Worldview formation and death anxiety: Explaining atheism after a near-death experience
Principal Investigator
Dr. Alex Fry
Department of Social Sciences and Social Work, University of Bournemouth
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are common amongst those coming close to death and profoundly impact how they make sense of the world. Psychologists have found that death anxiety motivates individuals to make sense of the world in the pursuit of literal or symbolic immortality. Sociologists have shown that persons draw on culturally dominant belief systems to inform their own. In the UK, this includes the technological worldview and self-spiritualities. The first of these refers to the use of purely scientific information for explaining the world, whereas the second refers to individualised and eclectic forms of religious and/or spiritual beliefs and practices. The tenets of these belief systems can be shared by two groups of atheists: (i) metaphysical naturalists (who do not believe in any supernatural phenomena); and (ii) non-theists (those who specifically do not believe in a theistic god) respectively.
There has been little research on death anxiety as a motivator in seeking to understand the world and humanity’s place within it amongst atheists. Even less research does so whilst paying attention to the diversity that exists within atheism. Studies that explore how death anxiety and culturally dominant belief systems shape atheists’ attempts to make sense of the world are also absent. The current context provides the opportunity to address this dearth in knowledge and underscores the importance of understanding how atheists attempt to make sense of life after a NDE, as well as the motivation for doing so.
This project drew on interviews with atheists in the UK and US who have had a NDE to explore whether death anxiety motivates metaphysical naturalists’ and non-theists’ attempts to make sense of the world.
In addition to academic publications the study will produce research based resources for groups that support people who have had an NDE, aiming to assist how such groups support atheists seeking to make sense of the world in light of their NDE.
Publications
Publications from this project are forthcoming, check our Publications page for updates
