A new study by Icelandic research group Market and Media Research has revealed that a majority of Icelanders believe in clairvoyance and mediums. A poll asked whether people believe in the ability of some individuals to contact and communicate with spirits, and to see the future. 53.7% of respondents replied yes.
According to the study, women are more likely to hold notions about the existence of those who can commune with the otherworldly. 69% of women believe in clairvoyance and mediums, while only 40% of men hold the same beliefs.
Those living in the Capital region of Reykjavík are less likely to believe in supernatural powers, at 46%, while those living in the countryside have a higher likelihood to subscribe to such notions, at 67%.
Political affiliation seems to have some bearing on the issue as well. 77% of people who align with the Progressive Party in Iceland said they believed in people with psychic powers, compared to 42% of Independence Party members and 40% of Pirate Party supporters.
And finally, age comes into play. People 68 or older tend to hold more stock in the prevalence of the ability to speak with the dead, at 49%, while only 17% of people 30 or younger would agree with the same ideas.
44% of women in Iceland said they had attended a séance at some point in their life, compared to 19% of men. The Icelandic Spiritist Society reports that there are nine mediums active in the country and the phone book has eleven people listed as mediums.