Necromania or the obsession with death or the dead is somewhat abnormal right? However, when someone we know or somewhat knew, dies, we get that sudden reality check that we are fragile beings. Have you ever thought about maybe how many times you missed death? Maybe if you had gone to a certain place or been somewhere at a certain time, maybe it would of truly been a “wrong time, wrong place” scenario. Have you ever thought about that?
In a 2014 study by CBS News, 14% of Americans said they think about death often while 31% only spent some time. That leaves 54% that said they didn’t think about it at all. Does the fragility of our being not cross their mind then?
Personally, the thing to become more obsessive about would definitely be what happens to the being once it is physically dead; no pulse, no heartbeat, and no longer breathing. The same article that explains the “American Views on Death” there is beliefs of the existence of heaven and hell, the belief that neither exists, and the belief that only heaven exists. This is not to say that there is anything possible outside of this. Nonetheless, whether one believes in the actual Christian biblically portrayed heaven or not, (ig not) there is always a concept of heaven of some sort. What really happens to us when we die?
I asked a bunch of millennial friends on Twitter what they thought while providing them some options that I believed most people would resonate with, especially at our age. The question, of course, was “What’s your afterlife beliefs?” The options I gave everyone were: heaven/hell, reincarnation, soul lives on, and nothing happens.
Heaven and hell, I think nobody really takes serious. It’s just something we all grew up with. It even almost seems like a myth now. At least the biblical spoken definition and descriptions of both almost never match what we have grew up with believing because there is so much outside conditioning that changes our view about it. That’s why I think it’s become so saturated in personal tainting by others that it’s just become something that we say we believe in but do we really?
Reincarnation or rebirth in terms of Hinduism and Buddhism, mostly related to the both or what some parts of the religion that some may resonate with was included because our youth finds identity and sense in this. While it may not of been a religion they grew into, there is a lot in it where they are able to connect to and follow because frankly it makes more sense than the other options and is a beautiful thing to believe in for the part after death.
The soul lives on? When our body dies, our soul doesn’t it continues to live. Whether that be constrained to just Earth bounds or beyond is up to the person that believes this. However, there is hope in this because the soul is what makes us, us. So for there to be that possibility that it will not die but continue to live is a hopeful experience.
Then there is the belief that nothing happens when one dies. Which is not only a belief that most atheists adapt but also one that is unsure of things like these in life.
The results showed that 60% believed in heaven/hell, 20% believe that the soul lives on, 12% believe that nothing happens, and 8% believe in reincarnation. This was out of 25 total participants.
So what do you believe? Do you even think of death? Is it a concern?
