A second problem with this study was the sampling. Since there was such a low percentage of the population who may have had a near-death episode, it was necessary to draw a sample which would be large enough for the NDE itself to be used as a variable. Taking into consideration that only 6-10% of the respondents in the studies reviewed by Rogo had experienced a near-death episode, it was decided that a sample of at least 200 would be necessary to have a large enough sample of experients with which to test the hypotheses. Due to limited time and money, It was decided that a non-probability sample would be the least resource-consuming. This became a purposive sample, in that the Forum classes were targeted as having the largest number of students available at a given time, and a "captive audience" sample, as they were surveyed at the beginning of each class.
Had more time and money been available, there would have been more of an effort made to have a higher percentage of respondents 33 years and older. This would have necessarily been a purposive sample, but it could easily have been accomplished by sampling the university teaching staff. By including the staff, the educational level may have shown some effect on Near Death Experience, and would definately have added some verisimilitude to the sample group. If this were done, the ratio would have been 3:1, with 150 students and 50 staff. This would lower the 17-32 age group from 94% to 75%, and might then have had some effect on the reationship age had with the other variables in this study.
Another change would have been to define the term "Protestant" on the questionnaire as "any Christian religion other than Catholic," as it was debatable whether many of the respondents who answered "Other" reaalized what "Protestant" meant. If most of the "Others" were really Protestants, it would have changed the data enough, perhaps, to conclude that there were no significant differences between Protestants and Catholics with regard to beliefs.
Were these changes implemented, and another study done, it may be that this study's hypotheses would be supported. However, much more time would be needed in order to determine causality, especially when studying the effects of religiousness on beliefs. It is quite possible that for those who experienced a near-death episode, the experience itself affected religiousness and/or beliefs. A more in-depth study would need to be made, perhaps even comparing the beliefs of those who have experienced NDEs with those who have not. This study could only really be considered an exploratory study, as it has discovered many other possible causal variables which were not considered when this study was conceived and begun.
Please circle the appropriate number.
1. Sex: 1...Male 2...Female
2. Age: 1...17-24 2...25-32 3...33-40 4...41-48 5...49-56 6...57-64 7...65 or older
3. Major: 1...Business 2...Education 3...Humanities 4...Science/Math 5...Social Science 6...Allied Health 7...Technology/CIS 8...Undecided 9...Other
4. Educational Level: 1...Freshman 2...Sophomore 3...Junior 4...Senior 5...Grad Student 6...Master's 7...Doctorate
5. Credit Hours this semster: 1...1-11 2...12 or more
6. Religious Affiliation: 1...Catholic 2...Jewish 3...Protestant 4...Other
7. How religious/devout do you consider yourself? 1...Extremely 2...Very 3...Somewhat 4...Not at All
8. Do you believe that some of a person (soul, spirit, mind, etc.) survives after death? 1...Yes 2...No
9. How much do you believe in survival after physical death? 1...Very Strong Belief 2...Strong Belief 3...Skeptical 4...Very Strong Disbelief
10. Have you ever heard of or read of a "Near Death" or "Life After Death" experience? 1...Yes 2...No
11. Please read the description on back of page of a Near Death Experience. Have you ever had this type of experience? 1...Yes 2...No (if No, please skip to question # 13)
12. Was this experience due to: 1...An Accident 2...Operation 3...Heart Attack 4...Spontaneous (no physical reason) 5...Other
