Beliefs and death anxiety

Abstract

Examined the importance of religious and nonreligious beliefs in managing death anxiety in 90 adults, equally split among Islamic, Christian and Hindu religious groups. Ss were assessed by the Death Anxiety Questionnaire, Belief in God Scale, Belief in Life After Death Scale, Perceived Control Scale and the Justice Beliefs Scale. Results show Muslims with the lowest level and Christians with the highest level of death anxiety. Results related to the chosen beliefs also yielded significantly different mean scores across the groups, and are discussed within the framework of the functional relevance of these beliefs in managing death anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)