Atheism and death

Even in atheistic Japan, researchers found that Japanese children see the world as designed.

On April 2, 2012, Science Daily reported that Death anxiety increases atheists' unconscious belief in God. In a 2012 Psychology Today article, Dr. Nathan A. Heflick reported similar results in other studies.

Stress and unconscious thinking processes

In addition, under stress, the brain's processing works in a way that prefers unconscious thinking.

Unconscious thinking and complex decisions

According to the prestigious science journal Science, under complex decision making conditions, due to the deliberation-without-attention effect, it has been found that conscious thinkers are less likely to be satisfied with their choices than unconscious thinkers. When faced with complex decisions, many people report making sounder decisions after "sleeping on it" and unconscious thinking may be playing a role in this matter.

Unconscious thinking and religious thoughts

The Bible teaches that creation clearly testifies to the existence of God (Romans 1:19-20). In atheistic Japan, researchers found that Japanese children see the world as designed. It has been asserted by various theists that atheists do not exist and that atheists are actively suppressing their belief and knowledge of God and enigmatically engage in self-deception and in the deception of others (see: Denials that atheists exist and Atheism and deception).

Perhaps, the reason why death anxiety appears to increase unconscious belief in God in the irreligious is that under stressful conditions, such as conditions which arise under death anxiety conditions, atheists' deep seated beliefs that God exist increase in intensity. As mentioned above, under stressful conditions, the brain's processing works in a way that prefers unconscious thinking.

Dr. Nathan Heflick's commentary in the magazine Psychology Today

Due to the research showing that death anxiety increases atheists' unconscious belief in God, Dr. Nathan Heflick declared in a Psychology Today article, "But, at a less conscious (or pre-conscious) level, this research suggests that there might be less atheism in foxholes than atheists in foxholes report."

Religion's/Irreligion's effect on death anxiety

A United States study indicated that very religious people fear death the least

According to a study performed in the United States by researchers Wink and Scott, very religious people fear death the least.

According to a study performed in the United States by researchers Wink and Scott, it was found that very religious people feared death the least. In addition, the researcher Wen found that the more religious you are, the less you will fear death.

King Solomon declared in the Book Of Proverbs: "The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion." (Proverbs 28:1).

The Apostle Paul wrote: ""O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-56).

Lukewarm/moderately religious and death anxiety

In the aforementioned study, Wink and Scott found that moderately religious people fear death the most.

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ told the Church of Laodicea that He would spit lukewarm members of the church out of this mouth and that they needed to repent and become fervent/hot Christians (Revelation 3:15–16). Lukewarm believers in God are thought to have the fear of hell, but not the inward assurance of going to heaven.

Irreligion's effect on death anxiety

The Bible teaches that "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12). Furthermore, the Bible teaches "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5). Also, Scripture teaches that The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10). The psalmist David declared: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." — Psalms 14:1 (KJV) See: Atheism and arrogance and Atheism and morality and Atheism and moral intelligence

Wink and Scott study: Irreligious and death anxiety

According to the researchers Wink and Scott, the irreligious fear death more than the very religious, but fear it less than the lukewarm/moderately religious. Atheists lack the God given courage of Christians with a strong faith, but many are too foolish and arrogant to have enough sense to fear hell. See: Atheism and arrogance and Atheism and moral intelligence

Additional information from Science Daily

On April 2, 2012, Science Daily further reported:

“

New University of Otago research suggests that when non-religious people think about their own death they become more consciously skeptical about religion, but unconsciously grow more receptive to religious belief... In the first study, researchers found that death-primed religious participants consciously reported greater belief in religious entities than similar participants who had not been death-primed. Non-religious participants who had been primed showed the opposite effect: they reported greater disbelief than their fellow non-religious participants in the control condition. Study co-author Associate Professor Jamin Halberstadt says these results fit with the theory that fear of death prompts people to defend their own worldview, regardless of whether it is a religious or non-religious one. "However, when we studied people's unconscious beliefs in the two later experiments, a different picture emerged. While death-priming made religious participants more certain about the reality of religious entities, non-religious participants showed less confidence in their disbelief," Associate Professor Halberstadt says.

”

Stress, death anxiety, increased unconscious religious beliefs and deathbed conversions

As noted above, stress tends to increase unconscious thinking process and life and death situations can certainly arouse death anxiety in individuals. This increased unconsciously receptiveness to religious beliefs during stressful life and death situations for atheists could enhance their potential to have a deathbed conversions.

Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins crying out to God on live radio under a stressful situation

On February 14, 2012, The Telegraph reported an live radio exchange between the agnostic/evolutionist Richard Dawkins and Reverend Giles Fraser and they reported thusly:

“

Fraser: Richard, if I said to you what is the full title of The Origin Of Species, I’m sure you could tell me that. Dawkins: Yes I could. Fraser: Go on then. Dawkins: On the Origin of Species…Uh…With, oh, God, On the Origin of Species. There is a sub-title with respect to the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. It was a golden minute of radio. But as well as being hilarious, it was hugely symbolic. In The Daily Telegraph yesterday, Baroness Warsi highlighted the militant secularism on the march in Britain. But as Dr Fraser revealed, the atheist army is led by an embarrassingly feeble general. The arrogance and intolerance of the atheists, exemplified by Prof Dawkins, is their Achilles’ heel.

”

So the theory that one could have stress induced increased unconscious religious thoughts and these could have a significant effect due to one's brain processes preferring unconscious thoughts during times of stress is certainly plausible - especially with the addition of the previously cited study from Science Daily.

Bible believers are more courageous than atheists/agnostics

Bible believing Christians with a strong faith in God are more courageous than wicked unbelievers (Proverbs 28:1).

In recent years there has been a number of cases where atheists/agnostics have backed out of debates or refused to debate Bible believing Christians (see: Atheism and cowardice and Atheism and debate and Creation scientists tend to win the creation vs. evolution debates).

For example, the Oxford University atheist Daniel Came told the agnostic Richard Dawkins: "The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part." See also: Instances of Richard Dawkins ducking debates

Atheists/agnostics frequently do very poorly in debates and rarely do well in debates (see: Atheism and debate).

Muslims and death anxiety

Due to their harsh notion of God, Muslims have a significant amount of death anxiety.

Atheism and cryonics

The adherents of cryonics put the deceased person in cryonic suspension via cooling and perfusing the corpse with cryoprotective solutions.

See also: Atheism and cryonics and Atheist cults

Cryonics is a pseudoscience that tries to extend life or achieve immortality in a non-theistic way after the person is legally declared dead.

Robert Ettinger was an atheist and American academic who some consider to be "the father of cryonics" because of the impact of his 1962 book The Prospect of Immortality. Evan Cooper was also a founding father of the cryonics movement. Cooper was a very private man and there may be no record of his worldview as far as whether he was an atheist, agnostic or theist. Evan Cooper abandoned the cryonics movement after he felt that the extension of life through cryonics would not be achievable in his lifetime.

According to The Cryonics Society:

“

Ettinger's reflections on the work of Rostand and other scientists led him to collect his ideas on cryonics into a book. Doubleday, the publishers, sent a review copy to Mensan Isaac Asimov, who gave it a clean scientific bill of health. The book appeared in nine languages, four editions, and became the bible of the cryonics movement. Ettinger found himself appearing on Time and Newsweek and nationwide TV.

”

Isaac Asimov was an atheist. According to The Cryonics Society, Asimov said of cryonics, "Though no one can quantify the probability of cryonics working, I estimate it is at least 90%..."

Atheist and cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky endorsed cryonics

The atheist and American cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky was one of 63 scientists who signed an open letter endorsing the concept of cryonics.

Larry King and cryonics

In 2011, The Telegraph in an article entitled On Larry King and an atheist's fear of death reported about the atheist Larry King, "Larry King, the former CNN broadcaster, made the news this morning after saying he wants to be frozen after his death, so that he can be revived when medical technology improves.

Michael Shermer and other atheist/agnostic critics of cryonics

Today, the atheist/agnostic community is largely skeptical of the cryonics movement. For example, in 2001, the atheist/agnostic Michael Shermer said of cryonics, "Is it? That depends on how much time, effort and money ($120,000 for a full-body freeze or $50,000 for just the head) you are willing to invest for odds of success only slightly higher than zero... I want to believe the cryonicists. Really I do. I gave up on religion in college, but I often slip back into my former evangelical fervor, now directed toward the wonders of science and nature."

Child/teen atheists and death anxiety

Last Judgment by Johann Georg Unruhe - Damned souls going to Hell. See: Atheism and hell

See also: Atheism and Hell

Even in atheistic Japan, researchers found that Japanese children see the world as designed. The psalmist David wrote "The heavens declare the glory of God..." — Psalms 19:1

A child/teen atheist wrote to the atheist psychologist Dr. Darrell Ray:

“

Dear Darrel, I have recently decided that I am an atheist. The problem is that I am now much more anxious about my own mortality, and the mortality of the people I care about. It is scary to suddenly feel like there isn’t a God looking out for us, and that there will just be nothing after we die. Also I can’t help being afraid that if I am wrong I will go to Hell. How should I cope with these fears?

”

In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul declared:

“

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse..." — Romans 1:19-20 (NKJV)

”

See also

• There Are No Atheists In Foxholes
• Evidence for Christianity
• Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian

External links

• Atheism: The Cult of Death by Todd Strandberg
• Former ‘Militant Atheist’ Reveals What Totally Changed His Mind About Death, God and the Afterlife by Billy Hallowell