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Reincarnation Beliefs Among Near Death
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Amber Wells |
| Copyright Year | 2016 |
| Abstract | Several researchers have found that near-death experiences (NDEs) tend to increase belief in reincarnation. This study was designed to examine the factors underlying this belief shift. I used a questionnaire to compare the tendency toward belief in reincarnation among NDErs, individ uals merely interested in NDEs, and a non-experiencer, non-interest control group. In addition, I interviewed 14 NDErs to gain insight into the factors influencing NDErs' beliefs. NDErs' reincarnation belief shift appeared to be due to (a) direct knowledge of reincarnation gained by some NDErs in the NDE itself; (b) knowledge of reincarnation gained through a general psychic awak ening following the NDE; or (c) exploration of alternative perceptions of reality following the NDE. Previous research has indicated that following a near-death experi ence (NDE), experiencers tend to exhibit a significant shift in their beliefs on a wide range of subjects, including an increased acceptance of others, a significantly greater belief in life after death, and a decreased emphasis on material success (Atwater, 1988; Flynn, 1986; Grey, 1985; Morse and Perry, 1992; Ring, 1984, 1992; Sutherland, 1992). These belief changes have also included a general tendency toward an in creased openness to the idea of reincarnation (Gallup and Proctor, 1982; Ring, 1980, 1984, 1992; Sutherland, 1992). It is this belief shift that was the focus of the present study. The question of what precipitates the shift toward belief in reincarnation has not yet been systematically addressed in the literature. In this Amber D. Wells was a student at the University of Connecticut at the time of this study. This paper is based on her senior honors thesis under the direction of Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. Reprint requests should be addressed to Ms. Wells at 2950 Bixby Lane, Apt. A213, Boulder, CO 80303. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 12(1) Fall 1993 1993 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 17 JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES study, I attempted to answer this question and, additionally, to deter mine if a consistent picture of the purpose and process of reincarnation would emerge from the accounts of near-death experiencers. Previous researchers such as Kenneth Ring have suggested that near-death experiencers' increased openness toward the idea of reincar nation may be less a factor of the NDE itself than a result of life changes following the experience: Of course, there is no reason why an NDEr's openness toward reincar nation must stem directly from his NDE. In fact, I am quite convinced that in many cases it is more likely to be a response to an NDEr's reading and other life experiences following an NDE. (Ring, 1984, p. 160) Ring's study also suggested that belief in or openness to reincarnation among NDErs was often accompanied by a more general endorsement of Eastern religions. This has also been noted in the work of Cherie Sutherland (1992). Other researchers (Twemlow, Gabbard, and Jones, 1982) found a similar shift in religious beliefs among individuals hav ing not near-death experiences but out-of-body experiences. Thus it is possible that the NDE is simply one of many catalysts for an increased openness to reincarnation. In fact, it has been suggested that simply an interest in near-death phenomena can serve as a catalyst for many of the value changes expressed by NDErs, including an increased open ness to the idea of reincarnation (K. Ring, personal communication, 1991). If it is true that the NDE influences individuals' reincarnation be liefs simply by causing them to consider new religions or spiritual ideas, then one would expect that individuals who exhibited an interest in the NDE would also be prompted to undergo a similar belief shift. If, on the other hand, it is something inherent in the NDE itself that leads individuals to consider the possibility of reincarnation, then one would expect that individuals who were merely interested in such phenomena but who had not experienced it themselves would have reincarnation beliefs that differed significantly from those of near-death experiencers and would instead be similar to those of individuals who have no such interest in NDEs. In this study, questionnaires were used to determine the reincarna tion beliefs of a group of NDErs, a group of subjects who were interested in near-death experiences but had not had an NDE, and also a group of subjects who were chosen to represent the general non-experiencer, 18 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc798906/m2/1/high_res_d/vol12-no1-17.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
