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Religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety
International Journal of Aging & Human Development
|October 1, 2014
Summary
Terror Management Theory suggests worldviews reduce death anxiety. This study found religiousness lowers death anxiety, while religious doubt increases it, supporting the theory in adults.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Terror Management Theory (TMT) posits that cultural worldviews buffer death anxiety.
- Doubts about one's worldview may negate this protective effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between age, gender, religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety.
- To test a structural equation model predicting death anxiety based on these factors.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from 635 adults across different age groups.
- Structural equation modeling used to analyze associations between variables.
- Key variables included age, gender, religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety.
Main Results:
- Religiousness was inversely associated with death anxiety.
- Religious doubt was positively associated with death anxiety.
- The model explained 12.3% of the variance in death anxiety.
Conclusions:
- Findings support Terror Management Theory's predictions regarding worldviews and death anxiety.
- Religiousness acts as a buffer against death anxiety.
- Religious doubt exacerbates death anxiety.
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