13. Do you know anyone who has had this type of experience? 1...Yes 2...No (if No, please skip to question #15)
14. Was ths experience due to: 1...An Accident 2...Operation 3...Heart Attack 4...Spontaneous (no physical reason) 5...Other
15. How true do you think reports of Near Death Experiences are? 1...Always True 2...Quite Often True 3...Seldom True 4...Never True
16. How easy do you think it would be to fake a Near Death Experience? 1...Very Easy 2...Somewhat Easy 3...Difficult 4...Impossible
17. Why would someone try to fake a Near Death Experience? ______________________________________________________
18. What do you think causes these experiences? 1...Lack of Oxygen to Brain 2...Fantasies/Wish Fulfillment 3...Drugs Given at Hospital 4...Soul Leaving Body 5...Hallucinations Induced by Brain Chemicals 6...Other
19. To what extent do you think Near Death Expriences should be researched? 1...Very 2...Somewhat 3...Not at All
20. Who do you think should do this research? 1...Medical Personnel 2...Psychologists/Psychiatrists 3...Ministers/Pastors/Priests/Rabbis/etc. 4...Biologists or Other Scientists 5...Other
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
STAGES OF A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE (NDE)
(Experience of three or more stages, regardless of order constitutes an NDE)
TYPE 1: 1. buzzing or ringing noise
2. cessation of pain, feeling of calm/peacefulness
3. feeling of floating upwards, or being drawn or pulled upwards
4. even though unconscious, visualization of entire room, especially your body and what is happening to it
5. even though unconscious, hearing, seeing, and understanding what is said and done in the room
6. being drawn or taken through a dark tunnel with a bright light at the end
7. suddenly out of tunnel and surrounded by brilliant, painless light
8. seeing and communicating with deceased family and friends
9. being contacted by some Supreme Being (God, Jesus, an Angel, etc.)
10. seeing entire or selected scenes from your life in full detail (words, thoughts, and deeds)
11. being asked a question about your life by the Being
12. being told it's not your "time to die"
13. rushing back through the tunnel
14. "waking up"/becoming conscious in your body again
TYPE 2
1. buzzing or ringing noise
2. cessation of pain, feeling of calm/peacefulness
3. feeling of floating upwards, or being drawn or pulled upwards
4. even though unconscious, visualization of entire room, especially your body and what is happening to it
5. even though unconscious, hearing, seeing, and understanding what is said and done in the room
6. being drawn or taken through a dark tunnel
7. suddenly out of tunnel and surrounded by darkness, greyness, or mist/fog
8. seeing giants, monsters, or friends/family
9. not being able to communicate with anybody
10. feelings of sadness, fear, terror, and/or helplessness
11. beig asked a question about your life by a Supreme Being
12. being told it's not your "time to die"
13. rushing back through the tunnel
14. "waking up"/becoming conscious in your body again
****Copyrighted materials***Please click on "AUTHOR" at bottom of page should you wish to use this material***Thank You!***
TABLE 1a
the effect of Religion and Religiousness upon one's belief
in the soul's survival of bodily death
Catholic & Devout
Believe 64%
Disbelieve 36%
Protestant & Devout
Believe 53%
Disbelieve 47%
Other & Devout
Believe 36%
Disbelieve 64%
Catholic & Not
Believe 40%
Disbelieve 60%
Protestat & Not
Believe 33%
Disbelieve 67%
Other & Not
Believe 40%
Disbelieve 60%
X squared=11.17618, Significant at .0480, Cramer's V=.23 miissing cases=9
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and whether he/she believed in the survival of the soul after death. The association was moderate. Sixty-four percent of devout Catholics believed in soul survival, compared to 53% of devout Protestants and 36% of devout Others. This was a strong 28% ponts of diffrence. Forty percent of Catholics and Others who were not devout believed in soul survival compared to only 33% of Protestants who were not devout. _________________________________________________________
