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The Association Between Religious Beliefs and Practices and End-of-Life Fears Among Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)

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Review of Religious Research

Abstract

This study examines the association between various religious beliefs and practices and fears pertaining to death and dying in a national sample of liberal Protestant U.S. adults. Data were analyzed from a 2002 survey of members and elders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) (N = 935). Four measures of religion were tested together in models predicting four end-of-life fears. Church attendance (p < .01), other church involvement (p < .05), and belief in life after death (p < .001) had negative associations with the fear of what happens after death. Private devotion was inversely related to the fear of dying in pain (p < .05). Involvement in church activities (p < .05), aside from religious services, was inversely related to the fear of leaving loved ones behind. Females tended to be more fearful than males of dying alone and dying in pain and older adults tended to be less fearful than younger adults of the unknown and of leaving loved ones behind.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation. We also wish to thank Research Librarian Helen P. Tannenbaum for her assistance in conducting the literature review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Marymount Manhattan College, 221 E. 71st Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Nava R. Silton

  2. The Spears Research Institute, Healthcare Chaplaincy, New York, NY, USA

    Kevin J. Flannelly & Kathleen Galek

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Christopher G. Ellison

  4. Department of Continuing and Professional Studies, HealthCare Chaplaincy, New York, NY, USA

    Martha R. Jacobs

  5. Research Services, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), Louisville, KY, USA

    John P. Marcum

  6. Department of Program Development, The Massry Residence, Albany, NY, USA

    Faye J. Silton

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  1. Nava R. Silton
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  2. Kevin J. Flannelly
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  3. Christopher G. Ellison
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  4. Kathleen Galek
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  5. Martha R. Jacobs
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  7. Faye J. Silton
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Correspondence to Nava R. Silton.

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Silton, N.R., Flannelly, K.J., Ellison, C.G. et al. The Association Between Religious Beliefs and Practices and End-of-Life Fears Among Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). Rev Relig Res 53, 357–370 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0015-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0015-4

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