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​CBS News poll: Contacted by the dead?

One in four Americans says they have been contacted by someone from their life who has passed on, according to a recent CBS News Poll.

Twenty-five percent say they have been contacted by someone who is no longer alive, while 73 percent say they have not.

Women (at 30 percent) are more likely than men (at 21 percent) to say someone who has died has successfully reached out to them. Two-thirds of women (68 percent) and three-quarters of men (78 percent) say no.

There is little difference between those who express a religious preference and those who call themselves non-religious. About a quarter from each group (26 percent who call themselves religious, vs. 24 percent who self-identify as non-religious) says they have been contacted by someone from their life who has since died.

This poll was conducted by telephone April 15-19, 2015 among a random sample of 1,010 adults. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, Pa. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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