (inner speech, imagery, perception, and voluntary control of thought and action) are portrayed in PET scans as associated with activation of specific brain areas (Baars 1997). Neuroscientists find that specific perceptions correspond with analogous physiological events. Temporal lobe regions have been identified as the most likely centers associated with religious and anomalous experiences (Makarec and Persinger 1990; Persinger and Makarec 1987). This evidence- coincides with a general body of research that indicates that religious practice has a biological basis (Wulff 1997). For example, Waller et al. (1990) administered five scales regarding religious values, interest, and practice to samples of identical and fraternal twin pairs. They determined that approximately 50 percent of the observed variance of all five measures were genetically influenced.

Verification of universal features within anomalous experiences would support the experiential source theory and contribute to understanding the linkage between biology and religion. Previous researchers, collecting cases from a variety of cultures, have identified internal structural patterns regarding apparitions, paranormal dreams, and waking extrasensory perception (ESP) accounts. Gurney, Myers, and Podmore (1970/1886) analyzed 712 cases of telepathy, collected by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) from Victorian British respondents (often upper class) during the 1880s. Accounts were selected to include only ESP and apparitions providing extrasensory information with time between experience and event less than 24 hours. Schouten (1979) conducted a content analysis of the SPR cases, selecting narratives that were spontaneous and that provided sufficient data for evaluation (N = 562). Schouten (1981) analyzed the "Sannwald" collection, consisting of 1000 ESP experiences collected in Germany between 1 950 and 1959. Rhine (1981) collected over 10,000 anomalous experience reports in the USA during the forties, fifties, and sixties. Schouten (1982) analyzed a 1630 case sample of Rhine's collection of ESP cases.

Virtanen (1990) collected and analyzed 865 "simultaneous informatory experiences" gathered in Finland during the 1970s. Simultaneous experiences were defined as perceptions of information paranormally received at the time the event occurred. Emmons (1982) conducted a random telephone survey study of anomalous experiences and belief of Hong Kong residents (June 1980 to January 1981; N = 1,501) and administered questionnaires to 1,989 Hong Kong secondary-school students. Most narratives were classified as apparitions and ESP. Hufford (1982) and McClenon (1993, 1994) gathered anomalous memorates from Canada, USA, Japan, and China finding common narrative features which seemingly have the capacity to affect experiencers' beliefs.