i believe we either go to an afterlife or just return to earth as we should
our purpose is to survive as long as possible and have children
anything else is a bonus fr

We either go to heaven, hell or reincarnate as a human if we were a good human in the past life.

On the whole I think the most beautiful interpretation of life after death is just everyone being right.

To explain, I want to believe that our brain has a state after death for us just to live out what we want to believe.

To some christians it may be going to heaven, and to some maybe to reincarnate.

I think this is the nicest idea and takes away the dread of thinking about any one possibility of being true, by accepting all of them simultaneously. I guess it is quite superficial in a way but it's one of those things I think about which let me fall asleep on.

Personally, I believe there is a hell and heaven. I'm unsure specifically who goes to which but I am certain there is hell or heaven. This might seem bias, considering the fact that I'm religious myself but then again, there's been many studies and theories spoken out about the existence of God. For example, Aquinas argued that just as a clock is directed to time keeping function by the clockmaker, so is everything natural in this world is directed by in this case, God. I believe that science and religion both go hand in hand but this specific question is up to faith, what you believe in because nobody can prove what happens once you die. You make that choice for yourself. 

I believe we just go back to the void we came. I don't remember nothing before I was born, and I don't think that I will be conscious after death. That's kinda comforting as long you won't have any desires, ambitions, you will no longer suffer with the desire to have and the boredom of possessing.

The question of where we go when we die is one that has haunted human consciousness since the dawn of time. Every culture, every religion, every philosophy has grappled with the mystery of what lies beyond the final breath. Some envision paradises and punishments, others speak of cycles and rebirth, and still, others insist that death is the end—an eternal, dreamless void.

The Afterlife in Religious and Spiritual Beliefs

1. The Abrahamic Traditions: Heaven, Hell, and the Day of Judgment

In Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, the afterlife is often seen as a place of divine justice. While the specifics vary, a common thread runs through them: our deeds in life determine our fate in death.

• Christianity teaches that the soul faces judgment upon death. Those who have accepted God (through faith in Christ, in most sects) are rewarded with eternal life in heaven, a place of divine joy and communion with God. The wicked, however, face damnation—hell, a realm of eternal suffering and separation from God. Catholicism also introduces Purgatory, a temporary state where souls undergo purification before entering heaven.


• Islam presents a similar duality: Jannah (paradise) for the righteous, where rivers of milk and honey flow, and Jahannam (hell) for the sinful, a place of torment. On the Day of Judgment, all souls will be resurrected and held accountable for their actions, determining their final place for eternity.


• Judaism has a more ambiguous view of the afterlife. Some texts speak of Olam HaBa (the World to Come), a place of reward for the righteous, while others mention Gehenna, a purgatorial state of purification rather than eternal punishment. Many Jewish traditions focus more on living a good life than speculating about the next.

2. Hinduism and Buddhism: Reincarnation and Liberation

Both Hinduism and Buddhism reject the idea of a single afterlife destination, instead proposing a vast, cyclical process of rebirth.

• Hinduism teaches that the soul (atman) undergoes samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by karma (the sum of one’s actions). A soul may be reborn as a human, animal, or even a deity, depending on their deeds in past lives. The ultimate goal is moksha, liberation from samsara, where the soul reunites with Brahman, the ultimate divine reality.


• Buddhism similarly teaches reincarnation but denies the existence of a permanent soul. Instead, consciousness continues in a cycle of rebirth until one attains nirvana, the cessation of suffering and the end of existence as an individual self. Some Buddhist traditions also describe various heavens and hells, where souls may temporarily reside based on their karma.

3. Ancient and Indigenous Beliefs: The Spirit’s Journey

Many indigenous and ancient traditions describe the afterlife as a journey rather than a fixed destination.

• In Ancient Egyptian belief, the dead traveled through the underworld (Duat) and faced judgment before Osiris. If their heart was found lighter than the Feather of Ma’at, they entered Aaru, a paradise. If heavier, they were devoured by Ammit, ceasing to exist.


