Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena

Scientifically, such imagery is generally characterized as a form of pareidolia. This is a false perception of imagery due to what is theorized as the human mind's over-sensitivity to perceiving patterns, particularly the pattern of a human face, in otherwise random phenomena.{{cite web|url= http://www.csicop.org/si/show/rorschach_icons/|title= Rorschach Icons; Investigative Files|publisher= Skeptical Inquirer|date= November 2004|access-date= 2010-12-29|archive-date= 2011-01-05|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110105020335/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/rorschach_icons/|url-status= live}}

It is suggested that a tendency of religious imagery in Islam to be perceived as Arabic words is made more likely by the general simplicity of letter forms in the Arabic alphabet (especially in the everyday Riq'a); a tradition of massive typographical flexibility in Islamic calligraphy; and the particular shape of the word Allah (الله). These factors make the word easy to read into many structures with parallel lines or lobes on a common base. {{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

The author C. S. Lewis wrote about the implications of perception of religious imagery in questionable circumstances on issues of religious belief and faith. He argued that people's ready ability to perceive human-like forms around them reflects a religious reality that human existence is immersed in a world containing such beings. The principal reason he believed in religion was because he believed himself to be wired to believe it, just as he believed human beings are wired to perceive inference (if ... then) and other mental logical phenomena as representing truths about the external world that can be learned from, rather than representing purely internal phenomena to be characterized as error. He chose to believe in his wiring for religious perception in the same way and for the same reasons that he chose to believe in his wiring for logic, choosing to use and rely on both as guides to learning about the world rather than regarding them as purely random in origin and discarding them. People continue to have faith in the phenomenon of logic, despite the fact that they sometimes make demonstrably mistaken inferences.{{cite book|first = C. S.| last = Lewis| title = God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics| isbn = 978-0-8028-0868-4| year = 1970| publisher = Eerdmans Publishing Company}}C.S. Lewis made a more detailed exposition of the underlying argument with respect to general problems of futility in his essay "De Futilitate in The Seeing Eye And Other Selected Essays in Christian Reflections, {{ISBN|978-0-345-32866-3}}

From an etic perspective, perception of an image, icon, or sign of religious or spiritual import to the perceiver is indelibly mediated or filtered through culture, politics, and worldview. As Gregory Price Grieve states:

{{blockquote|What you see is not always what you get. Instead, what we see depends on mediation. That is, because our descriptions of religious images are culturally located, our "naïve" descriptions are neither innocent nor objective. Rather, all social objects are mediated by intervening socially grounded, culturally generated, and historically particular mechanisms. Moreover, these intervening mechanisms are not only by necessity material, but are marbled through and through with power relations.Grieve, Gregory Price (2005). "One and Three Bhairavas: The Hypocrisy of Iconographic Mediation"; cited in: Revista de Estudos da Religião, No.4, 2005, pp. 63–79. ISSN 1677-1222.}}

Psychology of the sacred, taking stock of the human condition, conveys that people construct meaning from that which is without meaning; stated differently, culture gives context to lived experience. Therefore, both meaning and absence of meaning may be perceived as being co-existents. Cultural context as constructed meaning and memetic transmission engenders social, existential, and spiritual comfort in a tenuous and arbitrary lived experience and millieu: perception as a participatory event parsing experience into meaningful units. The crossroads or intersections of evolutionary psychology of religion, pattern recognition, neuroaesthetics and symbolic communication lend to the construction of meanings as group cohesion and bond-forming in human society.

