Henry,Taahir

Introduction: How does the belief or disbelief in afterlife affect the way people view and practice a religion? I picked the topic of afterlife and religion because it is a major part of most religions. Throughout history there has been great debate and curiosity as to what happens and where you go after you die. This project will hopefully make the different ideas that some religions have on after life clear. Atheism, Christianity, and Judaism will be the three groups that will be researched and compared.

Belief in afterlife is often a major part of religion that people accept because of the fear of death. Some people are uncomfortable with the thought of death being the end of life. The promise of heaven for those who do well is often the motivation for people to join a religion and follow the religious guidelines in the hopes that they will be rewarded. Some religions don’t necessarily believe in afterlife in the same way that others regard it. In religions like Christianity and Islam the is the concept of Heaven for those who do good in their time on earth, and Hell for those that disobey the guidelines prescribed by their religions.

Christianity: In Christianity there is a belief of heaven and hell amongst all Christians; however there is also a belief in purgatory that is only accepted by some. Heaven is where those who are truly faithful and believe will go. In Christianity having a strong faith in god will make acceptance into heaven more likely, because it is believed that faith is what will get you into heaven not the things you do. According to Christian religious text Hell is place where the nonbelievers will go. There is a belief that there will be a day of judgment, or the last day in which believers will be going to heaven and Jesus will appear.



The belief in heaven for the righteous has led to some major conflict in the past. Some Christians felt as though converting "nonbelievers" to Christianity would keep them from burning in hell, so in the past some christians forced Christianity on to groups of people or tried to get rid of them. An example of this occurrence is Spanish inquisition. The Roman Catholic tribunal spread through several parts of Europe. They would set up a type of committee in spots and for a set amount of time they would allow people to admit to non believing. After this set period of time ended, the committee would make claims that certain individuals were guilty of not believing the way the committee wanted them to. People that were accused of blasphemy would be tortured, locked, in dungeons, had property taken away, banished, or even killed. This extremism was partially driven by the fact that they justified their actions, because they believed those who had been converted and practiced the right form of Christianity would be rewarded with heaven in the afterlife.

=Judaism:=



In Judaism there isn’t a completely accepted idea of heaven and hell, but there is some mention of a places where the “righteous” will be allowed to regroup with the people they love and the wrongdoers will not be allowed to. In some jewish folklores there is a mention of heaven also. In judaism afterlife is referred to as the "Olam haBa". The idea of Olam haBa is not something that is key to the everyday life and worship in Judaism. There is a belief in resurrection, and or heaven/hell in some forms of Judaism, but it is a belief that is rejected by some Jews because it is not clearly stated in the Torah. It is mainly the more traditional forms of Judaism that accept the idea that death is not the end. Judaism is supposed to be more focused on this life as opposed to how you can get somewhere after dying. This might be because of what the had experienced as a people during their time in Egypt.

The hebrews were enslaved in Egypt, but eventually made a journey out of Egypt. The Torah was revealed after there time in egypt in which they experienced the obsession that Egyptians had with death and life after death. One of the most religious books in egypt during that time was the Book of the Dead. Judaism is a religion that focuses more on this life, because the Torah mentions more about this life instead of after life. The Torah prohibits Jewish priest from touching the bodies of the dead in any form. The fact that their Holy book was revealed after the time that they Jews spent in enslavement in Egypt may have played a key reason in why there isn't an explicit account of Heaven in Hell in the torah. It could have been to prevent the Jews from becoming like the Egytians.

=Atheism:= In atheism the beliefs are much different than a lot of other religions. Atheism is not a religion but more of a group. There is the belief in reincarnation held by some atheists where you will die and then be reborn somehow. The reason there is no belief in heaven or hell is because it would require some form of judgment and higher power (God) and atheism is based on the belief that god doesn’t exist. In atheism they use logic to state why they don't believe that god exists. There are beliefs in annihilation and materialism, where death is the absolute end of humanity and death will be the same as things where before being born. The thought and idea of death being final is something that most people are uncomfortable with and is why they may not accept atheism into their life. The promise of Heaven is a very comforting idea, so it could be why so many people join churches and mosques.

Judaism could be compared to atheism in the sense that the beliefs in what happens after death aren’t concrete. Judaism and Atheism also share some belief in reincarnation. The way that atheists view life and death is far different than some of the things that are taught in other religions, especially Christianity. Christianity plays on the fact that faith is important where atheism uses science and logic to justify what they believe. Atheists accept the idea that life comes to a complete end once you die, this does not mean that they welcome death or even like the idea of being dead. This does not make them pessimistic, even though this idea could make a lot of people feel that way. =Analysis:= Christianity, Judaism, and Atheism had some similarities that I didn’t know about. One example is the belief in reincarnation that is held by some Jews and atheists, this is a common belief that is shared by two really different groups. The fact that Judaism isn’t strongly focused on afterlife can be a positive thing, because then Jews may not be led to some of the extremism that has been tied to various other religions. In egyptian religion there was a large focus on death and the preparation for death. Christians during the spanish inquisition believed it was it was ok to torment those who did not readily accept Christianity because they thought the pain would be worth it if it meant they accepted Christianity and were allowed into heaven for the rest of eternity. Muslim extremists have carried out suicide attacks believing that they will be accepted into heaven. Judaism and Christianity both have a holy book that includes the guidelines for being Christian/Jewish. Atheism is based more around logic as a opposed to faith like Christianity and Judaism. It uses logic to suggest that there is no god, heaven, or hell. Traditional Judaism shares the belief in heaven with Christianity, since it’s a place where the wicked will not have access to.

=Reflection:= I am Muslim and growing up I was taught about the belief in only one god, and that there is a heaven for those who are good and hell for those who are bad. I knew that there were some similarities between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity but I learned that they had more things in common. I had learned things about judaism and Christianity from previous classes and by word of mouth, but I had never done research on the their beliefs in afterlife. I had assumed that since there were several similarities between Judaism and Islam that Judaism would have some mention of Heaven in the Torah. I learned that Christianity also believes there will be a day of judgment in which the virtuous will be admitted into heaven, Originally I thought that this was something that was only a part of Islam. I also learned that atheism has different form just like most religions do. This project was unlike any assignment I have had before and it was interesting.

=Bibliography:= "Assumption of the Virgin." maa.missouri.edu. maa.missouri.edu, 2007. Web. 10 Dec 2010. .

Fairchild, Mary. "What Does the Bible Say About Death, Eternal Life and Heaven?." christianity.about.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2010. .

Fraley, kristen. "What Do Atheists Think Of Life After Death?." positiveatheism.org. positiveatheism.org, 29/12/2001. Web. 2 Dec 2010. .

Morrow, William. "Afterlife." jewishvirtuallibrary.org. jewishvirtuallibrary.org, 1991. Web. 3 Dec 2010. .