TABLE 1b
The effect of Religion and Relgiousness upon one's belief
in the soul's survival of bodily death, controllng for age
AGE=17-32
Catholic & Devout
Believe 66%
Disbelieve 34%
Protestant & Devout
Believe 50%
Disbelieve 50%
Other & Devout
Believe 37%
Disbelieve 63%
Catholic & Not
Believe 40%
Disbelieve 60%
Protestant & Not
Believe 0%
Disbelieve 100%
Other & Not
Believe 40%
Disbelieve 60%
X squared=14.929, Significant at .0107, Cramer's V=.28 missing cases=0
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and whether he/she believed in the soul's survival after bodily death when controlling for age. The association was strong, with a Cramer's V of .28. Sixty-six percent of devout Catholics believed in soul survival, compared to 50% of devout Protestants and 37% of devout Others. This was a strong 29% points of difference. Of those who were not devout, 40% of Catholcs and Others believed in soul survival, as compared to 0% of Protestants. ________________________________________________________
TABLE 1c
The effect of Religion and Religiousness upon one's belief
in the soul's survival of bodily death, controlling for age
AGE=33 and older
Catholic & Devout
Believe 40%
Disbelieve 60%
Protestant & Devout
Believe 80%
Disbelieve 29%
Other & Devout
Believe 0%
Disbelieve 100%
Catholic & Not
Believe 0%
Disbelieve 0%
Protestant & Not
Believe 100%
Disbelieve 0%
Other & Not
Believe 0%
Disbelieve 0%
X squared=4.550, Significant at .2079, missing cases=9
There was no statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and whether he/she believed in the soul's survival after bodily death when controllin for ages 33 years and older (total respondents for this age group=22, including missing cases). _________________________________________________________
TABLE 2a
The effect of Reigion and Religiousness upon belief in the
truth of NDE reports
Catholic & Devout
True 58%
Untrue 42%
Protestant & Devout
True 57%
Untrue 43%
Other & Devout
True 30%
Untrue 70%
Catholic & Not
True 0%
Untrue 100%
Protestant & Not
True 83%
Untrue 17%
Other & Not
True 60%
Untrue 40%
Total Response
True 49%
Untrue 51%
X squared=1.147, Significant at .0018, Cramer's V=.31 missing cases=13
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and his/herbelief that NDE reports are generally true. The association was strong, with a Cramer's V of .31. Fifty-eight percent of the devout Catholics believed in the truth of NDE reports, compared to 57% of devout Protestants and only 30% of devout Others. This was a strong 28% points of difference. Among those who were not devout, 0% of Catholics believed in the truth of NDE reports, while 83% of Protestans and 60% of Others did beleve in their veracity. ________________________________________________________
TABLE 2b
The effect of religion and religiousness upon belief in the
truth of NDE reports, controlling for age
AGE=17-32
Catholic & Devout
True 59%
Untrue 41%
Protestant & Devout
True 56%
Untrue 44%
Other & Devout
True 29%
Untrue 71%
Catholic & Not
True 0%
Untrue 100%
Protestant & Not
True 75%
Untrue 25%
Other & Not
True 60%
Untrue 40%
X squared=17.864, Significant at .0031, Cramer's V=.31 missing cases=0
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and his/her belief that NDE reports are generally true, when controlling for 17-32 year-olds. The association was strong, with a Cramer's V of .31. Fifty-nine percent of devout Catholics believe in the truth of NDE reports, compared to 56% of devout Protestants and 29% of devout Others. This was a strong 30% points of difference. Of those who were not devout, 0% of Catholics believed in the truth of NDE reports, as compared to 75% of Protestants and 60% of Others. ________________________________________________________
TABLE 2c
The effect of Religion and Religiousness upon belief in the
truth of NDE reorts, controlling for age
AGE =33 and older
Catholic & Devout