File:Virgin Mary in Glass.jpg

The Virgin Mary accounts for many sightings of this type. A typical example is the "Clearwater Virgin", an image of Mary which was reported to have appeared in the glass façade of a finance building in Clearwater, Florida, and attracted widespread media attention. The building drew an estimated one million visitors over the next several years and was purchased by an Ohio Catholic revivalism group. A local chemist examined the windows and suggested the stain was produced by water deposits combined with weathering, yielding a chemical reaction like that often seen on old bottles, perhaps due to the action of the water sprinkler. On March 1, 2004, the three uppermost panes of the window were broken by a vandal.{{cite web|url= http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/18/Northpinellas/Group_says_Jesus_is_w.shtml|title= Northpinellas: Group says Jesus is where Mary was|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2007-05-12|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070512191751/http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/18/Northpinellas/Group_says_Jesus_is_w.shtml|url-status= live}} Other Marian apparitions of this type that have received substantial press coverage include a fence in Coogee, Australia in 2003;{{cite web|url= http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mons1/sacred.htm|title= sacred sight at Coogee|access-date= 2006-07-03|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060829231922/http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mons1/sacred.htm|archive-date= 2006-08-29|url-status= dead}} a hospital in Milton, Massachusetts in June 2003;{{cite news|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/06/wmad06.xml|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040518033922/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/06/wmad06.xml|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2004-05-18|title= Pilgrims flock to the 'Madonna' in hospital window|publisher = Telegraph | location=London | access-date=2010-05-22}} and a felled tree in Passaic, New Jersey in 2003.{{cite news|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E3D71039F93AA35752C1A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fV%2fVirgin%20Mary|title= Briefing: Religion; Virgin Mary In A Tree Stump|work = The New York Times | first=Jonathan | last=Miller | date=2003-11-09 | access-date=2010-05-22}} Images of the Virgin have also been reported on a rock in Ghana,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3976161.stm|title=Ghanaians flock to see 'miracle'|work=BBC News|author=Kwaku Sakyi-Addo|date=November 2, 2004|access-date=27 December 2005|archive-date=30 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060330235101/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3976161.stm|url-status=live}} an underpass in Chicago,{{cite web|url = http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/9726910/detail.html|title = Some See Virgin Mary In Souplantation Paneling|publisher = KNSD – San Diego|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928042150/http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/9726910/detail.html|archive-date = 2007-09-28}} a lump of firewood in Janesville, Wisconsin;{{Ref|Chicago}} a chocolate factory in Fountain Valley, California;{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/17/chocolate.mary.ap/index.html|title=CNN.com – Sweet Mary, mother of God? - Aug 17, 2006|date=30 August 2006|work=archive.org|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830234051/http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/17/chocolate.mary.ap/index.html|archive-date=30 August 2006}} and a pizza pan in Houston, Texas.{{cite web|url = http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070223_mh_virginmarypizza.7b275aa.html|title = Faithful: Pizza pan delivers message from God|publisher = KHOU.com|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070226140502/http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070223_mh_virginmarypizza.7b275aa.html|archive-date = 2007-02-26}}{{cite web|url= http://wfmz.com/view/?id=65882|title= Thousands Flock to See Image Stained on Pizza Pan|publisher= WFMZ-TV 69News|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223543/http://wfmz.com/view/?id=65882|archive-date= 2007-09-27}} A grilled cheese sandwich, a pretzel and a pebble said to resemble images of the Virgin Mary have been offered for sale on Internet auction sites, the former being purchased by Internet casino GoldenPalace.com, which is known for its publicity stunts.{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4019295.stm|work= BBC News|title= Woman 'blessed by the holy toast'|date= 2004-11-17|access-date= 2010-01-03|archive-date= 2009-04-07|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090407083111/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4019295.stm|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nbc10.com/news/4256640/detail.html|title=Does Pretzel Look Like Mary And Jesus?|publisher=NBC10.com|date=March 5, 2004|access-date=27 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907212713/http://www.nbc10.com/news/4256640/detail.html|archive-date=7 September 2006|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/4248093a10.html|title= Virgin stone back on the market|publisher= Stuff.co.nz|access-date= 2007-10-27|archive-date= 2008-12-07|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207071340/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4248093a10.html|url-status= dead}}

