Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity, belief in the afterlife, death anxiety, and life satisfaction in young Catholics and Protestants

One way in which religiosity could promote well-being is by reducing fear of death. The objective of this study was to explore relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity, afterlife belief, death anxiety and life satisfaction in young Catholics and Protestants. Questionnaires were administered to 375 adolescents and young adults. Data analysis was limited to 134 Protestants and 149 Catholics. Measures included Allport and Ross' (1967) Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religiosity scales, Templer's (1970) Death Anxiety scale, Osarchuk and Tatz' (1973) belief in the afterlife scale, and the satisfaction with life scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1986). As hypothesized, religion moderated relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity scales with death anxiety and afterlife belief. These results support a recent argument that scales to measure intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity reflect Protestant notions of religiosity and are most suited for use in Protestant subjects. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.