thanatophobia and christian faith

FEAR OF DEATH page 1

Course Project Part 6: Final Product

Thanatophobia and Christian Faith

Ernie Ladd

Walden University

Dr. Eric Vogt

EDUC 6173 Building Research Competencies in Adult Education

February 20th, 2014


Introduction

Research, especially over the past forty years, is replete with studies on death and dying –

approaching and applying it in numerous scenarios, including religious, and drawing an abundance

of differing conclusions in those studies. “Hundreds of published academic papers have shown

that worrying about death affects everything from our prejudices and voting patterns to how

likely we are to exercise or use sunscreen. People deal with death by upholding worldviews that

are larger and longer lasting than themselves, and opposing anyone or anything that violates

these "cultural anxiety-buffers" (Villarica 2012). Death knows no cultural or language barriers;

it is colorblind, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or any other factor that is

commonly found today. Death never takes a holiday nor does it show favoritism to the wealthy

or privileged. Its stakeholders are everyone no matter their latitude nor longitude.

“Previous research has disclosed different meanings of death, varieties of death anxiety,

and hundreds of factors extracted from the uni- and multi-dimensional death anxiety scales.

However, there have been no empirical studies to elucidate the reasons for death fear” (Abdel-

Khalek 2002 p.2). One common thread in research on death anxiety and faith is a failure to

define terms. For example, what is religion? What does it mean to be “religious”? What is a

true Christian? What is required to make it to heaven? Is everyone who claims to be a Christian

really a true Christian? What comes after death - reincarnation, resurrection, or the end of life?

The Research Problem and Points to Ponder

“Despite the secularization of American society throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries,

Americans {ironically} themselves seem to be increasingly spiritual. While belief in God has

always remained high, contemplation and exploration of some other aspects of spirituality seem

to be on an upward trend. The increasing number of individuals who believe in heaven, hell, the


devil, and angels is evidence of this. As science, technology, and rational explanations uncover

and explain more and more about the known world, Americans are likely becoming more

intrigued by the unknown” (Winseman 2004). This data is most surprising since Western

Civilization is in the era of post-modernism, where there are supposedly no moral or spiritual

absolutes.

*Results are based on telephone interviews with 519 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 2-4, 2004. For

results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is

±5 percentage points (Gallup Poll, 2004).

But the biblically based Christian faith is unique from all the other religions of the world

in that it claims to provide concrete answers to all of these questions and more. “The subject of

life after death by its very nature is a mystery incapable of solution apart from the revelation that

has been given {by God} in Scripture” (George 1984, pg.3). But most research studies do spell


out one common thread in their research – the need for further more detailed research to deal

with this complex issue (Beshai 2007, Fletcher 2010, Dolnick, 2007, Riley & Green 2011).

Comprehensive Synthesis of Literature Review

The literature review was quite extensive, but provided mixed results. Templer’s 1971

study showed a low level of connection between religious commitment and death anxiety. But

Templer was quick to point out that all subjects were students age 18-22 and probably had little

interest or concern regarding death. A later study performed by Templer (1987) showed

variables of death anxiety significant at <p=.01> for all age groups.

“The existential problem of individual death and the anxieties roused by the threat of

corporal nonexistence are intimately involved with ultimate religious concerns, particularly those

of the Christian faith” (Kahoe & Dunn 1975). On the one hand, fear of death may motivate

one’s basic religious commitment, and, on the other, Christianity often promises an assurance

such that the believer need no longer fear death. Whether religious faith does indeed reduce fear

of death has been equivocal. “Fiefel (1959) found that those with religious beliefs had more fear

of death than the nonreligious, but Christ (1961) found no relationship between religiously and

fear of death. Swenson (1961), however, found those with greater religious activity and more

fundamental religious beliefs had less fear of death and looked forward to death more than those

with little religious activity” (Kahoe & Dunn 1975).

In a different study, parishioners (n=130) of an Episcopal church in New York City

participated in a survey to explore the relationship between the religiosity, death acceptance, and

death anxiety. Among the four different types of religiosity measured by the Rohrbaugh and

Jessor scale, theological religiosity was the only one to have a significant effect on death accep-

tance and death anxiety. Belief in God’s existence (r= 0.27), and belief in the afterlife (r= 0.25)


were both negatively correlated with death anxiety (p <0.01), and positively correlated with

death acceptance (respectively, r=0.21 and r=0.22, p< 0.05). The effects remained significant

even after controlling for a number of demographic variables using multiple regression pro-

cedures (Harding, Flannelly, Weaver, & Costa 2005). Templer (1987) and (Harding, et al 2005)

call for further research with more specific data samples, which is what this study plans to do.

Conclusions from Synthesis of Literature Review

As mentioned, there were studies that correlated positively and negatively the parameters

of death anxiety and Christian commitment. Once again, it is the proposed solution in this study

that more detailed research be done by narrowing the parameters through utilizing concise

definitions of “Christian“ terms such as “Evangelical”, “assurance of salvation” and inerrancy”,

etc. Hopefully, in so doing, the critical factors that contribute to salient death anxiety may be

identified providing concrete answers to this universal problem experienced by all from

antiquity.

