This study attempted to examine participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death of the elderly, investigate differences in their participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death by sex, age, education level, religion type,...
This study attempted to examine participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death of the elderly, investigate differences in their participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death by sex, age, education level, religion type, spouse or spouse or spouseless, live-in type, economic level, health condition, and belief in the future life after death, and to review correlation of participation in religion with acceptance attitude toward death by dividing the participation in religion into lower ranks, And, this study was to examine how participation activities of the elderly in religion affected the acceptance attitude toward death.
Accordingly, the researcher selected randomly the elderly over 60 years or over resident in Cheongju regardless of their sex and performed an investigation by individual interviews with the questionnaire about participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death of the elderly. Only 291 data was used in analysis and findings of this study are as follows.
First, total point of participation in religion was average 42.0547 on the basis of 60 points while total point of acceptance attitude toward death was average 55.4158 on the basis of 95 points.
Second, participation in religion by religion type, live in type, and belief in the future life after death had statistically significant difference, whereas the participation in religion by sex, age, education level, spouse or spouseless, economic level, and health condition had not statistically significant difference.
Third, acceptance attitude toward death by sex, religion type, spouse or spouseless, health condition, and belief in the future life after death was statistically significant, while the acceptance attitude toward death by age, education level, spouse or spouseless, and economic level was not statistically significant.
Fourth, with respect to correlation with the participation in religion and acceptance attitude toward death by regions, individual religious attitude showed significantly positive correlation with uneasy attitude toward loss and acceptance attitude toward belief in the future life after death. Individual religious attitude showed significantly positive correlation with acceptance attitude toward belief in the future life after death, uneasy attitude toward loss, and acceptance attitude toward uneasiness after death in order. Finally, public participation in religion showed significantly positive correlation with acceptanece attitude toward loss, and acceptance attitude toward uneasiness after death in order.
Fifth, an effect of participation in religion by region on acceptance attitude toward death was significant and accounted for 10.6%. An effect of participation type in religion on acceptance attitude toward death was significant only in the public participation in religion.
Based on the above findings, it was revealed that hope for the future life after death in religion was greatly related to participation activities in religion and more sincerely the elderly participated in religion, more positively they accepted death, It is deemed that religion reducing uneasiness on death. Likewise, if participation activities in religion affects acceptance attitude toward death, religious groups and deemed to be places suitable for education to help the elderly prepare for death. Therefore, those religious groups should help them not be uneasy for the future life after death and have a desire for the future life after death through preparation education about death, and encourage each other not to bear uneasiness for death and loneliness by themselves and help them accept death positively.
With respect to acceptance attitude toward death by regions, it was revealed that acceptance attitude toward uneasiness for death was lower than toward belief in the future life after death or uneasiness after death and uneasiness for loss, It is deemed that they are more frightened of death process than death itself.
In addition, though death in institutional facilities such as hospital has tended to increase, considering that the elderly is deemed to have the most strong homing instinct, which wishes to is at the moment of death with their family in home, it should be required of plans to reduce uneasiness of the elderly for death. and, plans to use variables affecting acceptance attitude toward death positively in the aspect of social welfare should be prepared, and religious groups and the aged related institution should prepare development and research of many-sided programs to prepare death such that the elderly in community should prepare their death and cause them to die comfortably.