People are more likely to believe in aliens and ghosts than God, poll reveals


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Whether we are alone in the universe is one of life's unanswered questions.

But a new poll suggests that the majority of us are convinced aliens exist, and that we're more likely to believe in little green men than God.

According to the research, children in particular are so confident in the existence of extraterrestrial beings that they think family members are aliens in disguise.

Ripley's Believe it or Not! London surveyed 2,000 adults and children. Ghosts topped the list on 55%, followed by aliens (a screengrab from 1982 film E.T is pictured) on 51%. Children believed in aliens and ghosts equally (64%), and more than quarter of the children asked said they believe some humans are aliens in disguise

Ripley's Believe it or Not! London surveyed 2,000 adults and children. Ghosts topped the list on 55%, followed by aliens (a screengrab from 1982 film E.T is pictured) on 51%. Children believed in aliens and ghosts equally (64%), and more than quarter of the children asked said they believe some humans are aliens in disguise

The poll of 2,000 adults and children was carried out by Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in London.

Each of the participants were asked to rate how strongly they believed in five supernatural or religious beings including aliens, ghosts, UFOs, angels and God.

Ghosts topped the adult's list on 55 per cent, followed by aliens on 51 per cent and UFOs on 42 per cent.

God was at the bottom of their list of beliefs on 25 per cent, behind angels on 27 per cent.

Children believed in aliens and ghosts equally (64%), UFOs scored 50 per cent followed by God on 33 per cent. Angels were bottom of this group's list on 27 per cent. 

TOP BELIEFS AMONG ADULTS AND CHILDREN 

Top beliefs among adults: 

Ghosts (55 per cent)

Aliens (51 per cent)

UFOs (42 per cent )

Angels (27 per cent)

God (25 per cent)

 Top belief among children (aged 8 to 12): 

Aliens (64 per cent)

Ghosts (64 per cent)

UFOs (50 per cent)

God (33 per cent)

Angels (27 per cent)

*According to a poll of 1,500 British adults and 500 British children 

Natascha Crump, General Manager for Ripley's Believe It or Not! London said: 'We live in the age of science and turn to it for most of our answers, but the results show that many of us still hold belief in things that might exist outside of our world and beyond our understanding.

'It's reassuring to have the answers for many of life's questions but the average person will always be drawn to the odd, the unexpected and to the question 'what if?'.

'According to the results it's clearly not just children who have an open mind when it comes to other life forms and keeping an open mind.'

The poll also found that more than a quarter of children (26 per cent) believe that aliens are disguised as humans - and one in twenty think their mother is an extra-terrestrial, although the most likely suspect is their brother.

Almost half of the children admitted they think there is a stereotype associated with aliens with 43 per cent of children claiming aliens are most likely to be green.

God was at the bottom of the adult's list of beliefs 25%, behind angels on 27%. Meanwhile, children were more likely to believe in God (33%) than angels (27%) according to the poll
 UFOs (illustrated right) came third on both the adult and children's lists on 45% and 50% respectively

God was at the bottom of the adult's list of beliefs 25%, behind angels on 27%. Meanwhile, children were more likely to believe in God (33%) than angels (27%). UFOs (illustrated right) came third on both the adult and children's lists on 45% and 50% respectively

Adults were found to be more superstitious than children, with 26 per cent of them swearing by touching wood so as not to tempt fate, and refusing to ever walk underneath a ladder. Almost 15 per cent of adults said they were more scared of spiders (pictured), big dogs and heights than their children

Adults were found to be more superstitious than children, with 26 per cent of them swearing by touching wood so as not to tempt fate, and refusing to ever walk underneath a ladder. Almost 15 per cent of adults said they were more scared of spiders (pictured), big dogs and heights than their children

But it's not just children that have their suspicions – a third of adults polled said they have had a strange feeling about a certain building they have entered.

One in five also admitted they have experienced a supernatural presence in their own home.

Adults were found to be more superstitious than children, too, with 26 per cent of them swearing by touching wood so as not to tempt fate, and refusing to ever walk underneath a ladder.

Almost 15 per cent of adults said they were more scared of ghosts than their children, and over half (53 per cent) said they try to hide their fear of things to prevent their children from feeling scared.

This mainly referred to being scared of spiders (47 per cent) as well as big dogs (24 per cent), heights (23 per cent) and flying (13 per cent).

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE? 

Richard Dawkins recently told MailOnline he wants biologists to start to consider what other life might be like in the the likely event we discover we are not alone.

'The number of stars in current estimates is 10 to the power of 22, and it looks as though most of them have planets, so it's feasible to say the number of planets is in excess of 10 to the power of 22,' he said.

'It would seem to be rash to predict we're the only life form in the entire universe. 

'On the other hand if there was only one planet that has life then it has to be this one, because here we are.

'The alternative is to say yes, we are alone. If you want to believe that then the origin of life on this planet has to be a quite staggeringly improbable event.'

'So we're left with the rather paradoxical result that people who are trying to work out how life originated on this planet are totally wasting their time, because the theory we're seeking is not a plausible theory, it's an exceedingly implausible theory.'

Dawkins explained that if there is a plausible theory for the origin of life - one that has yet to be put forward - then there's going to be 'lots and lots' of life in the universe. 

'I think there's lots of life in the universe, but that's just a hunch. It may still be very rare; it may be so rare that there are only a billion of them.

'If there are only a billion life forms then they will probably be so spaced out from each other that they'll never know each other and never come in contact.

'If they do come in contact, if we ever come in contact, it will almost certainly be by radio than by actually bodily meeting. 

 

 

 



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