Our research problem of thanatophobia is an inescapable part of the human experience

that is faced by all mankind - the fear of death and dying. The problem is how do we deal with

death? Is it the end of life or the beginning of another journey? How can we know what to

expect so that we do not have to fear the unknown and unexpected or at least have that phobia

mitigated? To many, the strategy is to simply move on and not think about it or to rationalize

or marginalize the problem by telling oneself, “I am still young, and do not have to worry about

death right now”. “I’ll wait until the time comes” (Fletcher 2010). Then there is a fatal car crash.

To others, it is to deny the problem even exists - such as the so-called atheist who

proclaims confidently that when we die we cease to exist. But even this religious belief fails to

eliminate the fear of pain and suffering that might accompany dying, and this position also


provides no evidence to support such a sweeping affirmation. Indeed it is untenable to prove a

negative.

All of these questions have been debated from antiquity. But the biblically based

Christian faith is unique from all the other religions of the world in that it claims to provide

concrete answers to all of these questions and more. ‘The subject of life after death by its very

nature is a mystery incapable of solution apart from the revelation that has been given {by God}

in Scripture” (George 1984, pg.3).

Research Problem to Hypothesis and Research Questions

After a rather thorough search, this researcher came up with more than 30 scholarly

research reports, academic articles, and books that are relatively “on-point” (Patton 2011) to

death and dying, and religious faith. To carry out this research, a diverse sample of 300 to 400

adult ed students would serve as participants using three surveys: the Colette-Lester Death

Anxiety Scale and the Boyer and Templer Death Anxiety Scales, along with a detailed

questionnaire that this researcher would design to determine the subjects’ understanding of

where they fit on different “branches of the Christian tree” as well as their own level of faith and

commitment. It would also, as previously mentioned, define terms spelled out in the research

questions.

Because of the abundance of previously published sources testing the effect religious

faith has on fear of death, and the use of the Bible and other works pertaining to death and dying,

it appears with a degree of certainty that one can postulate an hypothesis pertaining to the

relationship between Thanatophobia and Christian faith. At this point, the hypothesis for this

quantitative research project will be: Committed Evangelical Christians who hold that the Bible

is the inerrant Word of God and have assurance of their salvation will have a significantly lower


level of death anxiety than all other groups. This rather specific hypothesis begs the following

six research questions that will be defined from the Bible, a few of the articles, journals, and

books, and finally in the research questionnaire:

• What Does Evangelical Christianity mean?

• What does inerrancy mean?

• What does it mean to have assurance of salvation?

• Is the Evangelical Christian faith a religion or a relationship or both?

• Is there different fear of death levels in various denominations of Christianity?

• Will these factors produce a lower fear of death for Evangelical Christians?

Literature Review

An extensive quantitative study done in 2005 not only found that religious beliefs and

practices are significant in affecting levels of death anxiety, it revealed that those beliefs were the

most significant factor of any aspect that was measured, including age, health, status and family

ties (Harding, Flannelly, Weaver, & Costa, 2005). The fact that females had a measurably higher

fear of death level seems interesting to this researcher and is fodder for further analysis in the

area of gender. The article was chosen because it directly relates to the research problem,

namely that faith affects death anxiety which in turn plays a major factor in how people live their

lives and sometimes how they die.

In describing another study, Hoelter & Epley (1979) state that, “Relating the threat of

personal death to religion has perplexed both philosophers and theologians. Some view this

relationship as teleological, asserting that religiosity arose from the hope for continued existence.

Within the social sciences, however, examination of such a paradigm is premature, since

empirical research has not shown a relationship between these constructs” (p.405). One reason


this article was selected is because it debunks that teleological fallacy, which is important in

relationship to this study’s research hypothesis.

Patrick’s (1979) study is similar to Hoelter & Epley’s (1979) and is even found in the

same edition of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Patrick (1979) focuses on a

comparative study of fear of death between both Christianity and Buddhism. Christians from

two different protestant denominations, Congregationalists and Southern Baptists exhibited a

significantly lower fear of death than did the Buddhists < p=.02 > (Patrick 1979).

Another research article called “Taking the Sting Out of Death: A Christian Educational

Perspective” argues from an Evangelical Christian point of view attempting to explain death and

the hereafter from a Biblical perspective (Riley, & Green, 2012). One weakness of this article is

that it only has five resources in its reference list. Due to the specificity of the hypothesis, there

will be a need to use sources from Evangelical Christians, which might be considered biased. But

this does not necessarily affect the objectivity of this researcher who plans to go to great lengths

to avoid bias.

Bartalos and Ellens (2009) contend that, “Since 9/11, America has developed a new mortal-

ity awareness. Death, and our understanding that it can be sudden and is certainly inevitable, is

being talked about more than ever before. 9/11 has changed the way we think and act not only in

relation to ourselves and loved ones, but in relation to society overall” (pg.1) Death has certainly

been brought to the forefront of the lives of countless Americans brought on by that tragic day.

