A plausible reason for the dearth of non-Western NDEs?

I might point out that as time has gone on into the 21st century, atheistic materialism as the de facto pseudo religion of scientism has become more and more entrenched in our society as the prevailing belief system, one that considers spirituality and survival as superstitions, with humans being purely intelligent animals with a very temporary life having no ultimate meaning or purpose with morality entirely subjective and culturally relative. The promulgation of this nihilistic creed by the educational system and media has progressed to engrain it into every cranny of our society, starting with academia. I think these are facts of our current society.

The result of all this at least seems to me to be a general spiritual emptiness and feeling of hopelessness and despair. 

Yes, I agree ! And it's not only wrong, it's complete bullsh*t based on the piles of evidential phenomena.  We have a soul, of that I am 100 % certain, which in effect makes me a fool, according to certain philosophers. You see I remember coming here from back there, wherever that is, that's how I know 100%. NDE's (the evidence from them) would have possibly fallen slightly short of convincing me but NDE's provided the reminder. I don't think I know, I know. I don't however, expect anyone else to accept it.

possibly making NDEs a way for the powers that be to try to correct the path.

It may be so, it may not be. But they are the most persuasive evidence for substance dualism possible, I would have thought. What that substance is likely will forever remain beyond our understanding, only it's "trails" will be available to us.

I think that the learning experience is something we are all going through. I get the impression that NDEs serve the purpose of giving the experiencer a glimpse which can then be shared with the rest of us. There's a lot of talk these days about the so-called "Great Shift" in human spirituality that is either coming soon or is happening right now. Perhaps these glimpses are part of the preparation. Starting with best-selling books in the last century and then exploding into the collective psyche with the advent of the internet, I think that the old dichotomy of Science vs Religion is being overtaken. 

I remember reading the Seth books in the 1980s and there was also a prediction of a great shift sometime in the 21st century. Those books also introduced (or emphasised) the power of the mind in creating personal and collective reality. Things like visualisation and mindfulness which are now commonplace in psychology, sport and business. As I look back there does appear to have been a gradual but distinct preparatory process at work.

Now, within more restrictive belief systems such as Islam or Evangelical Christianity or Orthodox Judaism, the coming change will be resisted for sure. Perhaps that's why we are seeing the upheaval and assertion of the authoritarian powers-that-be. To paraphrase and old saying, perhaps this is the storm before the calm?

Now, within more restrictive belief systems such as Islam or Evangelical Christianity or Orthodox Judaism, the coming change will be resisted for sure. Perhaps that's why we are seeing the upheaval and assertion of the authoritarian powers-that-be. To paraphrase and old saying, perhaps this is the storm before the calm?

Could be, Dave.  My own thoughts (for what they're worth) are that currently the near death experience (not the serious research on it) is turning into a circus, sadly. The amount of 'tour guide' 'wack job' interviews with anyone and everyone who claims to have died (no questions asked) is mind boggling and will only play into the hands of sceptics.

I don't think we can live/exist here thinking about what happens when we die all the time. We have to get on with our lives and forget about the great adventure ahead, or we won't live properly (to paraphrase Jung).

It happens with christianity and other western religions

I find it interesting when people describe Christianity as a western religion.

I think that the learning experience is something we are all going through. I get the impression that NDEs serve the purpose of giving the experiencer a glimpse which can then be shared with the rest of us. There's a lot of talk these days about the so-called "Great Shift" in human spirituality that is either coming soon or is happening right now. Perhaps these glimpses are part of the preparation. Starting with best-selling books in the last century and then exploding into the collective psyche with the advent of the internet, I think that the old dichotomy of Science vs Religion is being overtaken. 

I remember reading the Seth books in the 1980s and there was also a prediction of a great shift sometime in the 21st century. Those books also introduced (or emphasised) the power of the mind in creating personal and collective reality. Things like visualisation and mindfulness which are now commonplace in psychology, sport and business. As I look back there does appear to have been a gradual but distinct preparatory process at work.

Now, within more restrictive belief systems such as Islam or Evangelical Christianity or Orthodox Judaism, the coming change will be resisted for sure. Perhaps that's why we are seeing the upheaval and assertion of the authoritarian powers-that-be. To paraphrase and old saying, perhaps this is the storm before the calm?

I was a new-ager back in the 1980s and I believed there would be a great shift in spirituality but since then I have seen the decline of such abstract DIY forms of spirituality and a rise in charismatic/evangelical Christianity among young people.  If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't put my hopes in any great shift.

I was a new-ager back in the 1980s and I believed there would be a great shift in spirituality but since then I have seen the decline of such abstract DIY forms of spirituality and a rise in charismatic/evangelical Christianity among young people.  If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't put my hopes in any great shift.

Any statistics on this based on surveys? My observation is otherwise, where the "spiritual not religious" category has been growing. And this evangelical/fundamentalist trend would have to be mainly the US not Europe, where the latter is known to be veering strongly toward secularity and materialism.

Any statistics on this based on surveys? My observation is otherwise, where the "spiritual not religious" category has been growing. And this evangelical/fundamentalist trend would have to be mainly the US not Europe, where the latter is known to be veering strongly toward secularity and materialism.

We do have a survey thread I try and upkeep, but to be honest I'm not sure what will happen regarding the growth/decline of Christianity.

There may also be too much noise to get a clear signal since you can find articles talking about decline and resurgence within months of each other. Polling has also gotten notoriously harder with questionable sampling.

I was a new-ager back in the 1980s and I believed there would be a great shift in spirituality but since then I have seen the decline of such abstract DIY forms of spirituality and a rise in charismatic/evangelical Christianity among young people.  If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't put my hopes in any great shift.

To my mind, one of the greatest dangers in the western world is evangelical Christian Nationalism as seen in the USA. So I'll keep to my own hopes (and shoes), thanks.

Any statistics on this based on surveys? My observation is otherwise, where the "spiritual not religious" category has been growing. And this evangelical/fundamentalist trend would have to be mainly the US not Europe, where the latter is known to be veering strongly toward secularity and materialism.

The thing is that it is difficult to survey these things. People tend to identify strongly if they belong to a faith group or are staunchly atheist. The last time I filled in a census I was faced with a list of religions or "no religion" so I checked that. Of course, so would an atheist. I do seem to remember a poll in the USA (either Gallup or Pew) which showed that "SBNR" is the fastest growing demographic. Similarly, this survey seems to fly in the face of Brian's assertion:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/201...apid-pace/

And here's a survey on SBNR from the same organisation:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...americans/

The thing is that it is difficult to survey these things. People tend to identify strongly if they belong to a faith group or are staunchly atheist. The last time I filled in a census I was faced with a list of religions or "no religion" so I checked that. Of course, so would an atheist. I do seem to remember a poll in the USA (either Gallup or Pew) which showed that "SBNR" is the fastest growing demographic. Similarly, this survey seems to fly in the face of Brian's assertion:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/201...apid-pace/

And here's a survey on SBNR from the same organisation:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...americans/

I found the "SNBR" poll you refer to.
 
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/...ew-survey/ :

"A growing number of Americans say they are spiritual but not religious. A Pew Research Center study (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...americans/) found these people feel they do not fit in with a religious setting.

Americans have been abandoning organized religion in droves, and while some have walked away from religion altogether, a distinct group of Americans now call themselves “spiritual but not religious.”

A Pew Research study published this week puts their numbers at 22 percent of surveyed Americans and attempts to describe them in greater detail. The study places people in the group according to their responses to this definition: “They think of themselves as spiritual or they consider spirituality very important in their lives, but they neither think of themselves as religious nor say religion is very important in their lives.”"