A Survey
Please read the Consent Form and Form Instructions (see below) prior to completing the form
Post
Religious/Spiritual Perspectives in Near-Death Experiences
A Survey
Please read the Consent Form and Form
Instructions (see below) prior to completing the form
 | Spiritual Transcendence, which represents the ability of a person to stand outside of his/her immediate sense of time and place and to view life from a larger, more objective perspective. |
| Image of God, which represents a feeling of belonging, fundamental goodness and a sense of control regarding one's relationship with God or the Divine. |
| Religious/Spiritual Coping, which seeks to understand the ways people use religion and spirituality to cope in times of personal stress. |
In addition to submitting your NDE on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation web-site, you will be asked to complete these three validated standardized questionnaires. It will take between 45 minutes-1 hour to complete these materials. The submitted questionnaires will be downloaded into a separate secured file where all data for the study will be collected. The file will be destroyed once it is no longer needed.
This study will not be a physical or social risk. However, in the event that any disturbing details emerge either from recalling events that led up to the NDE or the actual NDE itself, you are asked to contact one of the researchers, your health-care provider, and/or your spiritual advisor to help further process these feelings.
If you have any questions prior to completing the questionnaires, you may contact either Dr. James A. Houck at 610-998-9264 (houckj@neumann.edu), or The Institutional Review Board at Neumann College (www.neumann.edu/about/IRB).
By submitting this form you give your permission to be included in the study.
Date and time of submission will be recorded with your completed questionnaires.
Form Instructions
1. While we
greatly appreciate your participation in this survey, we regret there can be
no monetary compensation.
2. Please fill out the
form below as completely and accurately as you can. Please carefully
consider all alternative responses prior to selecting a response.
Please do not complete this form unless you have previously shared your
experience with the Near Death Experience Research Foundation and you
personally received an e-mail inviting you to this survey.
3.
In the following questions, please select the radio button above your
response. If you change your mind, you may select a different radio
button in response to the question. Only one response to each question
is allowed.
4. All questions
require responses. This is very important' you will not be
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5.
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Your
willingness to complete this survey is vital to the success of this
project. We express our heartfelt thanks in advance to those willing
to share!
THANKS!!!
Survey Questions:
You are:
Female
Male
Where do you currently live? (city or county, state, country if not
U.S.A.):
Age at time of the NDE:
Age now:
Your occupation/career at the time of the NDE:
Your occupation/career currently:
Your current religion (select one):
Catholic
Presbyterian
Methodist
Baptist
Muslim
Buddhist
Hindu
Pentecostal
Jewish
None
Other
If "Other", Please describe:
Please describe the most significant impact your NDE has had on you:
A. Please read
each question carefully, and indicate your answer by selecting one of the
preferences for each question:
1. In the quiet of my prayers and/or meditations, I find a sense of
wholeness.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
2. I have done things in my life because I believed it would please a
parent, relative, or friend
that had died.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
3. Although dead, memories and thoughts of some of my relatives continue to
influence my
current life.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
4. I find inner strength and/or peace from my prayers and/or meditations.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
5. I do not have any strong emotional ties to someone who has died.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
6. There is no higher plane of consciousness or spirituality that binds all
people.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
7. Although individual people may be difficult, I feel an emotional bond
with all of humanity.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
8. My prayers and/or meditations provide me with a sense of emotional
support.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
9. I feel that on a higher level all of us share a common bond.
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
B. Please read
each question carefully, and indicate your answer by selecting one of the
preferences for each question:
1. When I obey the rules, God makes good things happen for me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. I imagine God to be rather formal, almost standoffish.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
3. I am sometimes anxious about whether God loves me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
4. Asking God for help rarely does me any good.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5. I am confident of God's love for me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. God does not answer when I call.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
7. I know I'm not perfect, but God loves me anyway.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. The voice of God tells me what to do.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
9. I have sometimes felt that I have committed the unforgivable sin.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
10. Even when I mess things up, I know God will straighten them out.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
11. God never challenges me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
12. Thinking too much could endanger my faith.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
13. I think of God as more compassionate than demanding.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
14. I get what I pray for.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
15. I can feel God deep inside of me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
16. God's love for me has no strings attached.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
17. God doesn't feel very personal to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
18. No matter how hard I pray, it doesn't do me any good.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
19. Even when I do bad things, I know God still loves me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
20. I can talk to God on an intimate basis.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
21. What happens in my life is largely a result of the decisions I make.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
22. I think God even loves atheists.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
23. God nurtures me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
24. I get no feeling of closeness to God, even in prayer.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
25. God loves me only when I perform perfectly.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
26. God loves me regardless.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
27. God takes pleasure in my achievements.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
28. I can't imagine anyone God couldn't love.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
29. God keeps asking me to try harder.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
30. God is always there for me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
31. I get no help from God even if I pray for it.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
32. Being close to God and being active in the world don't mix.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
33. God can easily be provoked by disobedience.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
34. I often worry about whether God can love me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
35. God is in control of my life.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
36. God wants me to achieve all I can in life.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
37. I am a very powerful person because of God.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
38. God will always provide for me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
39. I think God mostly leaves people free.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
40. If God listens to prayers, you couldn't prove it by me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
41. God is looking for a chance to get even with me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
42. God's mercy is for everyone.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
43. God's love for me is unconditional.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
44. I know what to do to get God to listen to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
45. God asks me to keep growing as a person.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
46. I think God only loves certain people.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
47. God almost always answers my prayers.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
48. God doesn't want me to ask too many questions.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
49. God doesn't do too much to determine the outcome of my life.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
50. God lets the world run by its own laws.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
51. Even if my beliefs about God were wrong, God would still love me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
52. I am not good enough for God to love me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
53. God's compassion knows no religious boundaries.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
54. I sometimes feel cradled in God's arms.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
55. God has never asked me to do hard things.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
56. Running the world is more important to God than caring about people.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
