Death is the greatest mystery known to humans. There are a total of 4,200 religions on this planet. That is 4,200 different beliefs on what happens after death. Thousands of religions and there are still millions of people who have the fear of not knowing. One of the many questions asked is whether or not is religion will influence what happens after death. Many of these people feel pushed into believing in the religion parents and family did. Mediums are a way to put individuals’ minds at ease when it comes to the afterlife and loved ones who have passed.
Thanatophobia is fear of death. Thanatophobia is a very common phobia that comes in different forms, most people are afraid of dying, some people fear being dead, while others are afraid of not knowing is there actually is another life after death. Many people who struggle with the fear of death find it difficult to talk about. A ComRes survey from 2014 found that eight in ten people are uncomfortable talking about death.
This may be because the fear of death is tied to religious beliefs, this happens if one is going through a period of questioning. Some people think that they know what will happen after death, but worry that they may be wrong. The overwhelming possibilities of life after death, it causes many people to be left in a hole of questions and anxiety.
The fear of death questions the view that life on earth is just a small piece of the existence of eternal life.
When this happens, one could be able to decrease the fear of death by believing that they have discovered the right religion that will ensure the afterlife will be enjoyable. Humans all try to fill the void of that feeling by believing in a higher power of some sort that will assure internal happiness. People who are highly intelligent and inquisitive are often at greater risk for this type of thanatophobia. Ones who are more open-minded and feel the need of proof before believing have a hard time choosing one of the 4,200 religions. The fear of not knowing is drastically more common in Eastern culture, whereas in Western culture tend to act like death does not exist. The East Asian philosophy is death is to believe that where life cannot exist without death – allows people to use death as a reminder to cherish and enjoy life in the present moment instead of worrying about the unknown.
When someone is having doubts about what happens after death, and a close loved one passes away, they may start questioning and feel the need for answers. Some people turn towards mediums to answer the questions they have to ease their fear. Mediums are humans who use psychic or intuitive abilities to communicate with spirits. They rely on the presence of non-physical energy outside of themselves for the information relevant to the person being read. However, the communication given to the medium comes with the presence of the family member. It is believed the soul of the passed human travels with the people who are still alive on earth. There are many life-changing experiences people have been through when visiting a medium. Everyone goes to visit a medium for different reasons, whether it is for finding out if a loved one is okay or to get reassurance on proof of an afterlife.
Cathy DeBaker, a medium in Green Bay, Wisconsin has this gift to communicate with the passed over by feeling and hearing the souls. After visiting and interviewing Cathy at her office she explained what it is like to be a medium for a career. She has been able to hear and feel the presence of people since she was a young girl. She says she is thankful to be able to reconnect and set some minds to ease about loved ones. Aside from that, she talk about how there are always spirits trying to communicate with her all day every day. She talked about how many people want to talk to her for her to prove to them that heaven is real. When this happens, people have put odd objects outside the building or hide a piece of jewelry during the session to see if she would know. The most enjoyable part of her job is seeing the emotion of people when they get the closure they were looking for. She deals with a lot of people who suffer from Thanatophobia. From mediums to believing in a specific religion, the truth is the fear of death resulted in religion and we may never know what life is like after death.
Alongside of the fear of not knowing, another huge mystery is whether or not is religion will influence what happens after death. Every religion believes in a higher power and individual thoughts on what happens afterlife. If every religion believes in a different form of god and different afterlives, who is right and who is wrong? Is there no right or wrong? Which also leads to the unknown feeling most people get when they think of death. The limited range of possibilities for life after death is due to the fear of death. People choose to believe in a higher power to fill the void of not knowing so one can comfortably live life until that moment. If everyone passes and nobody knows what happens factually, one would think we would all end up in the same place. However, with so many religions and beliefs, that brings people to think that there could be more than one god and more than one heaven or destination after death. The differences between each religion is hard to comprehend.
Most Christianity religions believe in the system of behavior, to believe in Jesus, act good, and receive heaven or to sin and get sent to hell. On the other hand, other religions such as Buddhism believe in Hindu doctrines that believe in recreation. Judaism focuses more on the time you spend on earth, to enjoy and cherish current life. They choose to let themselves believe in what they wish. In other religions such as Islamic, they believe in that death is the end of physical life and the beginning of a period of rest until the individual resurrects. If one person can practice Christianity and believe that they are going to heaven or hell when they pass and another that practices Islam and its internal rest till the resurrection, is that truly what will happen if that’s what we believe? Many people chose to lean towards the belief that what they believe will happen, if one believes in heaven, their soul will rise to heaven, if they believe in resurrection, they will resurrect.
Many kids and young adults grow up believing in their family’s religion because they are grown to believe that it is the correct choice. With that being said, it doesn’t allow the young population to expand their mind onto other beliefs and or religions. When kids are sent to Sunday school and church every week, people are blind to see that in a way it is forcing them to believe in what they are told. It takes time and experience to decide who one is and what to believe in. However, whether they like it or not they are influenced to believe in the only religion they know about. What if parents allowed the youth to decide what they want to believe in.
It might take life experience to understand it better but at the end of the day everyone will believe in what we personally think instead of being suggested what to do. According to The Future of World Religions, 106,110,000 people have switched out of the catholic religion, 630,000 Jewish, and 250,000 Hindus have switched religion. Obviously, Christianity has a much more drastic drop in rates. Children should be raised to behave well at the same time have the freedom to be educated on different religions. Aside from this it is also to be kept in mind that religion is dependent on culture. This relates to where one lives. If someone does not live in a region where Christian is the primary religion, the majority of the time, one will not be Christian.
Each culture has a different view of the world, universe, and life after death. In Wisconsin, Christianity is believed by 44% of the state’s population, following 25% undecided and the remaining small percents are people who follow Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In conclusion, life after death will always be unknown to mankind, the fear of not knowing leads people to believe in a specific religion, question humanity, and lean towards mediums to sooth the frustration and confusion about the biggest mystery of them all. But what is truly important and most relevant of all is to live life as it is the last, and try hard not to fear what one cannot control.
Life After On Death. (2021, Dec 14). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/life-after-on-death/