• Norse mythology describes multiple destinations: warriors who die in battle are taken to Valhalla, a great hall where they prepare for Ragnarok. Others go to Helheim, a shadowy realm ruled by the goddess Hel.


• Many indigenous cultures believe in a spirit world where ancestors reside, often continuing to influence the living. In some traditions, spirits return as guides, while in others, they transition to another existence beyond mortal understanding.

4. Secular and Philosophical Perspectives: Oblivion or Consciousness Beyond Death

Not all views of the afterlife are religious. Some philosophies and scientific perspectives reject the idea of life beyond death entirely.

• Materialism argues that consciousness is a product of the brain. When the brain dies, so does the self. Death is simply an end—like a candle extinguished.


• Agnosticism suggests that we cannot know what happens after death, leaving the question open-ended.


• Some philosophical perspectives, like those of existentialism, suggest that the meaning of death is determined by how we live, rather than by any afterlife.


• Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been reported by many who claim to have seen tunnels of light, encountered deceased relatives, or felt a profound sense of peace. Some take this as evidence of an afterlife, while others attribute it to brain activity during trauma.

Where Do We Go?

With so many beliefs, the answer to the question of the afterlife depends largely on one’s personal perspective. Are we reborn in a new body? Are we judged and sent to eternal bliss or suffering? Do we merge into an ultimate cosmic consciousness? Or do we simply cease to exist, as though we had never been?

Perhaps the greatest mystery of death is that we cannot know until we experience it. And by then, it will be too late to return with an answer.

I'd like to think our path after death is the same as Dante's Inferno, a mixture of surreal illusions of hell, but unfortunately, that's the idea of a grudge-holding maniac who wanted to make his enemies feel bad about themselves. Rationally speaking, we go nowhere.

I think when we die we do not go to heaven or hell our souls go to a period where it reflects on all the decisions challenges and bonds we made during our time on earth our souls will try not to go but we will be behind and clear wall that we can not pass beyond it but watch from behind we will see our loved ones come to our funerals grief abt us we will watch our bodies get buried or cremated then after a while we will be forgotten and we will be force to accept our fate until judement day comes well that just my theory.

Acho que criamos as religiões para suprir o medo do nada. As vezes é mais fácil imaginar um salvador, e um lugar 100% bom. Do que aceitar que provavelmente viemos do nada e voltaremos para o nada.

 sem contar que as principais religiões usam de falsos deuses para mascarar seus preconceitos e ideias 

Nothing tbh

Nothing tbh

away

Yo creo k nunk morimos ya k somos energia asi k aun k muramos seremos parte de este mundo

I hope that after death we become what we want but without interuppting the world (also based on what kind of human you was before death).

well, it depends

i don’t know what happens after death. it could be nothing, an eternal sleep where consciousness fades away, or perhaps it’s something more. maybe we are reincarnated, our souls cycling through different lives, learning and evolving through each one. or, maybe, once we die, that’s it no afterlife, no reincarnation, just a quiet end. i choose to accept the uncertainty, to live fully without the answers, knowing that what happens after death is something i may never understand :))

we go no where. its just black

depends, if we lead a life of holiness, fighting sin, always having confession and the Eucharist up to date and following the words of Jesus Christ, we'll go to heaven, but not everyone does that. Many people, perhaps the majority, don't do all this. For those people who have led a life of seeking according to the words of Jesus, but haven't managed to follow a path of holiness, they go to purgatory, where their sins that remain in the soul will be ripped out so that you can go to heaven (sin lodges in the soul like a parasite), there are also those people who choose to live a bad life and not follow the words of Jesus, who do the opposite, who do evil, that person who doesn't repent of carrying countless mortal sins, this person goes to hell, of their own free will, in all these cases, it is the soul that goes by choice. After death, the soul no longer has the ability to repent, so the soul that is in hell does not want to be saved, despite the horrible things in hell, and hell is not really a place either, but complete separation from God

depende ne seu sonso nao sabe usar o google 

I believe we go to Heaven when we accept Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, and if we don't believe in him we go to Hell for eternity.

nothing. we just cease to exist and thats that

As a former atheist who had regular ontological/existential crises, I now understand that my former belief that you "go nowhere after you die" is literally illogical and more presumptuous than believing in an afterlife. Why?