Another image often reported is that of Jesus Christ. Sightings of this type have been reported in such varied media as cloud photos,{{cite web|url= http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/jubilation/s_663.html|title= Image in the clouds: 'Grandma's picture' tells remarkable story|publisher= PittsburghLIVE.com|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2009-04-10|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090410082653/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/jubilation/s_663.html|url-status= dead}} Marmite,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8071865.stm|title=Family see Jesus image in Marmite|work=BBC News|date=2009-05-28|access-date=2010-01-03|archive-date=2010-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208120705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8071865.stm|url-status=live}} chapatis,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2484195.stm|title=India marvels at 'miracle chapati'|work=BBC News|date=2002-11-16|access-date=2010-01-03|archive-date=2009-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531095246/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2484195.stm|url-status=live}} shadows,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/967421.stm|title=Caravan park 'Christ' draws the faithful|work=BBC News|date=2000-10-11|access-date=2010-01-03|archive-date=2009-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531095047/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/967421.stm|url-status=live}} Cheetos,{{cite web|url=http://cbs11tv.com/local/Cheesus.jesus.inside.2.1011719.html|title=Dallas couple sees Jesus inside cheese snack|publisher=CBS 11 News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531030218/http://cbs11tv.com/local/Cheesus.jesus.inside.2.1011719.html|archive-date=2009-05-31}} tortillas,{{cite news |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/beeville-man-sees-jesus-in-breakfast-taco/ |title=Beeville Man Sees Jesus in Breakfast Taco |work=Texas Monthly |date=January 21, 2013 |first1=Kevin |last1=O'Keefe |access-date=April 19, 2019 |quote=Ernesto Garza said that the image of the Christian Messiah in his tortilla was "a miracle." |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419184157/https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/beeville-man-sees-jesus-in-breakfast-taco/ |url-status=live }} trees,{{cite web|url= http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=15687|title= JS Online: Woman feels blessed that image of Jesus appears in her tree|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2006-08-21|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060821013700/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=15687|url-status= live}} dental x-rays,{{cite web|url = http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/usworld/news-article.aspx?storyid=28783|title = Jesus Appears in Dental X-Ray|publisher = Firstcoastnews.com|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2023-12-04|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231204023808/https://www.firstcoastnews.com/error/404?storyid=28783|url-status = live}} cooking utensils,{{cite web|url = http://www.wkyc.com/dotcom3/weblinks_fullstory.asp?id=29714|title = Man sees image of Jesus in frying pan|publisher = wkyc.com}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} windows{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/4541162/detail.html|title = Pilgrims See Jesus' Face In Apartment Window|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-08-27|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060827213856/http://www.nbc5.com/news/4541162/detail.html|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/4603180/detail.html|title = 'Jesus Window' Cracks During Move To Church|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-12-13|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061213063958/http://www.nbc5.com/news/4603180/detail.html|url-status = live}} rocks and stones,{{cite web|url= http://farshores.org/p05im6.htm|title= FarShores.org ParaDimensions News: Woman Claims 'Jesus' Rock|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2011-08-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110816014714/http://farshores.org/p05im6.htm|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/9192288/detail.html|title = Jesus Rock Draws Hundreds Of Pilgrims|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2007-10-04|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071004220936/http://www.nbc5.com/news/9192288/detail.html|url-status = live}} painted and plastered walls,{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/4566317/detail.html|title = Sisters See Image Of Jesus In Paint On Wall|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-12-13|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061213063945/http://www.nbc5.com/news/4566317/detail.html|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url = http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/jesuswall01.php|publisher = GoldenPalaceEvents.com|title = Jesus Found Plastered In Man's Bathroom|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-07-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060722172051/http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/jesuswall01.php|url-status = live}} and dogs' hindquarters.{{cite web | title=Image of Jesus on dog's butt God's second appearance? | website=Heavenly Creatures | date=16 November 2011 | url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/heavenlycreatures/2011/11/image-of-jesus-on-dogs-butt-gods-second-appearance/ | access-date=2 August 2018 | archive-date=2 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193149/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/heavenlycreatures/2011/11/image-of-jesus-on-dogs-butt-gods-second-appearance/ | url-status=live }} Again, some of these items have been offered for sale on Internet auction sites,{{cite web|url= http://www.local6.com/news/4170720/detail.html|title= Man Sells 'Jesus' Brick – Orlando News Story|publisher= WKMG Orlando|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060810172950/http://www.local6.com/news/4170720/detail.html|archive-date= 2006-08-10}}{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/5625986/detail.html|title = Workers See Jesus Image In Nacho Pan|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2007-10-05|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071005125944/http://www.nbc5.com/news/5625986/detail.html|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/5190133/detail.html|title = Couple Says Fish Bone Bears Jesus Image|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-12-13|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061213064022/http://www.nbc5.com/news/5190133/detail.html|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url= http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESEX:IT&item=140187947899&_trksid=p3984.cSELL.m315.l|title= Baby Jesus Snail Shell}}{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/7539127/detail.html|title = Sellers See Jesus In Sheet Metal|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-12-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061211131003/http://www.nbc5.com/news/7539127/detail.html|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url= http://boogeylights.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=692239%3ABlogPost%3A604|title= Murphy Brown|access-date= 2007-11-08|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071017061301/http://boogeylights.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=692239:BlogPost:604|archive-date= 2007-10-17|url-status= dead}} and a number have been bought by the Golden Palace casino.{{cite web|url= http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/ebay_archives/jesuswall01.html|title= eBay item 6186339869 (Ends Jun-21-05 23:04:09 PDT) – Jesus Christ Image Icon Materializes in Plaster Wall|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2016-03-03|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172226/http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/ebay_archives/jesuswall01.html|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url= http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=3703786|title= WTOL-TV Toledo, OH: Point Place Family Sees Image of Jesus on Pie|access-date= 2006-08-21|archive-date= 2018-08-02|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193142/http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=3703786|url-status= live}} When such images receive publicity, people frequently come considerable distances to see them, and to venerate them.{{cite web|url = http://www.nbc5.com/news/5380739/detail.html|title = Some See Jesus On Truck Tailgate|publisher = WMAQ Chicago|access-date = 2006-08-09|archive-date = 2006-12-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061211130950/http://www.nbc5.com/news/5380739/detail.html|url-status = live}}

