This study aimed to determine the effects of the elderly’s participation in religious activities on their death anxiety and quality of life. The research questions for this purpose were set as follows. First, what is the relationship between the elderly’s participation in religious activities, death anxiety, and quality of life? Second, what is the effect of the elderly’s participation in religious activities on death anxiety? Third, what is the effect of the elderly’s participation in religious activities on their quality of life? Fourth, is there a difference in death anxiety depending on the characteristics of the elderly’s participation in religious activities? Fifth, is there a difference in quality of life depending on the characteristics of the elderly’s participation in religious activities? To this end, a survey was conducted using the religious activity participation, death anxiety, and quality of life scales targeting 341 elderly people who were participating in religious activities. The collected data were analyzed using statistical programs to perform descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and simple regression analysis. The results confirmed through this study are as follows. First, as a result of examining the relationship between the participation in religious activities, death anxiety, and quality of life of the elderly, religious activity participation was found to be negatively correlated with death anxiety and positively correlated with quality of life. Second, religious activity participation was found to have a significant effect on death anxiety. Third, religious activity participation was found to have a significant effect on quality of life. Fourth, as a result of examining the difference in death anxiety according to the period of religious activity of the elderly, there was no significant difference in the sub-variables of cognitive-emotional anxiety, anxiety due to the rapid passage of time, and anxiety due to physical changes, and in the entire scale. However, as a result of examining the difference in death anxiety according to the motivation for religious activity of the elderly, there was a significant difference in the sub-variable of death anxiety, cognitive-emotional anxiety, and in the entire scale. Fifth, as a result of examining the difference in quality of life according to the period of religious activity of the elderly, there was no significant difference in the sub-variables of physical, psychological, social, and living areas, and in the entire scale. The results of examining the differences in quality of life according to the motivation for religious participation in the elderly showed no significant differences in the sub-variables of the physical, psychological, social, and living areas, and the overall scale.
The significance of this study is that it confirmed the effects of religious participation on death anxiety and quality of life through a direct survey of subjects currently participating in religious activities, and obtained generalizable results.