The majority of Maltese people view death as a deliverance from pain and suffering and almost half believe they will go to heaven, new research suggests.
The survey of 400 people showed 46% agreed to some extent with the phrase: “I will be in heaven after I die”, with 31% disagreeing and 23% undecided.
The study was carried out during the summer for the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Wellbeing.
The strongest believers in heaven and afterlife were those aged over 65, according to the study titled ‘Death Attitude Profile Amongst the Maltese Population’.
Some 32% strongly agreed that they looked forward to a reunion with their loved ones after death.
It also suggested 78% agreed with the statement “death is deliverance from pain and suffering”, with people over the age of 65 again more likely to agree with the statement than younger groups.
Death remains a taboo subject we hardly discuss in our communities, whether it is at school or in any other context- Faculty for Social Well-being dean Andrew Azzopardi
Data also suggested that the Maltese culture tends to avoid the topic of death. When faced with the statement “Maltese culture and society are open to discussing death”, 47% disagreed to some extent and 21% were neutral.
Faculty dean Andrew Azzopardi said that death remains a taboo subject we hardly discuss in our communities, whether it is at school or in any other context.
“The Faculty for Social Wellbeing has felt the need to put to the fore a number of issues and explore them with the general public and hence this study," he said.
"There seems to be a general feeling of fear that such a topic is placed on the agenda but truth be told we need to speak about this experience as it is one thing that all of us will go through not only because we are finite but because during our life we come across this experience as we lose family and friends."
He said that his study, conducted with the help of his research support assistant Graziella Vella, statistician Dr Vincent Marmara and academics including Prof. Marilyn Clark "should start providing insight into how to tackle this issue within our communities.”
Titled data was collected by research company Sagalytics. Telephone interviews were carried out with 400 people aged over 18 during summer using the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R) – a psychological assessment tool designed to measure attitudes and beliefs about death and dying.
It consists of a series of statements that individuals are asked to respond to based on their level of agreement or disagreement. The responses are measured on a Likert scale from 1 to 7 where 1 means “strongly disagree” and 7 indicates “strongly agree”.
The data showed that 69% of respondents strongly agreed that “death is no doubt a grim experience”, with an average score of 6.26 out of 7.
While it was acknowledged that death is inevitable – 67% strongly agreed that “death should be viewed as a natural, undeniable and unavoidable event” – the fear remained in most.
More than half – 59% – agreed that “the prospect of my own death arouses anxiety in me”. Meanwhile, 51% agreed that they avoid thoughts of death at all costs.
But while the thought of death is uncomfortable, the fear is not that “intense”. When faced with the statement “I have an intense fear of death”, 46% disagreed while 13% were undecided.