The Importance of Religious Orientation and Purpose in Life for Dying Well: Evidence from Three Case Studies

ABSTRACT. As older adults approach the end of their lives, it is not uncommon to find a decrease in subjective well-being. However, a num-ber of studies have indicated that elders with an intrinsic rather than extrinsic religious orientation often are able to keep a high level of sub-jective well-being even if they are close to death. In a previous quantita-tive study, only intrinsic religiosity was indirectly and positively related to subjective well-being in a sample of 103 relatively healthy olde