Managing Death in the Burning Grounds of Varanasi, India: A Terror Management Investigation

Is it possible to reach a subconscious acceptance of death? Building on Terror Management Theory, the authors investigated in-group identification and cultural worldview among two groups of Hindus with naturally occurring high (N = 120) versus low (N = 120) death exposure. In each group, half were reminded about death and the other half of a control topic. Results indicated that making mortality salient increased identification with India and cultural worldview defense in the low-exposure but not in the high-exposure sample, the latter showing consistently higher levels on these variables across experimental conditions. Chronic death exposure may lead to chronic cultural worldview defense rather than a deeper acceptance of the inevitability of death.