Are atheists better at coping with death?

"A growing body of evidence seems to support the idea that the nonreligious have an easier time coping with death than do the religious, at least with their own mortality. Religious people appear to be more afraid of death than are nonreligious people. Nonreligious people are less likely to use aggressive means to extend their lives and exhibit less anxiety about dying than do religious people. That seems remarkably counterintuitive since the nonreligious are much less likely to believe in an afterlife, which is supposed to help people cope with death. But factor in that religious people are contemplating their eternal fate and it begins to make more sense. Even if they have done everything their religion says they are supposed to do, there is always a bit of uncertainty about where they might end up. As a result, religious people appear to have a greater fear of dying than do nonreligious people."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/06/17/are-atheists-better-at-dying-than-the-religious/

Podcast interview with Ryan Cragun can be found here as well as more information on the book, What You Don't Know about Religion (But Should)