On April 30, 2002{{cite web|url= http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2002/11/text/|title= HubbleSite – NewsCenter – Hubble's New Camera Delivers Breathtaking Views of the Universe (04/30/2002) – Release Text|access-date= 2006-08-21|archive-date= 2006-09-05|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060905172315/http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2002/11/text/|url-status= live}} the Hubble Space Science Institute released new photographs of the Cone Nebula, also known as the Space Mountain, to showcase a new extremely high resolution camera. Shortly afterwards some began to call it the "Jesus Nebula", believing they could see Jesus's face in it.Spring, Tom "[http://www.pcworld.com/article/137265/in_pictures_most_spectacular_sights_in_google_sky.html In Pictures: The Most Spectacular Sights in Google Sky – what Galileo saw and more] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515231404/http://www.pcworld.com/article/137265/in_pictures_most_spectacular_sights_in_google_sky.html |date=2013-05-15 }}" PC World October 2007 The new camera was installed on Hubble by astronauts during a Space Shuttle mission in March 2002. The Cone Nebula, located in the constellation Monoceros, is a region that contains cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes that abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from nurseries of newborn stars.{{cite web|url= http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb122020.htm|title= The Jesus Nebula – Hubble Space Telescope Images the Face of Jesus Christ|access-date= 2006-08-21|archive-date= 2005-11-11|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051111163517/http://prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb122020.htm|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url= http://xai.com/jnebula/|title= Portail d'informations Ce site est en vente!|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040605102018/http://xai.com/jnebula/|archive-date= 2004-06-05}}

One controversial incident that received considerable publicity was when the face of Mother Teresa was claimed to have been identified in a cinnamon bun at Bongo Java in Nashville, Tennessee{{cite web|url= http://www.bongojava.com/nunbun.php|title= Bongo Java: The NunBun?|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120925064208/http://www.bongojava.com/nunbun.php|archive-date= 2012-09-25}} on 15 October 1996. Dubbed the "Nun Bun" by the press, it was turned into an enterprise by the company, selling T-shirts and mugs, which led to an exchange of letters between the company and Mother Teresa's representatives.{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970522/2540648/mother-teresa-is-not-amused|title=Business – Mother Teresa Is Not Amused – Seattle Times Newspaper|work=nwsource.com|access-date=2011-09-18|archive-date=2012-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004084009/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19970522&slug=2540648|url-status=live}} On 25 December 2005 the bun was stolen during a break-in at the coffee house.{{cite web|url=http://www.slashfood.com/2005/12/26/nunbun-stolen/ |title=NunBun Stolen (Archived Feb 2012) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210065628/http://www.slashfood.com/2005/12/26/nunbun-stolen/ |archive-date=February 10, 2012 }}

