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When I Die...

Belief in Afterlife as a Response to Mortality

University of Kansas

Religion and, more specifically, belief in afterlife have often been proposed as means of dealing with individual mortality. Somewhat surprisingly, research to date has not clearly identified a relationship between death concern and either religion or belief in afterlife; however, evidence has suggested that belief does play an active role when an individual confronts death. The present study sought to test the proposition that belief in afterlife would function to enhance positive perspective on death for individuals who (a) were initially strong in belief in afterlife and (b) were confronted with the prospect of their own death. Belief in afterlife was indeed associated with increased positive death perspective under these conditions, but, unexpectedly, was also associated with increased negative death perspective. It is proposed that belief in afterlife permits an individual to reconcile the positive and negative aspects of death. While enhancing positive death perspective, such belief also allows the individual to accept the negative aspects of death.

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