Believing that "nothing happens after death" from a strictly rational and objective standpoint isn't inherently stupid or illogical, as it's a conclusion often drawn from limited empirical evidence—yet, asserting this belief as an absolute truth is logically problematic for several key reasons:

1. Assumption of Consciousness as Purely Physical

- This belief hinges on the assumption that consciousness arises solely from physical brain activity.

- Conclusively declaring consciousness as purely materialistic without comprehensive evidence is thus logically premature.

- The mind-body problem remains unsolved scientifically and philosophically. While we observe correlations between brain states and consciousness, we haven't proven causation conclusively.

2. Argument from Ignorance (Appeal to Lack of Memory)

- Lack of memory does not equal absence of experience. Many periods in life are not remembered (early childhood, anesthesia, dreamless sleep), yet we unquestionably existed.

- The reasoning that "since we don't remember anything before birth, there is nothing after death" is an appeal to ignorance.

- The inability to remember experiences doesn't logically necessitate non-existence.

3. Misapplication of Empirical Limitations

- Empirical methods only test observable phenomena. If there exists an afterlife or a form of consciousness not dependent on material biology, our current instruments and methods may simply be inadequate.

- Declaring "nothing happens after death" is prematurely dismissing the possibility of phenomena beyond the scope of our current scientific instruments or knowledge.

4. Violation of Logical Neutrality (Burden of Proof)

- Assertively believing "nothing happens after death" without concrete proof shifts the burden of proof unjustifiably.

- From a strictly rational viewpoint, the default position in absence of conclusive evidence is agnosticism or neutrality, not affirmative denial.

5. Ignoring Philosophical Arguments for Continuity

- Philosophical traditions spanning millennia (Platonic ideals, Cartesian dualism, Eastern philosophies, Islamic theology, etc.) provide logical arguments for continuity of the self or consciousness after bodily death.

- Completely dismissing centuries of rigorous philosophical reasoning without a logical refutation is itself irrational.

6. Inconsistent Treatment of Unobservable Experiences

- We consistently accept many realities that cannot be directly experienced or remembered personally (historical events, others' subjective experiences, consciousness itself).

- Rejecting the possibility of an after-death state solely because it isn’t directly remembered or observed is inconsistent with how we approach other indirectly observable phenomena.

Thus, objectively and rationally, claiming absolute certainty that "nothing happens after death" is indeed illogical, because it rests on assumptions and unproven assertions rather than conclusive reasoning or evidence.

this is deeply based on your religion, as it skews your beliefs.

but generally, after you die, you don't exist, it's like before you were born. no matter what religion you have, you didn't have any real consciousness because you didn't have the potential to exist outside of your mother's womb because you are still developing during this time. so just like before you were born, after you die is exactly the same, based off of multiple scientific studies.

but, as an atheist, a theory I came up with(or didn't not sure if this is original) but I believe what you believe in is what happens after you die. multiple religions dont exist for no reason, espescially when you look at people's faith. maybe im being a bit silly, but its what I believe.

Judgment Day.

before life, there is death. i believe that whatever happens after this, we already know.

I wanted to write a response to this reply posted a couple weeks back. I'll preface by saying that I believe that everyone is free to hold their own religious beliefs — including atheism — and, in a similar vein, everyone is free to criticise the beliefs of others — including atheism — in good faith. With that said, this reply is not a good faith critique of atheism, nor is it a good critique on its own grounds. This attempt to show how atheism is completely illogical ends up blowing up in their face as they demonstrate, point by point, that they themselves cannot follow their own logic.

1. Assumption of consciousness as purely physical

I actually do agree that the mind-body problem is something that humans haven't been able to definitively solve with either philosophy or hard science; the nature of the human imagination and ideas can't be cleanly determined by simply pointing to this-or-that neuron firing off. That being said, it's perfectly reasonable to say that you cannot have consciousness without having a central nervous system. The assertion that mind and matter are totally separate and that free consciousnesses can roam around without corporeal bodies, on the other hand, relies entirely on speculation with nothing to actually prove it with.

