Religion and Death: A Test of Homans' Thesis

Abstract

This article tests George Homans' contention that religion arouses a sense of anxiety concerning death and then alleviates the anxiety it creates. Data were collected on 372 participants who were randomly selected employing a multistage cluster sample of Northfield, Minnesota residents. Interview schedules were administered to the participants consisting of various background items, the Leming Fear of Death Scale [1] and ten items developed by Glock and Stark [2], and Faulkner and DeJong to assess religiosity [3]. Correlating religiosity scales scores with death anxiety scores and controlling for the factors of age, social class, and religious preference; a curvilinear relationship was found between the primary variables. Such evidence seems to indicate that religiosity may serve the dual function of afflicting the comforted and comforting the afflicted.