Several independent studies in recent years have been able to show that the Swede harbors a multitude of notions of existence that science cannot prove. The acceptance or interest in things such as reincarnation, notice, astrology, telepathy and communication with deceased relatives is great (Boström, 2008, 16 July; Centre for Contemporary Analysis, 2009, February; Sjödin, 2002). The results are similar in other Western countries, such as the UNITED STATES (Harris Interactive, 2013, December) and the United Kingdom (Ipsos MORI, 2012).

While several of the beliefs and phenomena addressed in these surveys overlap with what is commonly called superstition and should have been able to coexist with the long-dominant religion, reincarnation is, for example, a comparatively exotic notion in a Christian cultural circle. In the studies mentioned above, the idea that the individual should be reborn in a new physical body is supported by about one in four respondents. Hammer (2004) writes that "In just forty years, reincarnation has gone from being a view spread among the members of some Theosophical and occult circles to becoming one of the most widely embraced religious beliefs of our time." 203).

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