How Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religiosity Explain Differences in Attitudes and Behaviour of Euthanasia of Dutch Protestants

Research published in the years 2006 to 2021 showed that religiosity is connected to rather dismissive attitudes towards euthanasia. However, when we focus on Protestants in the Netherlands, the connections are more complex. On the one hand, some Protestants are fiercely opposed, whereas others were at the very core of the pro-euthanasia movement. Research also shows a relatively high acceptance and incidence of euthanasia among Protestants. The literature did not address the causes of diversity in Protestant attitudes towards euthanasia, nor how these differences affect euthanasia behaviour. To fill both gaps, we first conjecture that the diversity in Protestant attitudes towards euthanasia can be explained by differences in intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity. In our analysis among 609 members of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, we found that intrinsic religiosity is connected to negative attitudes towards euthanasia, whereas the social extrinsic component is associated with a more positive view on euthanasia. Second, this paper shows that the attitude towards euthanasia affects the signing of a euthanasia directive, which is one of the behavioural acts that should be performed as a condition for receiving euthanasia.