This phenomenon can even take political meanings, such as the cross-shaped reflection seen on the East Berlin TV Tower, nicknamed "the Pope's revenge" and cited by Ronald Reagan as an example of the survival of religious ideas in the secular Communist society.

In at least two instances, the images of deceased Anglican clergymen allegedly appeared on the walls of their church. In 1902, the image of a Dean Vaughan allegedly appeared on the walls of Llandaff Cathedral, while the image of Dean Henry Liddell allegedly appeared on the walls of Christ Church, Oxford in 1923.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdcoVZrG36MC&q=wild+talents | title=Wild Talents by Charles Fort via Google Books, p. 193-195 | isbn=978-1-60206-007-4 | year=2006 | publisher=Cosimo, Inc. | access-date=2020-11-07 | archive-date=2023-12-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204023808/https://books.google.com/books?id=LdcoVZrG36MC&q=wild+talents#v=snippet&q=wild%20talents&f=false | url-status=live }}

Another example, either a miraculous sign or a face recognition pareidolia, originated in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, when a few observers claimed to see Jesus in the flames.{{cite news |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/jesus-flames-notre-dame-232759116.html |title=People Claim To See Jesus In Flames Engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral |newspaper=Huffington Post |first1=David |last1=Moye |date=April 17, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419124056/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/jesus-flames-notre-dame-232759116.html |url-status=live }}

In the Muslim community, a frequently-reported religious perception is the image of the word "Allah" in Arabic on natural objects. Again, the discovery of such an object may attract considerable interest among believers who visit the object for the purpose of prayer or veneration. Examples of this phenomenon have been reported on fish,{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/4667610.stm | title=Tropical fish 'has Allah marking' | date=2006-01-31 | access-date=2010-01-03 | work=BBC News | archive-date=2009-03-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314032416/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/4667610.stm | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,,1700465,00.html | title=A fish called Allah | work=The Guardian | location=London | first=Paul | last=Lewis | date=2006-02-02 | access-date=2010-05-22 | archive-date=2023-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910170844/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/02/paullewis | url-status=live }}{{cite web|url= http://www.allahfish.com/|title= Pathfinder Hosting Client Site|access-date= 2006-08-21|archive-date= 2020-11-27|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201127003742/http://allahfish.com/|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url= http://www.newstatesman.com/Life/200606050009|title= New Statesman – Food of the gods|access-date= 2006-08-09|archive-date= 2006-12-27|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061227140235/http://www.newstatesman.com/Life/200606050009|url-status= live}} fruit and vegetables,{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/443173.stm|work = BBC News|title = Message from Allah 'in tomato'|date = 1999-09-09|access-date = 2010-01-03|archive-date = 2009-05-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090512162810/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/443173.stm|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url= http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1442800.0.family_blessed_by_allah_in_tomato.php|title= Family Blessed By Allah In Tomato (from Oxford Mail)|date= June 2007}} plants and clouds,{{cite news|first= Jaafar|last= Jaafar|title= Strange cloud causes panic in Kano|url= http://www.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10613&Itemid=30|work= Weekly Trust|publisher= Media Trust Ltd., Abuja/Nigeria|date= 2008-05-10|access-date= 2008-05-10|archive-date= 2023-09-10|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230910170900/https://dailytrust.com/|url-status= live}} eggs,{{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1021712006 |publisher=scotsman.com |title=Chicken lays mystery Allah egg |location=Edinburgh |date=2006-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720083759/http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1021712006 |archive-date=July 20, 2006 }} honeycombs,{{Citation |publisher = Threshold Books |isbn = 0-939660-10-5 |ol = 2870334M |location = Putney, Vt. |title = The Most Beautiful Names |author = Tosun Bayrak |date = 1985 |id = 0939660105 }} Explanation on the backcover: "In August 1982 a devout Muslim bee-keeper found this honeycomb in one of his beehives, in the village of Karakoy, Turkey. In the formation of the honeycomb the bees have written in large and clear letters the most beautiful name of the essence of God: Allah." This is followed by a quotation from {{Quran-usc|16|68-69}} and on the markings on animals' coats.{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3572325.stm|work = BBC News|title = Hordes flocking to 'miracle' lamb|date = 2004-03-26|access-date = 2010-01-03|archive-date = 2010-08-31|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100831044842/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3572325.stm|url-status = live}}

