This Knoblauch paper is in English and seems similar in content to the German one referenced earlier by IrGie:
The Different Experience: A Report on a Survey of Near-Death Experiences in Germany
5. Discussion
The results of the survey allow some quite clear answers to the problems posed. First, NDE seem to be a widespread phenomenon in contemporary societies, i.e. in Germany. This finding involves that a large part of the population knows the category of NDE. Despite the common knowledge of this category, the experiences people reported differed quite substantially. One may, of course, argue that this finding depends on the subjective definition of NDE. Yet, on the other hand, all notions of near-death experience depend on subjective evidences, so that one could argue that every reasonable definition of NDE must be based on a subjective definition.
In fact, the results indicate that a series of commonly held assumptions should be reconsidered. These include the assumption that NDE is linked to biological death (and the knowledge of being declared dead), the ineffability of the experience, the consequentiality of the experience or its religious meaning. More critically, the results suggest that NDEs do not exhibit a common structure. Although following certain patterns, these patterns can hardly be subsumed under one structure. For this reason, also the assumption that NDEs are a universal phenomenon seems to be at stake.
As the data indicate, NDEs do not only differ significantly between different experiencers according to several types; there are strong indications for cultural influences on NDEs. In this respect, the difference between East-German and West-German subjects would allow for the hypothesis that socio-cultural background not only affects the interpretation of NDEs but also the very content of what is being experienced. To say it in other words: the content of NDE is culturally constructed. There are further evidences for this assumption. If we scrutinise the reports on Indian (Salteaux) NDEs we find obvious differences in motives, i.e. tipi (HALLOWELL 1940); also the interpretations differ clearly, as. e.g. a comparison between American and (Marxist) Chinese NDEs shows (KELLEHEAR 1996). In addition, it has been shown that also Mormon NDEs differ in substantial ways from those described by Moody, Ring et. al. (LUNDAHL 1981-82).
This hypothesis seems also to hold with respect to religious affiliation. However, the most obvious cultural influence becomes salient if one compares the German data in toto with previously published studies, particularly on data from the U.S. (on which most of our literature review drew). Compared to American NDEs, the NDEs we found in Germany are significantly different. This difference in experience refers to:
(1) the content in terms of motives, sequences and emotional quality. Whereas American NDEs include a certain number of elements which seem to follow one another and are typically experienced as emotionally positive, the majority of German NDEs consists of one element or scene without any sequences. 50 % of all NDEers reported positive emotions, 43% negative emotions. Nevertheless there were salient differences between the population of the former two German states: in West Germany NDEs were predominantly positive (59,5 % positive vs. 28.6% negative) whereas negative NDEs prevailed in East Germany (60% negative vs.40% positive).
(2) the consequences, in terms of effects for later life. American NDEs obviously affect experiencers’ morality and lead to more or less serious changes in life. German NDE, on the other hand, only affect something like the general outlook on life without having moral consequences.
(3) their interpretation with respect to world view. Whereas American NDEs seem to strengthen religiosity and support existing religious beliefs, German NDEs are hardly considered religious at all.
Although these results indicate the importance of cultural influences, further research must try to investigate these factors in more detail. Yet, despite the importance of cultural influences, we shall not argue that NDEs are but cultural constructions. To the very contrary, it seemed rather surprising to find a large number of these experiences in a society where people had few access to knowledge about these experiences — such as the former German Democratic Republic. One could, therefore, conclude that it is not the occurrence of the NDE which is influences by culture, but its content and its interpretation.
Doug