Abstract

Many pioneers in the field of parapsychology, notably J. B. Rhine, were motivated by the expectation that the phenomena they were study­ ing would have a scientific bearing on their religious beliefs. Defined as the study of anomalies of consciousness, parapsychology is not incom­ patible with religion or science in their true senses, and in fact for many religions, such as Hinduism, psi is not an anomaly. The parapsychology of religion may provide the empirical basis for religious beliefs and practices and may thus bridge the chasm between religion and science.