The Arabic script for the name of Allah is purported to be visible in a satellite photograph of the 2004 Asian tsunami. This was taken as evidence by some Muslims that Allah had sent the tsunami as punishment.{{cite news|title=Tsunami bore God's name: Muslims|author=Pearson, Bryan|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asiapacific/detail.asp?GRP=C&id=56746|newspaper=The China Post|date=January 11, 2005|access-date=November 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050316233700/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asiapacific/detail.asp?GRP=C&id=56746|archive-date=16 March 2005}}

Several Hindu murtis are held to be "self-manifest" or Swayambhu. Most are lingams of Shiva.

In Jurong West, Singapore in September 2007, the discovery of calluses on a tree which look like the Hanuman, the monkey deity in the Hindu pantheon, created a social phenomenon. There are two nearby trees which also resemble deities. One features an apparent outline of Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and another resembles the Hindu elephant god Ganesha.

In some cases, apparent religious images have been deliberately created from natural materials as part of an artistic endeavor or investigation into the phenomenon of perceptions of religious imagery. The "Pope Tart" was a hoax apparition created by Karen Stollznow in 2005 as part of an investigation into pareidolia for The Skeptic in Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2026%20(2006)%20No%201.pdf|title=Merchandising God:The Pope Tart|author=Stollznow, Karen|work=The Skeptic|access-date=16 February 2020|archive-date=7 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007081612/http://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2026%20(2006)%20No%201.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bad-language.com/files/ebaypagepopetart.html |title=eBay item 6171209997 (Ends Apr-22-05 00:42:47 PDT) – Pope Tart |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226023222/http://www.bad-language.com/files/ebaypagepopetart.html |archive-date=December 26, 2010 }} In other cases these deliberate images have been commercial ventures. The Jesus Toaster and The Virgin Mary Toaster were created by Galen Dively in 2010. These toasters create images of Jesus and Mary on bread.{{cite web|url= http://www.burntimpressions.com/|title= Jesus Toasters|website= Burnt Impressions Brand Novelty Toasters|access-date= 2012-11-18|archive-date= 2012-12-11|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121211100527/http://www.burntimpressions.com/?|url-status= live}}

{{Portal|Religion}}

• Bélmez Faces, a phenomenon in Bélmez, Spain, where several spots on floors and walls are interpreted as faces.
• Marian apparition
• Weeping statue
• Pareidolia
• Agent detection
• Dual process theory

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.yoism.org/?q=node/129 Religious Pareidolia] extensive collection of video and photographic demonstrations of pareidolia, presented from a noticeably skeptical perspective, featuring debunkers Penn and Teller
• [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/NMLAKtortilla.html RoadsideAmerica.com's visit to the Shrine of the Miracle Tortilla]
• [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-16.337013,-71.959763&spn=0.110893,0.158186&t=k&hl=en Image of Jesus in South American sand dunes] (Google Maps).
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070623115159/http://www.skepticwiki.org/index.php/Pareidolia Pareidolia article on Skeptic Wiki]
• [http://www.islamcan.com/miracles/index.shtml Miracle Pictures of Islam]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4562170.stm Series of Religious Simulacra images from the news]
• [http://www.whatwouldjesussee.com/ What Would Jesus See]

Category:Pareidolia