True 50%
Untrue 50%
Protestant & Devout
True 75%
Untrue 25%
Other & Devout
True 100%
Untrue 0%
Catholic & Not
True 0%
Untrue 0%
Protestant & Not
True 100%
Untrue 0%
Other & Not
True 0%
Untrue 0%
X squared=2.177, Significant at .5365, missing cases=13
There was no statistically significant relationship between religion and religiousness and belief in the truth of NDE reports when controlling for the ages of 33 years and older (total respondents in this age-group=22, including missing cases). ________________________________________________________
TABLE 3a
The effect of Religion and Religiousness upon belief of
what causes NDEs
Cath/Dev
Prot/Dev
Other/Dev
Anoxia
9%
13%
24%
Fantasies
15%
7%
18%
Hospital Drugs
9%
7%
9%
Soul Leaving
39%
32%
13%
Brain Chemicals
11%
19%
16%
Other
17%
22%
20%
Cath/Not
Prot/Not
Other/Not
Anoxia
0%
0%
20%
Fantasies
25%
0%
0%
Hospital Drugs
0%
25%
0%
Soul Leaving
0%
0%
0%
Brain Chemicals
25%
0%
60%
Other
50%
75%
20%
X squared=40.781, Significant at .0242, Cramer's V=.21 missing cases=24
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and his/her belief of the cause of NDEs. The association was moderate, with a Cramer's V of .21. Thirty-nine percent of devout Catholics believed that NDEs were caused by the soul leaving the body, compared to 32% of devout Protestants and 13% of devout Others. This was a strong 26% points difference. The majority (one-third) of devout Catholics and Protestants believed the soul was the ause of NDEs, while most (one-fourth) devout Others belived that a lack of oxygen to the brain (anoxia) was the cause. Of those who were not devout, 0% of Catholics, Protestants, and Others believed the soul was the cause. ________________________________________________________
TABLE 3b
The effects of Religion and Religiousness upon belief in
what causes NDEs, controlling for age
AGE=17-32
Cath/Dev
Prot/Dev
Other/Dev
Anoxia
10%
12%
24%
Fantasies
16%
7%
19%
Hospital Drugs
8%
7%
9%
Soul Leaving
40%
36%
13%
Brain Chemicals
10%
17%
17%
Other
16%
21%
19%
Cath/Not
Prot/Not
Other/Not
Anoxia
0%
0%
20%
Fantasies
25%
0%
0%
Hospital Drugs
0%
33%
0%
Soul Leaving
0%
0%
0%
Brain Chemicals
25%
0%
60%
Other
50%
67%
20%
X squared=39.026, Significant at .0366, Cramer's V=.21 missing cases=0
There was a statistically significant relationship between a person's religionn and religiousness and his/her belief in what causes NDEs, when controlling for ages 17-32. The association was moderate, with a Cramer's V of .21. Of the devout, 40% of Catholics believed the soul was the cause of NDEs, compared to 36% of Protestants and 13% of Others. This was a strong 27% points of difference. Over one-third of devout Catholics and Protestants believed that the soul was the cause, while nearly one-fourth of devout Others believed that brain anoxia was the sole cause of NDEs. As in table 3a, 0% of Catholics, Protestants, and Others who are not devout believed the soul was the cause of NDEs. _______________________________________________________
TABLE 3c
The effect of Relgion and Relgiousness upon belef in what
causes NDEs, controlled for age
AGE=33 and older
Cath/Dev
Prot/Dev
Other/Dev
Anoxia
0%
25%
0%
Fantasies
0%
0%
0%
Hospital Drugs
25%
0%
0%
Soul Leaving
25%
0%
0%
Brain Chemicals
25%
50%
0%
Other
25%
25%
100%
Cath/Not
Prot/Not
Other/Not
Anoxia
0%
0%
0%
Fantasies
0%
0%
0%
Hospital Drugs
0%
0%
0%
Soul Leaving
0%
0%
0%
Brain Chemicals
0%
0%
0%
Other
0%
100%
0%
X squared =7.916, Significant at .7916, missing cases=12
There was no statistically significant relationship between a person's religion and religiousness and his/her belief in what causes NDEs, when controlling for the ages of 33 years and older (total respondents in this age-group=22, including missing cases). _______________________________________________________
Noyes, Jr., Russell. "The Experience of Dying." _Psychiatry._ (1972), Vol 35, pp 174-184
Rogo, D. Scott. _Life After Death_. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, Great Britain: The Aquarian Press, 1986.