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Different Kinds of Near-Death Experience: A Report on a Survey of Near-Death Experiences in Germany

Journal of Near-Death Studies

Abstract

This article provides a short summary of a representative survey on near-death experiences (NDEs) in Germany, which is the first of its kind in Europe. We tested several assumptions derived from previous research on NDEs, including the assumptions of a unified pattern of experience, the universality of the pattern, and the necessary link between NDEs and clinical death. We received replies from more than 2,000 persons, 4 percent of whom reported NDEs. The patterns of the NDEs did not seem to correspond to earlier findings: aside from being much more diverse, they also differed with respect to cultural variables, particularly the difference between religious interpretations and the differences between post-socialist East Germany and West Germany.

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Correspondence to Hubert Knoblauch.

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Knoblauch, H., Schmied, I. & Schnettler, B. Different Kinds of Near-Death Experience: A Report on a Survey of Near-Death Experiences in Germany. Journal of Near-Death Studies 20, 15–29 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011112727078

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