The relationship of religious variables to death depression and death anxiety.

The present research explored the relationship of religious variables to death anxiety and death depression in 200 persons from the general population in what is apparently the first study to correlate religious variables with death depression. Persons with lower death depression had greater strength of conviction, greater belief in afterlife, and were less likely to say that the most important aspect of religion is that it offers the possibility of life after death. Persons with less death anxiety were found to have greater strength of conviction. The findings were discussed in relationship to previous research that has suggested that religious belief is associated more closely with death anxiety level than is religious practice.