Different Kinds of Near-Death Experience: A Report on a Survey of Near-Death Experiences in Germany

A representative survey in Germany, the first of its kind in Europe, found that near-death experiences (NDEs) are more diverse than previously thought. Among more than 2,000 respondents, 4 percent reported having an NDE. The patterns of these experiences did not match earlier findings: they varied widely and were influenced by cultural factors, especially religious interpretations and differences between post-socialist East Germany and West Germany. This challenges the assumptions that NDEs follow a unified pattern, are universal across cultures, and are necessarily linked to clinical death.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article provides a short summary of a representative survey on near-death experiences (NDEs) in Germany, which is the first of its kind in Europe. We tested several assumptions derived from previous research on NDEs, including the assumptions of a unified pattern of experience, the universality of the pattern, and the necessary link between NDEs and clinical death. We received replies from more than 2,000 persons, 4 percent of whom reported NDEs. The patterns of the NDEs did not seem to correspond to earlier findings: aside from being much more diverse, they also differed with respect to cultural variables, particularly the difference between religious interpretations and the differences between post-socialist East Germany and West Germany.