The Impact of Death-Risk Experiences and Religiosity on the Fear of Personal Death: The Case of Israeli Soldiers in Lebanon

Abstract

The current study attempts to investigate the impact of death-risk experience (life-threatening experiences of Israeli soldiers who served in Lebanon after the 1982 Lebanon War) and religiosity on the diverse aspects of the fear of personal death. One-hundred-thirty-four Israeli Jewish male participants were divided into religious and nonreligious groups, and were subdivided into three groups according to the encounter with a death-risk experience in the last three months. One group served in Lebanon and was involved in threatening activities; a second group served in Lebanon, but was not exposed to life-threatening experiences; and a third did not serve in Lebanon in this period. All the participants completed the Fear of Personal Death Scale. Results indicated that religious participants reported lower levels of fear of death than nonreligious participants. In addition, the exposure to death-risk experience produced elevated levels of fear of death only among nonreligious persons. The role of religiosity and the complex nature of the link between personal experiences and fear of death are discussed.