ROLE OF RELIGIOSITY IN PREDICTING THE FEAR OF DEATH
ROLE OF RELIGIOSITY IN PREDICTING THE FEAR OF DEATH

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine if religiosity, involving dimensions such as ideology, intellect, experience, private and public practice, is related to fear of death and to test if it has a role in predicting its dimensions, which are fear of death and dying of self, and fear of death and dying of others. The predictive values of the control variables (gender, age) were also tested. The data was collected using the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale – Revised (CLFODS-R; Lester & Abdel-Khalek, 2003) and The Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-15; Huber & Huber, 2012) on a sample of 735 participants, both male (N=214) and female (N=521), aged 18-70 (M=35.62, SD=11.23). When it comes to predicting fear of death using the hierarchical regression analysis, gender and age were included in the first step in every model, while religiosity dimensions were included in the second step of all the analyses. All the models were statistically significant. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that significant predictors of fear of death of self in the first step (R2=.065, F(2,732)=25.611, p=.000) were age (β=-.155, p=.000) and gender (β=.226, p=.000), and in the second (R2=.087, F(7,727)=9.914, p=.000) gender (β=.213, p=.000), age (β=-.134, p=.000), and religious experience (β=.171, p=.011). Gender was the only significant predictor of fear of dying of self in the first (β=.234, p=.000; R 2=.056, F(2,732)=21.774, p=.000), and in the second step ((β=.237, p=.000; R 2=.061, F(7,727)=6.786, p=.000). Significant predictors of fear of death of others in the first step (R2=.087, F(2,732)=34.956, p=.000) were gender (β=.293, p=.000) and age (β=- .097, p=.006), and in the second (R2=.112, F(7,727)=13.118, p=.000) gender (β=.266, p=.000), age (β=-.094, p=.011), intellect (β=-.144, p=.001), and experience (β=.147, p=.027). A significant predictor of fear of dying of others in the first step (R2=.081, F(2,732)=32.077, p=.000) was gender (β=.283, p=.000). In the second step (R2=.100, F(7,727)=11.574, p=.000) significant predictors were gender (β=.256, p=.000), intellect (β=-.147, p=.001), and experience (β=.152, p=.023). There are differences regarding the level of fear of death when groups of non-religious, moderately, and highly religious respondents are compared, where moderately religious respondents expressed higher fear of death of self than non-religious ones (F(2,732)=16.149, p=.000), while highly religious respondents expressed the lowest fear of dying of self when compared to moderately and non-religious respondents (F(2,732)=8.044, p=.000). Based on the results obtained it could be said that religiosity, more precisely its components intellect and experience, gender and age are significant predictors of fear of death. Further research is advised.

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