God’s characteristics as reported by near-death experiencers
Patrizio Tressoldi, Jeffrey Long
Qeios September 1, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.32388/2ti1t7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 303 |
| Population | Near-death or near-death-like experiencers |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | Roughly 70% of the 303 experiencers described God or Jesus mainly as a special Light and Unconditional Love, often with Oneness and Nonjudgmental qualities, similar to spiritual and mystical experience reports. Only 13.9% described them in human form. The authors argue these characteristics differ from mainstream monotheistic religious texts and that first-person accounts can aid scientific investigation of God's nature. |
Abstract
The aim of this study is to replicate Long & Perry’s (2016) God study using a more updated database and different inclusion criteria. The descriptions of God’s and Jesus’ characteristics as observed by 303 Near-death or Near-death-like experiencers were analyzed for their frequency both in the whole sample and divided by the participants’ religious experience. Both in the whole group and in the subgroups, the main observed characteristics (approximately 70%) were a special Light and Unconditional Love, associated with other characteristics such as Oneness and Nonjudgmental, very similar to the descriptions obtained during spiritual and mystical experiences. Only 13.9% of the descriptions reported God or Jesus as in human form, as represented in popular religious images. These characteristics are not commonly reported in God’s main descriptions in the texts of the main monotheistic religions. These first-person accounts of God’s characteristics complement what has been reported in other mental conditions, especially in the spiritual/mystical experiences, offering a great resource for the scientific investigation of God’s nature.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 1
Cites 7
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Near-death experiences in non-life-threatening events and coma of different etiologies Frontiers in Human Neuroscience May 27, 2014
- A Rasch scaling validation of a ‘core’ near‐death experience British Journal of Psychology May 1, 2004
- The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2020
- Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-Being Frontiers in Psychology August 19, 2021
and 2 more in the library