Immortality Views among Different Cultures and Religions
The concept of life after death has been around practically as long as life itself. Our beliefs about life after death can have a profound effect on our attitudes toward life. Most individual's beliefs about life after death are directly related to their cultural or religious affiliations. According to Montagu, "Of all the many forms which natural religion has assumed none probably has exerted so deep and far ? reaching an influence on human life as the belief in immortality" (1955, p.15).
Archeologists have discovered what is believed to be evidence of Neanderthal man's belief in life after death. They found the remains of several Neanderthals buried with such items as flowers. It is hypothesized that they buried their dead to put the immortal spirit at rest. Scholars have concluded this after viewing some of the earliest writings on the subject of immortality. These writings include the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh which was written over four thousand years ago. One particular passage describes the spirits at rest due to an appropriate burial while other references are made about the horrible fate of those who were unfortunate enough not to receive an appropriate burial.
Although Neanderthal man left no written records to help us understand their immortality beliefs, the ancient Greeks recorded volumes on the topic. The Greeks believed that a God named Hades ruled a place they called the Underworld. The Underworld would bring pleasure to the deserving and offered punishment for the undeserving. The good individuals would go to a sunny green field of paradise called Elysian Fields. The rest would be tortured or live on as mere shadows ...