How Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religiosity Explain Differences in Attitudes and Behaviour of Euthanasia of Dutch Protestants

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9255487
AutoresWim Graafland (0000-0001-5210-4192, Protestant Theological University, Utrecht, the Netherlands), T Theo J Pleizier (Protestant Theological University, Utrecht, the Netherlands), A Stef Groenewoud (IQ Health, Institute for Quality of Health Care, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands), Johan J Graafland (Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM), the Netherlands), Theo A Boer (0000-0002-0026-7974, Protestant Theological University, Utrecht, the Netherlands, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Fecha de publicación2025-12-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReview of Religious Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2211-4866 • E-ISSN: 0034-673X
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0034673x251395039
OpenAlexW7113906273
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas61

Research published in the years 2006 to 2021 showed that religiosity is connected to rather dismissive attitudes towards euthanasia. However, when we focus on Protestants in the Netherlands, the connections are more complex. On the one hand, some Protestants are fiercely opposed, whereas others were at the very core of the pro-euthanasia movement. Research also shows a relatively high acceptance and incidence of euthanasia among Protestants. The literature did not address the causes of diversity in Protestant attitudes towards euthanasia, nor how these differences affect euthanasia behaviour. To fill both gaps, we first conjecture that the diversity in Protestant attitudes towards euthanasia can be explained by differences in intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity. In our analysis among 609 members of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, we found that intrinsic religiosity is connected to negative attitudes towards euthanasia, whereas the social extrinsic component is associated with a more positive view on euthanasia. Second, this paper shows that the attitude towards euthanasia affects the signing of a euthanasia directive, which is one of the behavioural acts that should be performed as a condition for receiving euthanasia

Affect (linguistics) · Diversity (politics) · Protestantism · Religiosity · Sociology of religion · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology