When death is a wedding night: A comparison of Sufi, mainstream Muslim, and atheist reactions to mortality salience

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to test the main claims of terror management theory through an alternative cultural worldview by focusing on Sufism, in which death is seen as a desired state for meeting God (Vuslat). Sufism is a mystical and spiritual dimension of Islam, emphasizing the inner search for a direct experience of the Divine through practices such as meditation, devotion, and worship. For this purpose, data were collected from a total of 181 participants, 60 of whom were mainstream Muslims, 60 of whom were atheists, and 61 of whom were Sufis. According to the results of a 2 (condition: mortality salience [MS] vs. dental pain) × 3 (groups: mainstream Muslim, Sufi, atheist) between-subject ANCOVA, MS led to an increase in the level of worldview defense in mainstream Muslims. However, while the level of worldview defense remained unchanged in atheists, it decreased in Sufis after MS. Additionally, in-group identification significantly moderated the effect of MS on worldview defense for mainstream Muslims and atheists; no significant moderation was observed for Sufis. A content analysis of the answers of the participants after MS revealed that positive emotions were more common in Sufis’ answers, whereas negative emotions in mainstream Muslims and no emotions in atheists dominated the answers. Sufism, in which the emotional and behavioral dimensions of religiosity predominate, seemed to buffer the sense of terror. The findings highlight the importance of focusing on different religious and cultural lifestyles, such as Sufism, when studying the management of terror.