“Are you afraid to die?” Religion and Death Attitudes in an Adolescent Sample

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth examination of the relationship between religion and death attitudes. First, we investigated whether the results found in previous research on adults could be generalized to adolescents. Second, we implemented a person-centered approach in studying this relationship. Questionnaires assessing death attitudes and religious attitudes were completed by 213 adolescents in a secularized country. Results from hierarchical regression analyses were in line with previous findings on adults, confirming our hypothesis that the link between religious attitudes and death attitudes is important during diverse stages of the life span. Furthermore, cluster analysis was used to investigate naturally occurring profiles of death attitudes in order to offer a qualitative refinement as compared to the commonly used variable-centered approach. A meaningful 3-cluster solution (i.e., Natural Process, Acceptance, and Anxiety) was retained and each cluster was characterized by its own unique scores on religious attitudes. Limitations concerning the generalization of the conclusions are discussed.

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