Life after death
Life after death is a fundamental belief in most religions. What form life after death takes is different in each religion and sometimes there is a difference of belief between members of the same religion. Some people without a religious belief also believe in life after death and some believe that there is no sort of existence after death.
Ways of thinking about life after death include:
- reincarnationThe religious belief that existence is a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth, and that the soul survives physical death and is reborn in a new body.
- resurrectionChristian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after the crucifixion; the rising from the dead of believers on the Last Day; the new, or risen, life of Christians.
- rebirthThe belief that some part of a person (perhaps their energy) passes into a new life form after death.
- immortality as a legacyThe belief that there is no actual life after death, and that we will only exist in what we leave behind.
- immortality as a memory of othersThe belief that there is no actual life after death, and that we will only exist in the memories of family and friends.
- nothingThe belief that after death there will be nothing. This is a view held by many atheists.