Childhood Predictors of Belief in Life After Death across 22 Countries

Belief in life after death is one of the oldest and most widespread spiritual convictions, and it has been shown to offer various psychological benefits. Understanding the predictors of afterlife beliefs is crucial for gaining insight into religious tenets and their broader impacts on individuals and societies. This retrospective longitudinal study used the first wave of nationally representative data from the Global Flourishing Study, covering 22 countries (N = 202,898), to examine 13 potential childhood predictors of afterlife belief in adulthood. We applied modified Poisson regression to analyze how these predictors influenced afterlife belief. Random-effects meta-analyses aggregated results for the 11 common predictors across all countries. Our results indicated that religious service attendance at age 12 was the most consistent predictor of afterlife belief in adulthood. Negative early experiences—such as childhood abuse and feelings of being an outsider—along with a strong maternal relationship, were linked to higher levels of afterlife belief. Additionally, female gender were associated with an increased likelihood of afterlife belief. This study is the first to use multinational data to provide evidence that a combination of childhood factors are related to afterlife beliefs in adulthood.