What comes after death? The relationship between afterlife beliefs, grief and post-traumatic growth

Abstract

Throughout the various belief systems in the world three main views exist regarding the afterlife; the secular view, the God-centred view, and the cosmic spiritual view. In the present research study, the potential relationship between these dominant afterlife beliefs and grief level or level of post-traumatic growth was investigated. The hypotheses were that firstly, stronger beliefs in the God-centred or the cosmic-spiritual view are associated with lower grief symptoms, whereas stronger beliefs in the secular view are associated with higher grief symptoms. Secondly, stronger beliefs in the God-centred or the cosmic-spiritual view were hypothesised to be associated with higher post-traumatic growth. This was a cross-sectional study that used three validated, self-report questionnaires to measure the dependent and independent variables. The questionnaires used were the Connection of Soul Scale, the Brief Grief Questionnaire, and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory. Participant demographics were also collected. The sample pool consisted of 235 participants from multiple countries including Hong Kong, Cyprus, Turkey, Germany, South Africa and the Netherlands. The results indicate that neither of the hypotheses could be confirmed, as none of the three afterlife views were significantly associated with grief nor post-traumatic growth. This matches the literature that found no significant relationship between grief and afterlife belief. One potential explanation for these findings is the variety of coping mechanisms that individuals employ to handle a loved one’s death. The study’s limitations and future research directions were considered.