ABSTRACT
In a modern text on psychical research, it is argued that Western culture, particularly in its Protestant forms, is gradually undermining the traditional religious concept of the soul. The idea of religious surrogates is most commonly associated with the sociologist, who maintained that in given circumstances, there are certain ideologies which act as the functional equivalents of religion. For a number of parapsychologists, the study of the paranormal has assumed a cognitive significance akin to that of religion. It is probably not too far-fetched to say that parapsychology has become a substitute for religion. For instance, it is doubtful whether Arthur Koestler's interest in the subject was wholly 'scientific'. It has been hypothesized that for some an interest in the paranormal might well be a substitute for religion, and that the pursuit of possible paranormal experiences could take the place of what are broadly termed 'religious experiences'.