2. Argument from ignorance (appeal to lack of memory)

The argument that if you don't remember something it never happened is obviously ridiculous. While the user is correct in saying "the inability to remember experiences doesn't logically necessitate non-existence," it doesn't logically affirm existence either. This argument goes both ways: saying that you can't disprove that there's a spiritual realm because you can't remember there not being one is equally ridiculous.

3. Misapplication of empirical limitations

Again, the user isn't wrong in saying "empirical methods only test observable phenomena," but they away the game by admitting that there is no way to actually prove that something does happen after death. We do know that the central nervous system shuts down after death, and not long after that the body starts to decompose; not only do we not know, but we cannot prove that anything beyond this happens. Declaring "something happens to our consciousness after death" is an unfalsifiable assertion with no evidence for it beyond a hypothetical scenario where consciousness exists as an independent entity — an equally unprovable claim. 

4. Violation of logical neutrality

The user asserts that there is no concrete proof of the theory that "when you die you just die," and that postulating such "shifts the burden of truth." What this glosses over is the fact that we do know exactly what happens to the body when it dies — your central nervous system shuts down, along with every other system in your body, and then you decompose. The burden of proof then falls upon the claim that something else happens in addition to this. 
Ironically, it's the user themselves who violates logical neutrality by starting their analysis from the a priori assumption that something else happens to your consciousness when you die with no concrete proof. With no way to possibly prove this theory true or false, it's a scientifically unsound theory based only on faith.

5. Ignoring philosophical arguments for continuity

I say this coming from a background in philosophy: philosophy cannot predict and does not replace science. It has an important role in society, no doubt, but it can't explain everything on its own without lapsing into baseless sophistry or solipsism. It so happens that all of the philosophical traditions the user listed are idealist philosophies, which more-or-less all posit that reality is entirely created either by the human mind or by the design of a single, higher mind. 
Also, complaining about "dismissing centuries of rigorous philosophical reasoning" is simply an appeal to tradition. Humans also thought that diseases were caused by inhaling noxious fumes for centuries; it isn't true simply by virtue of being old.
I don't understand the point about there not being a logical refutation when the raison d'être of atheism has always been the logical refutation of a higher order. 

6. Inconsistent treatment of unobservant experiences

Here the user displays that they don't understand subjectivity and objectivity. They first lump subjective experiences together with historical events and human consciousness, which are both objective phenomena whose existences can be concretely proven. They then return back to their second argument, in addition to saying that "it's inconsistent with how we approach other indirectly observable phenomena." This is true: we track indirectly observable phenomena by analysing concrete evidence of their existence through other phenomena, hence observing them indirectly. As for the user's logic, we can't even observe it indirectly because there isn't any concrete proof to observe in the first place. Lastly, they misuse the term "objective" in reference to a point-of-view, which is by definition subjective.

When all is said and done, the user fails to properly apply their own logic to their claim. I'm not saying that there aren't compelling arguments in favour of religion, but this is not one of them. 

We simply wake up. Another life is yet another day, and with that a heavy dose of humanity to keep us pushing through existence with a purpose. 

Had a talk with one of my coworkers about this. Neither of us are particularly religious but we both agree we just don't want the human experience to end. We kinda just settled on reincarnation hahaha or like a waiting room waiting to get reincarnated

I'm an atheist, so I take a secular, scientific approach to it. I think that when we die, our bodies and minds shut down. We are reclaimed by the planet. In a sense, I think that there is a life after death, because all beings are part of the same great entity. One being dies, but others live on through them. Dying is the only universal truth, and it is not a sad thing inherently. Sure, someone can die in a tragic way, but the death itself is a natural process.

I think people are too individualistic. People think of themselves as discrete beings, and when you die, there is no more "you." I think you are the same as your neighbor, your dog, the fish in the ocean, the trees. We are all made from the same components; we intermingle amongst ourselves and create new life. I think as long as there is any life on this planet, no one is truly dead, because we all contribute to the ecosystem. The remains of your body will become food for a mushroom. That mushroom will feed another organism. So on and so forth ad infinitum. I hope this makes sense haha

Heaven, Hell or Purgatory (purgatory always leads to heaven)

As a Christian, I personally believe we don't go anywhere when we die actually!!! I haven't done TOO much research. But nowhere in the Bible does it say we go to some sort of other dimension called Heaven when we die. If you do research into what the actual Greek and Hebrew words say, you will find that when the Bible talks about death, it talks about a shadowy place of nonexistence. It has more to say about the world to come, where we will be resurrected!!! A friend of mine goes more into depth here then I could!

In my opinion you go there where you belive in. The ones that belive in heaven and hell, will go there, the ones that belive in Nirvana will go there.

A movie theater

Depends on the Belief.

To science it’s nothingness. Or rather return to the earth ig.

But for me .  My shell rather return to nothing , or better yet, an olive tree.

And for my soul , let it into the underworld.

I hope I can forgive everyone by then.

We are all one but the same.

Existed in the past and shall exist for eternity more.

And we become one with everything and nothing.

There is the , we , or am ,

And our thoughts.

We wont remember or think.

But a fragment of us will forever exist

So in short .

Is death only a part of the physical body?

I'm not religious myself, but LaVeyan Satanism says that since we don't know what happens after death, we should live our lifes the best way we can as long as it doesn't hurt other people, and I completely agree with that.

I think the human need to hold on so desperately to life is the source of us immagining all those things after death. I think I have been a lot more at peace with the world and myself since I realised there is nothing waiting for me anywhere else, nor a reincarnation where I can redo my life. Just snap and it's done.

There is not the start of an hint scientifically at the possibility of an afterlife, and I haven't encountered a serious philosophical one either. 

I think the eternal recurrence in the Nietzscheian sense is the most satisfying option if we need to have something.

Instead of pushing any form of agenda like the other people in the forum, I'll give it to you straight.

No one knows what happens. Most people believe in a god, or multiple. Some people believe that everyone is connected to the universe, and others think we are reincarnated. Some people think we become ghosts and disappear once we've cleared up any unfinished business left on earth, and some people believe that there is no god(s), are agnostics (unsure what they believe in, or nihilists like me who believe everything is meaningless. In the end, it's up to you to decide what you believe in, and no once can force you to change your opinion on things.

 in my head, we would go back to being stardust. we could become anything as insignificant as a rock or become the next president. people live forever and are reborn, drifting through new lives. i have lived for millions of years and i dont remember any of it, but i dont mind at all. i like to think this way because stories, beliefs and writing are immortal and i would like people to remember me for any reason at all. i think the idea of living eternally but forever being clean is beautiful and that human life is so short and unmemorable its a nice break to think that maybe some other time i was larger than myself. 

but if you asked me to be realistic i would say i think we go into the earth and then get eaten by worms

it never hurt anybody to be a dreamer and im actually quite content not knowing where ill go once i die because its not like im remembering anyways right? whether or not i become a rock or worm food.

The most convincing NDE stories I've heard were those that were just darkness and absolute calm.  Nothing else.

I think that when you die, every physical pain and burden is lifted from you and your consciousness slips away, however quick or slowly it happens, you feel peaceful and you rest away to sleep and never wake up again.  

I'm afraid of death and it's hard to shake it because it literally is the erosion of everything that we know as living things.  Sometimes when life gets difficult I think about how eventually I'll be liberated from everything that hurts in my life at the end of it.  It's scary but it's the only guaranteed part of every living being's existence, there's nothing that can be done about it.

The only thing we know that happens when we die is the brain stops sending electric impulses. There is no evidence that anything else. It would be nice to know that all our deceased loved ones get to continue existing in the afterlife. 

There are far too many conflicting ideas of what it could even be. Across all countries, religions, and time periods. If you asked someone from Ancient Athens what they thought happened when they died, they would've told you that a person crosses the river of Styx into Hades, or ask a Mayan, and they say to bury yourself with maize to embark on the voyage to the otherworld, Xibalba.  

