Why do christians have a fear of dying and athiests dont?
Fear of death is very common, regardless of a person’s religion. Death is frightening if you are happy with your existence, your relationships, the world, etc — nobody, unless depressed, or an devout believer in afterlife, wants to end their experience in this life. I think some atheists can discuss the subject of death more acceptingly, because they realize it is a guaranteed part of the process of life, not because they don’t fear it. I am an atheist by definition, and I COMPLETELY fear death; although I feel very strongly that there is no afterlife and reincarnation, more so than in my atheism sometimes. I only fear leaving all of the wonderful people and indulgences that the earth has to offer, but it is a natural process and I accept that.
That statement is overgeneralized. I am an atheist, and I definitely fear death. I think about it quite a lot (given the fact that I have been learning about Socrates, and Buddhist and Hindu views on death), and I think that any person, Christian or not, would be well-justified in their fear of death. Unlike most things, we have no clue as to what death may be like. Even as an atheist, I cannot simply say that death is final, the absolute end. I have no reason to believe that, because there is no evidence to support it. Likewise, everyone, whether or not their spiritual beliefs provide them with an answer as to what death may be like, has some degree of doubt on this topic. Having doubt frightens us. Sometimes it makes us cling even more closely to our personal beliefs (as when people cling to religion when they are not even entirely sure that what they believe in is true), but in some cases, such as this, it instills fear or even dread of the unknown.
