deathbed conversion
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A deathbed conversion is the adoption of a particular religious faith immediately before dying. This could be done for a variety of
reasons: one could wish to escape the torments of hell or enjoy the paradise of heaven. Making a
Most religious leaders disapprove of deathbed conversion, considering it hypocrisy based on fear rather than true belief. Many deathbed converts lived in violation of the tenets of the religion to which they wish to convert. Many consider this a form of "hedging one's bets," similar to Pascal's Wager.
The statement "There are no atheists in foxholes" is used to imply that atheists really do believe in God deep down, and that in times of extreme stress or fear, such as when participating in warfare, the belief will surface, overwhelming the less substantial affectation of atheism.
A high-profile death bed conversion appears in the Bible with the criminal who is crucified alongside Jesus. (Luke 24:39-43) Jesus accepts his conversion, saying “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise".[1]
Another famous example is the conversion of Constantine I, emperor of the Roman Empire. He was baptised only shortly before his death in 337.
The deathbed conversion has long been a target of humor -- Voltaire, on his own deathbed, was asked by a priest to renounce Satan. Voltaire replied, "This is no time to be making new enemies."[1]
Debated individual claims
Religious believers throughout history have often claimed famous or respected non-believers (or believers in other religions) have undergone deathbed conversions to their own religion. For example, some well-known and respected Jews would be said to have converted to Christianity, partly to improve their standing and to suggest that all decent people were, at heart, Christians. Unless supported by evidence, these stories are almost invariably false and created to lend credence to one's own religious beliefs.
Charles Darwin
One famous example is Charles Darwin in the Lady Hope urban legend, in which it was claimed Darwin says: "How I wish I had not expressed my theory of evolution as I have done.", Also that he went on, to say that he would like her to gather a congregation since he "would like to speak to them of Christ Jesus and His salvation, being in a state where he was eagerly savouring the heavenly anticipation of bliss."[2] Lady Hope's story was printed in the Boston Watchman Examiner. The story spread, and the claims were republished as late as October 1955 in the Reformation Review and in the Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland in February 1957.
The account of Darwin's son: "Lady Hope's account of my father's views on religion is quite untrue. I have publicly accused her of falsehood, but have not seen any reply."[3]
From Darwin's daughter: "I was present at his deathbed. Lady Hope was not present during his last illness, or any illness. I believe he never even saw her, but in any case she had no influence over him in any department of thought or belief. He never recanted any of his scientific views, either then or earlier. We think the story of his conversion was fabricated in the U.S.A. . . . The whole story has no foundation whatever."[4]
Jean-Paul Sartre
Sartre's atheism was foundational for his style of existentialist philosophy. In March 1980, about a month before his death, he was interviewed by his assistant, Benny Lévy, and within these interviews he expressed his interest in Judaism which was inspired by Levy's renewed interest in the faith. Through Sartre's study of Jewish history he became particularly interested in the messianic idea of the faith. Some people apparently took this to indicate a deathbed conversion; however, the text of the interviews makes it clear that he did not consider himself a Jew, and was interested in the ethical and "metaphysical character" of the Jewish religion, while continuing to reject the idea of an existing God.
References
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