What afterlife are we referring to? What god? Anu? Zeus? Buddha? Allah? Yahweh? 

The definition of faith is "belief without evidence," and that's
wonderful. I respect everyone's choice to believe what they want to
believe. 

As for the Bible-- it's claims that the universe is merely 6,000 years old is not true. It's so far off, it's almost unbelievable. The universe is 13 billion years old, and the Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Every human, animal, plant is related by a microbe known as LUCA. 

There is also the kind of god that Einstein or Spinoza talked about, which simply put is the laws of the universe. There are certainly laws in the universe, and if it brings you comfort to believe that's what God is-- that's great. 

There is certainly a romantic and whimsy to the basic law of physics that "nothing can be created nor destroyed." 

The things you are made out of-- carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen are the same things that stars are made of. You are the universe. 

As Carl Sagan said, "Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality." 

When you look up at the night sky, there are stars that provoke a sense of awe and cosmic wonder. There is a humility in understanding how small you are in the universe. 

But the person you are will stop existing. There's nothing wrong with that. Were you scared before you were born? Were you conscious then? No. The only reason you fear death is because you are alive. 

Being alive is rare. There have only ever been 100 billion people that have ever been born on Earth, and 8 billion alive now. There is no one like you. You are special. You are 1 in 300 trillion, and probably rarer than that. 

If you never died, why would you feel compelled to do anything? You could simply put it off. Knowing that you are going to die someday makes you do things you want to do, it's why you tell people you love them, it's why you want to make every moment count. 

I'm comfortable knowing that nothing happens when I die. I'm more comfortable than I've ever been with it. I grew up Catholic, and it simply never felt right. I've been spiritual, I can tell you everything about tarot and astrology (I don't believe in it anymore.) 

I'm living my life how I want. I want to see the world, help others, and tell people I love them. 

I want to leave something great behind. The Greeks often spoke about something known as kleos (κλέος), or everlasting fame, that everything people do, have children and desire recognition is to be immortalized. It would be nice to achieve, but I'd also be content with being loved by my chosen few and doing what brings me joy. 

Thanks for reading <3  

im not sure where we go when we die, but I do know death isn't scary. death can be painful, but according to science, when you die the brain releases peaceful chemicals. whatever is waiting on the other side is something all of our ancestors have faced, so in that way, whatever comes next, we can know we aren't alone. 

that doesn't answer the question but it helped me with death. for me I believe in reincarnation because of the case of Dorothy Eady among others. its not far-fetched when we consider that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. everything that is there was always there and will always be there, no matter the form. 

I was thinking the other day that in the case of Eady, she regained her memories of a past life after a head injury, leading me to believe that memory is not associated with a brain. this could mean something like a soul exists, with hidden traumas and memory. 

sorry for going off-topic, I just like this subject in general and think its very interesting.

although i'm buddhist, i don't really believe that reincarnation takes place. personally, i view humans not too far off from animals (other than critical thinking & such). with this logic, i believe we return back to nature; i believe that whenever we die, our life is done and doesn't "continue" into another dimension and/or realm like heaven or hell. The reason as to why i have this way of thinking is because it stumps me to believe that dogs/other animals are not able to follow the bible, or anything like that, so where do they go? to me, they go right back to nature. since this process happens with animals, i use this logic and apply it to humans:) i disagree with religions that uses fear tactics (such a hell) in order to scare their followers into following a set of rules, and then rewarded with something that has no proof to be real. 

The same place where we were before being born... Nowhere. Consciousness ceases to exist. 

I used to believe in heaven and God, but all the evidence points to just death...and that's ok, scary but ok.

I go by: love who you love and love them well, be kind and make earth a better place. then when you die you may die happy and loved. nothing is guaranteed 

we die and go to the grave, then eventually during the second coming are resurrected and judged by god, if deemed worthy heaven, if deemed sinful, deystroyed.

you won't find out up until you die, so why obsess over it? focus on life now, enjoy stuff, make the world a better place, you will never experience the same life ever again