Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames: Afterlife Beliefs of Catholic and Protestant Undergraduates
Few studies have examined beliefs about hell—a place of punishment in the after-life. We compared the afterlife beliefs of Catholics, nonevangelical Protestants, and evangelical Protestants in two samples of undergraduates. In Study 1, Catholic and Protestant students diverged in their beliefs about...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2006
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| In: |
Research in the social scientific study of religion
Year: 2006, Volume: 17, Pages: 235-260 |
| Further subjects: | B
History of religion studies
B Social sciences B Religionswissenschaften B Religion & Gesellschaft |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Few studies have examined beliefs about hell—a place of punishment in the after-life. We compared the afterlife beliefs of Catholics, nonevangelical Protestants, and evangelical Protestants in two samples of undergraduates. In Study 1, Catholic and Protestant students diverged in their beliefs about the nature of hell and their ideas about why a person would go to hell. Catholic students tended to focus on specific sins such as murder as predictors of hell, whereas Protestants were more likely to emphasize unbelief and a rejecting attitude toward God. Catholics estimated that less than ¼ of people would go to hell, whereas Protestant estimates were twice as high. Study 2 demonstrated that Catholic students were more likely than Protestants to believe in purgatory, a place of temporary punishment. Study 2 also demonstrated that relative to nonevangelicals, evangelicals reported greater belief in heaven and hell and estimated that a larger percentage of people would end up in hell. Psychological implications are discussed. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Research in the social scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789047411413_015 |