Drawing on insights from cognitive psychology, I argue that the religious experiences of witnessing and/or experiencing a miraculous physical healing event will be negatively associated with attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide. I evaluate this argument using data from the 2007 wave of the Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1598). I find that those who have witnessed and/or experienced a miraculous physical healing have more negative attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide than those who have not witnessed and/or experienced such an event, even when controlling for religiosity, sociodemographic, and personality factors. These results show that researchers should consider if and how religious experiences influence people's attitudes.
BaderChristopher DCarson MenckenFFroesePaulAmerican Piety 2005: Content and Methods of the Baylor Religion SurveyJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion20074663–44710.1111/j.1468-5906.2007.00371.x
2.
BulmerMariaBöhnkeJan RLewisGary JPredicting Moral Sentiment towards Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Role of Religion, Conservatism, Authoritarianism, and Big Five PersonalityPersonality and Individual Differences201710551–24410.1016/j.paid.2016.09.034
3.
BurdetteAmy MHillTerrence DMoultonBenjamin EReligion and Attitudes toward Physician-Assisted Suicide and Terminal Palliative CareJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion20054479–9310.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00266.x
4.
CaddellDavidNewtonRaeEuthanasia: American Attitudes toward the Physician's RoleSocial Science and Medicine19954081–167110.1016/0277-9536(94)00287-4
5.
ChappleAZieblandSMcPhersonAHerxheimerAWhat People Close to Death Say About Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: A Qualitative StudyJournal of Medical Ethics20063210–70610.1136/jme.2006.015883
6.
CohenJoachimVan LandeghemPaulCarpentierNicoDeliensLucPublic Acceptance of Euthanasia in Europe: A Survey Study in 47 CountriesInternational Journal of Public Health20145956–143
7.
DeCesareMichael APublic Attitudes toward Euthanasia and Suicide for Terminally Ill Persons: 1977 and 1996Social Biology20004776–264
8.
EmanuelEzekiel JOnwuteaka-PhilipsenBregje DUrwinJohn WCohenJoachimAttitudes and Practices of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States, Canada, and EuropeJAMA201631679–9010.1001/jama.2016.8499
9.
FreyLaura MHansJason DAttitudes toward Assisted Suicide: Does Family Context Matter?Archives of Suicide Research20162064–25010.1080/13811118.2015.1004477
10.
GenuisStephen JGenuisShelagh KChangWei-ChingPublic Attitudes toward the Right to DieCanadian Medical Association Journal19941508–701
11.
GoslingSamuel DRentfrowPeter JSwannWilliam BJrA Very Brief Measure of the Big-Five Personality DomainsJournal of Research on Personality20033728–50410.1016/S0092-6566(03)00046-1
12.
GrahamJohn WOlchowskiAllison EGilreathTamika DHow Many Imputations Are Really Needed? Some Practical Clarifications of Multiple Imputation TheoryPrevention Science20078206–21310.1007/s11121-007-0070-9
13.
HainsCarrie-Anne MarieHulbert-WilliamsNicholas JAttitudes Toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Study of the Multivariate Effects of Healthcare Training, Patient Characteristics, Religion and Locus of ControlJournal of Medical Ethics2013396–71310.1136/medethics-2012-100729
14.
Hamil-LukerJeniferSmithChristianReligious Authority and Public Opinion on the Right to DieSociology of Religion19985991–37310.2307/3712123
15.
HendryMaggiePasterfieldDianaLewisRuthCarterBenHodgsonDanielWilkinsonClareWhy Do We Want the Right to Die? A Systematic Review of the International Literature on the Views of Patients, Carers and the Public on Assisted DyingPalliative Medicine20122713–2610.1177/0269216312463623
16.
Hume, David. 1977 [1748]. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Indianapolis: Hackett.
17.
KennedyPeterA Guide to Econometrics20086OxfordBlackwell
18.
LongJ ScottFreeseJeremyRegression Models for Categorical Dependent Variables Using Stata2006College StationStata Press
19.
MacDonaldWilliam LSituational Factors and Attitudes toward Voluntary EuthanasiaSocial Science and Medicine19984673–8110.1016/S0277-9536(97)00146-9
20.
MenardScottApplied Logistic Regression Analysis: Sage University Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences19972Thousand OaksSage
21.
MoultonBenjamin EHillTerrence DBurdetteAmyReligion and Trends in Euthanasia Attitudes among U.S. Adults, 1977–2004Sociological Forum20062172–24910.1007/s11206-006-9015-5
22.
ParpaaEfiMystakidoubKyriakiTsilikacEleniSakkasdPavlosPatirakieElisabethPistevou-GombakifKyriakiGovinagOuraniaPanagiotoucIreneGalanoscAntonisGouliamoshAthanasiosAttitudes of Health Care Professionals, Relatives of Advanced Cancer Patients and Public toward Euthanasia and Physician Assisted SuicideHealth Policy2010975–160
SharpShaneBelief in Miracles and Attitudes towards Voluntary EuthanasiaDeath Studies20174119–21110.1080/07481187.2016.1241838
26.
SharpShaneTraditional God Images and Attitudes towards Voluntary EuthanasiaReview of Religious Research20175945–529
27.
Smith, Tom W., Michael Davern, Jeremy Freese, and Michael Hout. 2018. General Social Surveys, 1972–2016 [machine-readable data file]. Principal Investigator, Smith, Tom W.; Co-Principal Investigators, Peter V. Marsden and Michael Hout; Chicago: NORC.
28.
TeisseyreaNathalieMulletaEtienneSorumPaul ClayUnder What Conditions is Euthanasia Acceptable to Lay People and Health Professionals?Social Science and Medicine20056068–357
29.
TverskyAmosKahnemanDanielAvailability: A Heuristic for Judging Frequency and ProbabilityCognitive Psychology1973532–207
30.
von HippelPaul TRegression with Missing Ys: An Improved Strategy for Analyzing Multiply Imputed DataSociological Methodology20073783–11710.1111/j.1467-9531.2007.00180.x
31.
WilsonKeith GScottJohn FGrahamIan DKozakJean FChaterSusanViolaRaymond Ade FayeBarbara JWeaverLynda ACurranDorothyannAttitudes of Terminally Ill Patients toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted SuicideArchives of Internal Medicine200016060–2454
