Religiosity and the Fear of Death and Dying: A Critique of Empirical Research

Biblical scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam advocate the idea of a Day of Judgment following one’s death. This idea seems vague with primordial ambiguous roots. It is left to the religious believer to fill in what might be the appropriate imagery for Heaven and Hell. The source of these images is found in personal and collective memory of believer. There is no empirical evidence for the presence of definite images. When the “Day of Judgment” is taken literally the images of Heaven and Hell turn into Idols which become powerful forces in shaping behavior without any individual being aware of a causal relation between behavior and the Day of Judgment as long as one is convinced of the reality of these beliefs. This paper tries to say about the limits of empirical correlations and their failure to come up with valid and significant correlations. This is a Hermeneutic explanation of Heidegger, Ricoeur, and Habermas. The paper states that the imagery of “A Day of Judgment” is bound to be both concrete imagery of Heaven and Hell, and abstract ideas or concepts about accountability for one’s conduct in terms of rewards and punishment. Perceiving imagery and conceiving of thought are two mental processes, but it is possible for human beings to convert an image into an idol at the same time. This study shows that it is not possible to separate the subjective imagery from those of idols since the image is only recollected as a concrete image, or as material rather than abstract as in a concept which is lived personally and collectively in a community of people.

Keywords:

Religiosity , Spirituality , Day of Judgment , Death fear , Empirical Research , Hermeneutic