DOI: 10.1177/00302228231199872 ISSN:

Death Anxiety in the Context of Religion, Personality and Life Meanings

Paraskevi Mavrogiorgou, Burhan Akinci, Norbert Murer, Simone Efkemann, Erhan Akinci, Luc Turmes, Georg Juckel
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies
  • Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
  • Health (social science)

Previous studies on the context between death anxiety and religion do not provide any clear evidence regarding “anxiety buffer” function. In this explorative study, death anxiety and attitude to death were determined in the context of mood, personality and meaning of life among groups of Muslims ( n = 60) and Christian Protestants ( n = 60). Death anxiety and attitude to death were assessed using the Bochum questionnaire for recording death anxiety and attitudes to death. Death anxiety was mild to moderate in our healthy Participants of Muslim and Christian faith. Attitude towards death was therefore much more pronounced among Muslim members than Christians. The influence of religious beliefs on the fear of death does not appear to be direct and linear. Sources that provide meaning in life and emotional stability can contribute to a reduction in death anxiety and a less problematic attitude towards death.

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