Death and Religion

Death is a constant part of life. No matter what we do the threat of death is always there. Death symbolizes the unknown, the permanent end of something. Death is beyond our comprehension, nobody really knows what happens when we die. That being said, we all have theories of what happens when we die. Those theories help us cope with the inevitable end to our existence. One of the things that people turn to, is religion.

Death is an important part of religion, without the threat of death, I don’t think that religion would be able to maintain its existence in society. At least not our current idea of religion. I believe that religion was created to instill morality into humanity. The idea of heaven and hell was created to keep people in check, and motivate them to be good. People are good with the hope of making it to heaven, and fear that doing otherwise will evoke God’s wrath. Whether that be in our current reality, or in the after life. Religion helps some people accept the bad, and even evil things that humanity does on a daily basis. They believe that the good people will eventually get rewarded, while the bad people will eventually get punished.

Religion helps instill in us the idea that everything happens for a reason, that everyone has a purpose, including their death. This helps the people that follow a religion cope with tragic things that happen in life. Whether that be someone close to them dying, or getting into a bad accident of some kind. They can bounce back from these tragedies with the belief that it’s God’s way of sending a message to them, and that they can learn from those events and become a better person from them. It also helps them accept their own death when it comes to that point.

Religion helps people cope with death with the idea of an afterlife. People can accept someone close dying to them because they “went on to a better place.” This belief also translates to how they view their own death. Their faith in God, or other higher power, leads them to believe that death is the beginning of something better. In a way it’s like this belief is saying that life is a tryout for the afterlife.

Religion is a good way of coping with death. It gives a more optimistic view than pretty much every other when it comes to death. That being said, I don’t agree with it. I believe that when we die there’s nothing after. However, I understand the value of religion. Especially as it relates to death.