Quote from tomdavis:
Sagan did say that...
But he also said that the evidence for reincarnation is worthy of additional study.
Also, please don't put words in my mouth. I never said Sagan was a staunch believer, only that he thought that Ian Stevenson's work was worthy of further study. Sagan was a good scientist and willing to change his mind if further evidence came to light.
In Sagan's book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, he says, "At the time of writing there are three claims in the ESP field which, in my opinion, deserve serious study: (1) that by thought alone humans can (barely) affect random numer generators in computers: (2) that people under mild sensory deprivation can receive thoughts or images "projected" at them; and (3) that young children sometimes report the details of a previous life, which upon checking turn out to be accurate and which they could not have known about in any other way than reincarnation."
He goes on to say that he doesn't accept any of these as valid yet because there's not enough evidence to reach a conclusion. He writes: "I pick these claims not because I think they're likely to be valid (I don't), but as examples of contentions that might be true." In other words, he's not convined yet, but there's evidence that can be, and should be, tested. In his words, they "deserve serious study."