The Counterintuitiveness of Supernatural Dreams and Religiosity

Dreaming, particularly dreams with minimally counterintuitive content, is linked to religious beliefs and practices in traditional societies. Among Hindu Nepalese, such dream content appears frequently and is associated with a greater likelihood of communicating dreams, especially to religious experts, and with higher reported religiosity. The findings support the theory that dreaming is a primary source of religious belief and practice, and they suggest that counterintuitive dream imagery may enhance the cultural transmission and credibility of religious representations.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract One challenge for cognitive, evolutionary and anthropological studies of religion is to offer descriptions and explanatory models of the morphology and functions of supernatural dreaming, and of the religiosity, use of experience, and cultural transmission that are associated with these representations. The anthropological and religious studies literature demonstrates that dreaming, dream experience and narrative are connected with religious ideas and practices in traditional societies. Scholars have even proposed that dreaming is a primary source of religious beliefs and practice (here labelled DPSR theory). Using Barrett’s coding system, we measured a high frequency of minimally counterintuitive dream content among Hindu Nepalese, and we aim to quantify (1) the relation between counterintuitive imagery and reported likelihood to communicate dreams in general and to religious experts, (2) the relation between counterintuitive imagery and reported religiosity, and (3) the proclivity to communicate SA dreams among those who are more or less religious. These aims will then be related to the broader topic of (4) possible explanatory value of DPSR theory, or versions thereof, by framing the issue at the level of cultural transmission, religiosity and credibility of religious dream representations in relation to MCI theory. The article mainly draws upon data from ethnographic research among Hindu Nepalese.