The impact of four metaphysical beliefs on death anxiety was investigated. Beliefs about the existence and attributes of God, afterlife, and consequences of suffering were chosen for study. It was hypothesized that any belief which assures the individual a continued existence beyond death would reduce the degree of anxiety felt on encountering death-related stimuli. A test including pictures depicting death and non-death scenes was constructed to measure death anxiety. The sample included 120 householders (60 heads of unsettled and 60 heads of settled families). Half of them lived in high exposure to death sight areas and the other half lived in low exposure areas. Subjects from only low exposure areas revealed significant relationships between beliefs and death anxiety. The results of this study suggest that the beliefs play functional roles that are different for people with different needs.
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