But is this increase in fear of death a healthy phenomenon or the sign of a troubled society that

needs to turn back to its roots of Judeo-Christian faith and values that made this country great?

As far as sources with data, an excellent interview with Dr. Donald Templer (2007), long

recognized as an expert on thanatophobia and religion was located. Below is a table highlighting


the data from Templer’s study from the 1980’s on “Correlates of Religious Commitment and

Death Anxiety” (Beshai 2007, p.3). The table shows that the stronger the subject’s commitment

to faith, the lower the level of fear of death < p =.01 >.

This final data resource selected for the literature review is two tables that compare the

same data among two different Sunday School classes within the same Presbyterian Church (USA)

(Silton, Flannelly, Ellison, Galek, Jacobs, Marcum, & Silton 2011). It is very significant that the

results are remarkably similar with extremely low p values of < p =.001 > for those who practice

private devotions and believe in life-after-death, which are hallmark characteristics of

Evangelical Christians. This study was peer reviewed and published quite recently by the

Religious Research Association, a non-denominational non-profit research company.


Research Questions: Defining Terms

What Does Evangelical Christian Mean?

“In Western culture today, there are many ‘caricatures’ of Evangelical Christians, {many

of which are negative} (Houdman 2013). For some, the term Evangelical Christian (EC) is equiv-

alent to ‘right-wing, fundamentalist Republican.’ For others, "EC" is a title used to differentiate

an individual from a nominal Christian, a Catholic Christian, {a liberal Christian}, or an Eastern

Orthodox Christian. Others more correctly use the term to indicate adherence to the basic, non-

negotiable doctrines of Christianity that pertain to salvation. In this sense, an Evangelical

Christian is a believer in Jesus who holds to the inspiration, inerrancy, and sole authority of

Scripture, the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith alone, which is a free

gift of God” and the assurance of salvation that comes from Christ’s sacrificial death on the

cross to pay the penalty of sin, which is spiritual separation from God. (Houdman 2013, pg.1).

What Is Inerrancy?

Inerrancy simply means “without error in the original manuscripts or writings”.

Evangelicals believe that the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, although written by men,

were written by plenary, verbal inspiration by the Holy Spirit and are without any mistakes in the

original copies.

What is Assurance of Salvation?

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write

these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you

have eternal life (I John 5:11-13, NIV).

Is the Evangelical Christian faith a religion or a relationship or both?


To answer this somewhat unexpected question, one must ask, from whose perspective?

Many Evangelical Christians would easily agree that true Christianity is not a religion, but a

personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. But once again we must define

terms to come to an understanding of how this could possibly be true. Religion can be defined as

man’s desire or attempts to reach God, Nirvana, eternal life, or whatever concept one wants to use

to reflect reaching the hear-after (Driscoll 2008). But in EC, salvation is a free gift of God that

must simply be accepted by faith and repentance. In every “religion” it is man who must seek to

reach God on his own efforts, usually through good works or by following a list of do’s

and don’ts. It usually boils down to whether ones good works outweigh ones bad works or deeds

to determine ones eternal destination by God or a “righteous judge” or karma. An “equation” for

the biblical EC, non-religious “formula” for saving faith and resulting changed life is listed

below in blue:

Grace + Saving Faith/Repentance = Eternal Salvation + Good Works & Fruit (both internal and external)

The Roman Catholic or liberal Christian equation would look much like what is in red below:

Grace + Baptism + Good Works + Mass = Purgatory or Eternal Life or Loss of Salvation (Depend on actions)

As one can see, in this methodology, man is responsible for his own destiny and because all men

are sinners, any Sacerdotal or “do it yourself” method is doomed to failure no matter how hard

one tries or how “good” they are (Driscoll 2008).

Are there different fear of death levels in various denominations of Christianity?

To answer quite simply, “Yes” (Berger 2001, Patrick 1979). The more characteristics of

commitment and evangelicalism, the lower the fear of death found in more liberal or moderate

denominations. Even some atheists scored lower on death anxiety than some subjects who called

themselves Christians, but were not living a committed lifestyle.


Conclusion

Will these factors produce a lower fear of death for Evangelical Christians?

It is fitting to conclude our literature review with our last research question. This

researcher’s hypothesis is quite specific, and he is looking for a well-defined believer of the

Christian faith. It would be both helpful and interesting to carry out this project to completion to

see whether the hypothesis would be significant. If true, would it not be a great message to share

with those who are interested among the millions of Americans and other nationalities from

around the globe who struggle with death anxiety in differing degrees.

Because no specific studies pertaining specifically to the EC defined in our research

project were found at this point, we will have to wait until one is located that is dispositive or

hope that one is completed with these parameters. In closing, this researcher would like to

reiterate that becoming an EC is a choice, not a work based on one’s own efforts. It comes

through repentance of all efforts to please God by one’s own methods, and trusting only and

completely in the shed blood of Christ on the cross to cleanse us from all sin. How fitting that

the Greek word for “evangelical” means, “good news” !!!


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