Afterlife

Ancient Egyptian papyrus depicting the journey into the afterlife. The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch , depicting the paradise and the hell For other uses of "Afterlife," "After death," and "Life after death," see Afterlife (disambiguation) . In many popular views, this continued existence often takes place in an immaterial or spiritual realm . Major views on the afterlife derive from religion , esotericism and metaphysics . Deceased persons are usually believed to go to a specific plane of existence after death, typically believed to be determined by a god, based on their actions during physical life. In contrast, the term afterlife refers to another life in which only the "essence" of the being is preserved, and "reincarnation" is another life on Earth or possibly within the same universe.

In philosophy , religion , mythology , and fiction , the afterlife (also referred to as life after death or the Hereafter ) is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself (whether physical or transcendental ), in which an essential part of an individual's identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body in the individual's lifetime. According to various ideas about the afterlife, the essential aspect of the individual that lives on after death may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit , of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural , is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death . In some popular views, this continued existence often takes place in a spiritual realm, and in other popular views, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld . Major views on the afterlife derive from religion , esotericism and metaphysics . Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition , hold that the dead go to a specific plane of existence after death, as determined by a god , gods, or other divine judgment , based on their actions or beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation , such as those in the Indian religions , the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life, rather than through the decision of another being.

Existential term in philosophy, religion, mythology, and fiction For other uses, see Afterlife (disambiguation) . "After death", "Life after death", and "Hereafter" redirect here. By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e The afterlife (also referred to as life after death or the world to come ) is the belief that the essential part of an individual's identity or the stream of consciousness continues after the death of the physical body. According to various ideas about the afterlife, the essential aspect of the individual that lives on after death may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit , of an individual, which carries with it and may confer personal identity or, on the contrary nirvana . Belief in an afterlife is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death . In some views, this continued existence often takes place in a spiritual realm, and in other popular views, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld . Major views on the afterlife derive from religion , esotericism and metaphysics . Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition , hold that the dead go to a specific plane of existence after death, as determined by God , or other divine judgment , based on their actions or beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation , such as those in the Indian religions , the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life.

Purported continued existence after death Several terms redirect here. By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity. Belief in an afterlife is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death . In some views, this continued existence takes place in a spiritual realm, while in others, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld . Major views on the afterlife derive from religion , esotericism and metaphysics . Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition , hold that the dead go to a specific place (e.g. Paradise ) after death, as determined by God , based on their actions and beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation, such as those in the Indian religions , the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life. Near-death experience expert says he’s proven there is an afterlife ‘without a doubt’ .

Purported continued existence after death Several terms redirect here. ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) A depiction of Idris visiting Heaven and Hell from a Persian illuminated manuscript version of the Islamic text Stories of the Prophets (1577) By religion Abrahamic Baháʼí Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Mandaeism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Wicca Theories of religion Acosmism Agnosticism Animism Antireligion Atheism Creationism Dharmism Deism Divine command theory Dualism Esotericism Exclusivism Existentialism atheist Christian Feminist Fundamentalism Gnosticism Henotheism Humanism Christian religious secular Inclusivism Monism Monotheism Mysticism Naturalism humanistic metaphysical religious New Age Nondualism Nontheism Pandeism Panentheism Pantheism Perennialism Polytheism Process Secular Shrine Theory Shendao shejiao Spiritualism Shamanism Taoic Theism Transcendentalism Philosophers of religion Related topics Criticism of religion Ethics in religion Exegesis Faith and rationality History of religions Natural theology Religion and science Religious philosophy Theology v t e The afterlife or life after death is a postulated existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity. In some views, this continued existence takes place in a spiritual realm, while in others, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again in a process referred to as reincarnation , likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld . Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism , and metaphysics . Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition , hold that the dead go to a specific place (e.g., paradise or hell ) after death, as determined by their god, based on their actions and beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation, such as those of the Indian religions , the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life.