57. I often feel that I am in the hands of God.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
58. I don't think my faith gives me any special influence with God.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
59. Mostly, I have to provide for myself.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
60. I am particularly drawn to the image of God as a shepherd.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
61. God feels distant to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
62. I think human achievements are a delight to God.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
63. I rarely feel that God is with me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
64. I feel warm inside when I pray.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
65. I am pretty much responsible for my life.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
66. God rarely if ever seems to give me what I ask for.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
67. I think God must enjoy getting even with us when we deserve it.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
68. God encourages me to go forward on the journey of life.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
69. God sometimes intervene at my request.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
70. God never reaches out to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
71. God doesn't mind if I don't grow very much.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
72. I sometimes think that not even God could love me.
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
C. Please read
each question carefully, and indicate your answer by selecting one of the
preferences for each question:
1. Saw my situation as part of God's plan.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
2. Tried to find a lesson from God in the event.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
3. Tried to see how God might be trying to strengthen me in this situation.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
4. Wondered what I did for God to punish me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
5. Decided that God was punishing me for my sins.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
6. Felt punished by God for my lack of devotion.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
7. Believed the devil was responsible for my situation.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
8. Felt the situation was the work of the devil.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
9. Decided the devil made this happen.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
10. Questioned the power of God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
11. Thought that some things are beyond God's control.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
12. Realized that God cannot answer all my prayers.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
13. Tried to put my plans into action together with God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
14. Worked together with God as partners.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
15. Tried to make sense of the situation with God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
16. Did my best and then turned the situation over to God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
17. Did what I could and put the rest in God's hands.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
18. Took control over what I could, and gave the rest up to God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
19. Didn't do much, just expected God to solve my problems for me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
20. Didn't try much of anything; simply expected God to take control.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
21. Didn't try to cope; only expected God to take my worries away.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
22. Pleaded with God to make things turn out okay.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
23. Prayed for a miracle.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
24. Bargained with God to make things better.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
25. Tried to deal with my feelings without God's help.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
26. Tried to make sense of the situation without relying on God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
27. Made decisions about what to do without God's help.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
28. Sought God's love and care.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
29. Trusted God would be at my side.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
30. Looked to God for strength, support and guidance.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
31. Prayed to get my mind off of my problems.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
32. Thought about spiritual matters to stop thinking about my problems.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
33. Focused on religion to stop worrying about my problems.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
34. Confessed my sins.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
35. Asked forgiveness for my sins.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
36. Tried to be less sinful.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
37. Looked for a stronger connection with God.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
38. Sought a stronger spiritual connection with other people.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
39. Thought about how my life is part of larger spiritual force.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
40. Wondered whether God had abandoned me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
41. Voiced anger that God did not answer my prayers.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
42. Questioned God's love for me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
43. Avoided people who weren't of my faith.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
44. Stuck to the teachings and practices of my religion.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
45. Ignored advice that was inconsistent with my faith.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
46. Looked for spiritual support from clergy.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
47. Asked others to pray for me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
48. Looked for love and concern from the members of my church.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
49. Prayed for the well-being of others.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
50. Offered spiritual support to family or friends.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
51. Tried to give spiritual strength to others.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
52. Disagreed with what the church wanted me to do or believe.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
53. Felt dissatisfaction with the clergy.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
54. Wondered whether my church had abandoned me.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
55. Asked God to help me find a new purpose in life.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
56. Prayed to find a new reason to live.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
57. Prayed to discover my purpose in living.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
58. Tried to find a completely new life through religion.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
59. Looked for a total spiritual reawakening.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
60. Prayed for a complete transformation of my life.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
61. Sought help from God in letting go of my anger.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
62. Asked God to help me overcome my bitterness.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
63. Sought God's help in trying to forgive others.
A great deal
Quite a
lot
Somewhat
Not at all
D.
For each question, please indicate which answer comes closest to what you
experienced during your NDE:
1.
Did time seem to speed up?
Time
seemed to go faster or slower than usual
Everything
seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
No
2. Were your thoughts speeded up?
Faster
than usual
Incredibly
fast
No
3. Did scenes from your past come back to you?
I
remembered many past events
My
past flashed before me, out of my control
No
4. Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?
Everything
about myself or others
Everything
about the universe
No
5. Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness?
Relief
or calmness
Incredible
peace or pleasantness
No
6. Did you have a feeling of joy?
Happiness
Incredible
joy
No
7. Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe?
I
felt no longer in conflict with nature
I
felt united or one with the world
No
8.
Did you
see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light?
An
unusually bright light
A
light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin
No
9. Were your senses more vivid than usual?
More
vivid than usual
Incredibly
more vivid
No
10.
Did you
seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere, as if by ESP?
Yes,
but the facts have not been checked out
Yes,
and the facts have been checked out
No
11. Did scenes from the future come to you?
Scenes
from my personal future
Scenes
from the world's future
No
12.
Did you feel separated from your physical body?
I
lost awareness of my body
I
clearly left my body and existed outside it
No
13. Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world?
Some
unfamiliar and strange place
A
clearly mystical or unearthly realm
No
14.
Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence?
I
heard a voice I could not identify
I
encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly
origin
No
15.
Did you see deceased spirits or religious figures?
I
sensed their presence
I
actually saw them
No
16. Did you come to a border or point of no return?
I
came to a definite conscious decision to 'return' to life
I
came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was 'sent back'
against my will.
No
Thanks!!!
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