Do Atheists Have Near-Death Experiences?

Peter Fenwick describes some features that the near-death experiences of atheists have.

An excerpt from "Experiencing Death: An Insider's Perspective" featuring Steve Paulson, Sam Parnia, Mary Neal, Kevin Nelson, and Peter Fenwick.

The New York Academy of Sciences
Wednesday, December 11, 2013

[jazzcabbage]

I had an NDE, there was no Jesus or dead relatives but there was an awesome feeling of love and peace and there was something there that I was becoming. It was a really nice experience although also terrifying because when I came back i was SO confused because I was an athiest ex catholic so I thought, why didn't I go to hell or experience nothing? Now I pretty much think individual consciousness is just a state we're in when alive. When we're dead I think we just merge into the entire universe and experience ego death which is a beautiful feeling although the start of it is horrific as we naturally fight for our individual self. If anything it taught me, be kind to other sentient beings because the self is temporary.

[prairiedog]

My NDE had nothing to do with religious themes. The experience was very mysterious indeed with "unbelievable" music and peace and recognition that i was loved universally. To be responsible first to other people seemed to be the take-away. I had the choice of dying or going catatonic in order to remain in that desireable state of being but i realized that either decision would disrupt the lives of others, especially my younger siblings.

[JBlover]

I’m atheist (the hate begins) I died once. From alcohol poisoning . I flat lined three times and they had to use the electric things on my chest and cpr. There was numerous tubes attached to me. But the things I remember from that night is not heaven or god, it’s my father. I lost my dad April 2017 and this happened to me August 2017 - I was 16 at the time and the last couscious moment I can remember is laying on the ground, then there were all my thoughts like everything I ever thought about was being drawn out for me then my dad walked up to me said that I had more living to do and I’ll get to see him again, something like that . then he walked away. This sounds like bs and maybe it was the coma but after that I was floating, and there was a bright light behind me and it was too bright to look at so I kept looking at darkness but by far that was the most peaceful moment of my life, I felt like I was in space and there was no gravity . But my point being is that I don’t think there’s a god or anything, I think there’s a somewhat greater power, but I don’t think it goes by the name god or Jesus, plus I don’t even think it’s a white man either like typical for the human race to make god a white man lol

[junevandermark]

Many Atheists were raised in religious settings, and those thoughts are still very much a part of them, whether or not they believe the thoughts to be credible. If, as children, we were indoctrinated by the following information, rather than being taught that suffering for wicked souls exists in a supposed afterlife, we would not have any fear of death. From the book Medicine Madams and Mounties … Stories of a Yukon Doctor * 1933-1947 … Death is the final sleep … The Indians I met were used to death and dying. They saw it daily as they slaughtered and trapped animals for their livelihood. For them everything had its time, ending in death, and they could not understand our fear of dying. “Why do white people fear death?” they often asked me. “Nobody fears the onset of the unconsciousness called sleep yet you are afraid of the final sleep, death.”

[sarbnitrof]

Lacking a belief in the supernatural doesn't mean we can't have near death experiences, it just means we have to be honest about how meaningless they are.