Religion and fear of death among older Dutch adults

Figures & data

Table 1. Types of lived religion and their characteristics. Numbers between brackets indicate the number of respondents in a category having mentioned characteristic. If no numbers are indicated, all respondents in this category have the mentioned characteristic.

Type	Religious belief	Religious practice	Religious experience	Afterlife belief	Attitude toward death	Acceptance ground
Lacking (n = 2)	no belief in God; scepticism (1); criticism (1); struggling with theodicy (1)		miraculous event (1); predestination (1)	doubt (1); disbelief (1)	acceptance; fear of dying painfully; no fear of death; death-related worries (1)	naturalness; full life span (1); death of others (1)
Lost (n = 2)	no longer belief in God; openness (1); criticism (1)		miraculous event (1); fate (1)	disbelief; no worries (1)	acceptance (1); no fear of death (1); fear of death (1)	naturalness (1); full life span (1); good life (1)
Liminal (n = 4)	being in between belief and non-belief; criticism; struggling with theodicy (3); tolerance (2)	frequent church attendance (2); praying (2); reading theological books (1); Bible group (1); ritual (1); supporting church (1); watching television sermons (1)	miracle (2); predestination (1); conversation (1); support (1); personal relationship (1)	doubt (3); disbelief (1); no worries (1)	acceptance; no fear of death (1); fear of violent death (1); dying is “being taken” (1)	naturalness (2); full life span (1); good life (1)
Loose (n = 4)	believing without belonging; criticism; tolerance (3)	praying (2); quoting Bible (1); ritual (1)	personal relationship (2); miracle (1); predestination (1); conversation (1); support (1); trust (1)	doubt (3); disbelief (1)	acceptance (2); fear of death (2); no fear of death (1); fear of dying painfully (1); death-related worries (1); death is predestined (1)	full life span (2); naturalness (1)
Learned (n = 3)	belief in God blended with scientific reasoning; scepticism; criticism; holism (2); tolerance (2)	regular to frequent church attendance; praying (1)	fate (1); conversation (1); guidance (1); personal relationship (1); support (1); trust (1)	belief (1); doubt (1); disbelief (1)	acceptance; no fear of death (2); life is a gift (2)	naturalness; faith (1); full life span (1); good life (1); living on in others (1)
Lasting (n = 7)	Strong and actively practiced faith that provides strength; criticism (5); tolerance (4); struggling with theodicy (3); holism (2)	frequent church attendance (6); praying (6); reading/quoting Bible/Christian books (5); singing church songs (4); passing on one’s faith (4); supporting church (3); watching television sermons (3); Bible group (3); ritual (2)	personal relationship; support (6); trust (5); conversation (3); guidance (3); miraculous event (3); predestination/fate (3)	belief (6); doubt (1)	acceptance; no fear of death (4); death in God’s hands (4); life is a gift (2); death-related worries (2); fear of dying painfully (1)	faith (5); naturalness (4); full life span (4); living on in others (3); death of others (3); good life (1)
Liquid (n = 4)	Strong and actively practised faith blended with new spirituality; tolerance; criticism	frequent church attendance; praying; spiritual practices; supporting church (3); passing on one’s faith (2); ritual (2); Bible group (2); quoting Bible (1); watching television sermons (1)	support; conversation (3); personal relationship (3); trust (3); miraculous event (2); things happen for a reason (2); guidance (1)	belief	acceptance; no fear of death (3); fear of dying painfully (2)	faith; naturalness (1); full life span (1); death of others (1)