Abstract

MODERATIONAL ROLE OF AFTERLIFE BELIEF IN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOSITY AND APEIROANXIETY

Fear of infinity or aerophobia in terms of rational fear is known as apeiroanxiety. Islam has emphasized a lot upon the infinity of afterlife including infinite rewards and infinite punishments. More often it is observed that more religious a person becomes, more knowledge of its teachings he gains and hence a clear understanding of infinite afterlife is made which is most often a source of fear and anxiety for most of the people. The present study was aimed at exploring the role of afterlife belief in relationship between religiosity and apeiroanxiety among Muslims. The study was conducted using correlational survey research design where convenient sampling technique was used for data collection. Sample comprised of 800 Muslim participants. Self-report measures were used including Apeiroanxiety Scale, Positive and Negative subscales of Afterlife Belief Scale for Muslims and Short Muslim Practice and Belief Scale Urdu version to measure apeiroanxiety, afterlife belief, and religiosity.  Findings of the study revealed that religiosity had significant positive relationship with apeiroanxiety (r=0.15**). Results also showed significant results for the interactional effect of positive afterlife belief and religiosity which means moderation occurred. The significant moderation showed that positive relationship between religiosity and apeiroanxiety is weakened by positive afterlife belief. Whereas non-significant results for the interactional effect of negative afterlife belief and religiosity were found which means no moderation occurred by negative afterlife belief. Finally, conclusion, limitations and suggestions, and implications were discussed.

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