Raymond A. Moody Jr. (born June 30, 1944) is an American philosopher, psychiatrist, physician, and author. He is best known for writing books about life after death and near-death experiences (NDE), a term he introduced in 1975 in his popular book Life After Life. His research focuses on personal stories shared by people who have had near-death experiences, especially those who were thought to have died but were later brought back to life. He has written many books about what he calls near-death-experience psychology, which studies how people think and feel during these events.

Early life and education

Moody was born in Porterdale, Georgia, and was the son of a surgeon who did not believe in any religion. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966, a Master of Arts degree in 1967, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1969 from the University of Virginia. He also earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology from the University of West Georgia, which was called West Georgia College at the time. Later, he became a professor in psychology at that same institution. In 1976, he received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Georgia.

Career

After earning his M.D., Moody worked as a forensic psychiatrist at a maximum-security hospital in Georgia. In 1998, he became the chair of Consciousness Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia in 1965, Moody met Dr. George Ritchie, a psychiatrist who described an experience in which he believed he had traveled to the afterlife while being dead for nearly nine minutes when he was 20. Ritchie later wrote about this in his 1978 book, Return From Tomorrow. Moody began collecting similar stories from people who had been close to death. He found that many of these experiences had common elements, such as feeling separated from their body, moving through a tunnel, seeing deceased family members, and seeing a bright light. In 1975, Moody published these stories in his book, Life After Life, where he introduced the term "near-death experience."

In an interview with Jeffrey Mishlove, Moody shared his findings about near-death experiences. Inspired by ancient Greek practices called psychomanteums, where people would look for visions of the dead, Moody created a similar space in Alabama called the Dr. John Dee Theater of the Mind. He claimed that people could see spiritual visions by staring into a mirror in a dimly lit room, a practice known as mirror gazing.

Moody has also studied past life regression using hypnosis.

In 2023, Moody coauthored a book titled Proof of Life After Life: 7 Reasons to Believe There Is an Afterlife with Paul Perry. This book, based on nearly 50 years of research, includes real-life examples, expert opinions, and theories to argue that consciousness continues after death. It also discusses other topics, such as shared-death experiences and paranormal events.

Moody works as a Consulting Researcher at the Institute for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ISSC), where he continues to study near-death experiences and consciousness.

In 2025, the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) announced that its annual conference would be titled Life After Life: Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Near-Death Studies, to honor the 50th anniversary of Moody’s 1975 book, Life After Life.

Criticism of Moody's near-death research

Barry Beyerstein, a professor of psychology, wrote that Raymond Moody’s claims about evidence for an afterlife are not correct, both in terms of logical reasoning and real-world evidence. James Alcock, a psychologist, pointed out that Moody does not consider much of the scientific research about hallucinations and quickly overlooks the weaknesses in his research methods.

Moody has been called a "strong personal believer" in paranormal events. His research methods have been criticized by scientists because many of the reports he collected about near-death experiences (NDEs) were given by patients long after the events happened. Terence Hines said that such reports are not enough to prove the existence of an afterlife.

Paul Kurtz, a philosopher, wrote that Moody’s evidence for NDEs comes from personal interviews and stories, not from statistical studies. He also questioned whether the data can be trusted as facts, noting that there is no reliable proof that people who describe NDEs have truly died and returned, or that consciousness exists outside the brain or body.

Robert Todd Carroll, a philosopher, wrote that Moody’s work often ignores cases that do not support his ideas, which is a type of selective reporting. He explained that what Moody describes as a typical NDE may be caused by brain activity related to cardiac arrest or anesthesia. Moody believes NDEs prove an afterlife, but Carroll says they can be explained by brain chemistry and are the result of a "dying, confused, or medicated brain."

Personal life

In 1991, Moody had a near-death experience after attempting suicide. He wrote about this event in his book Paranormal. He believes the suicide attempt was caused by an undiagnosed thyroid condition that affected his mental health. During an interview in 1993, Moody said his family sent him to a mental hospital because of his work with mirror gazing.