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GHOSTS

One in five Swedes ‘believes in ghosts’

One in five Swedes believes that people rise from the grave after they've died, a new survey has shown.

One in five Swedes 'believes in ghosts'

According to a survey carried out by the Sifo polling firm at the request of newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), 21 percent of respondents said they believed people become ghosts after they’ve died.

Religion experts say that Sweden is the meddle of a supernatural “renaissance”.

The survey also found that 20 percent or respondents indicated they had been in contact with or had felt the presence of someone who is dead.

More women than men indicated they had had such experiences – 20 percent compared to 11 percent.

In addition, people over the age of 65 are the least likely to believe in ghosts, with only 13 percent indicating that they believe the dead can rise from the grave.

Liselotte Frisk, a professor of religious studies at Dalarna University in central Sweden, said the country is in the middle of a “renaissance” with supernatural phenomena.

“Many television programmes address the supernatural and strengthen the beliefs that exist in our culture. It’s also the case that there are fewer participants in different rituals such as sermons and confirmation and that creates space that allows for these notions to take hold,” she told SvD.

The responses come from a survey of 1,000 people carried out in January.

In a similar study by Sifo conducted in 1998, 17 percent said they believed the dead became ghosts.

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