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The vast majority of Americans embrace a belief in eternal life, and that has remained steady despite rising secularism and attacks on religion by outspoken atheists.

"In the 1976 General Social Survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they believed in a life after death," David Briggs writes this week, on his blog, Ahead of the Trend, for the Association of Religion Data Archives. "The percentage holding that belief was unchanged in the 2012 survey."

And religion plays a particularly crucial role in reducing anxiety about death, Briggs writes, pointing to research findings from three studies since 2011:

• A study of nearly 1,000 members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) looked at the relationship between religious beliefs and fears about death and dying. The survey found that "more frequent church attendance, involvement in church activities outside of worship and belief in life after death were all associated with less fear of the unknown beyond this life," Briggs reports. "More frequent prayer and Bible reading were related to lesser fear of dying in pain."

• In a survey of parents of children with life-threatening conditions, he writes, "religion and spirituality were important sources of support and comfort to most participants." Respondents said belief in an afterlife was ''reassuring,'' providing ''peace'' and ''acceptance,'' Briggs reported, and helped parents to be ''not afraid'' of their children's deaths and to 'trust in God to take care of [our child].''

• According to a study of college students and church members, he writes, "reading religious texts was related to lower death anxiety among individuals who were highly religious."

Of course, individual believers respond differently to death anxiety.

In the study of parents with ill children, Briggs writes, "some faithful parents found it helpful to express their anger toward God, but some parents moved away from their faith."

Briggs suggests that this research has practical implications for religious groups.

The results are "a reminder of how critical belief in an afterlife is to the way many members find meaning in their lives," he writes, "amid the reality of death."

Peggy Fletcher Stack