Thinking about death makes Christians and Muslims, but not atheists, more likely to believe in God, new research finds, suggesting that the old saying about "no atheists in foxholes" doesn't hold water.
© Josef Zima, ShutterstockGraves in a Jewish cemetery.
Agnostics, however, do become more willing to believe in God when
reminded of death. The only catch is that they're equally as likely to believe in Buddha or Allah as the Christian deity, even though all the agnostics in the study were American and thus more likely to be exposed to Christian beliefs.
The findings confirm that while religion can help people deal with death, we all manage our own existential
fears of dying through our pre-existing worldview, the researchers report in an upcoming issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
"These studies offer an improved understanding of how and why
religious individuals tend to believe so strongly in their own religion's gods yet deny the gods of competing religions," the researchers wrote.
Comment: For more information about an easy to use approach to Meditation check out the Eiriu Eolas Stress Control, Healing and Rejuvenation Program here.