Is There Life After Death? Some Atheists Hope So

By Gary Nguyen --
22 Mar 2017 --

Even some atheists believe in an afterlife.

Despite the fact that the number of atheists has continued to increase globally, a recent survey indicated many atheists in Britain actually believe in life after death.

Is There Life After Death? Some Atheists Hope So[/tweetthis]

Atheists are group of non-believers who do not believe in any supernatural realm or phenomena.

Martin Hughes, an atheist blogger, says that since leaving Christianity he does miss heaven even if he though he no longer misses believing in God or hell. "I wish that there was one to go to, and that's the truth," Hughes wrote in a blog post.

The high number of believers in the afterlife has been attributed to selfishness, a value that defines “modern” culture.

DailyMail attributes the uptick in belief in the afterlife to “narcissists who cannot imagine a future which does not contain them —preferably for all eternity.” They feel enticed by having to live another life that has endless possibilities, happiness and material possession.

A study conducted in 2013 indicated that about 32 percent of atheists, agnostics, and individuals with “no religion” affirmed that they believe in life after death.

However, the idea of afterlife has continued to change overtime and many societies still believe in their ancestors and they have accepted that they have direct influence to their daily lives. Thus, many societies such as Hindus and Buddhists organize for various festivals to honor their ancestors.

According to research conducted in Australia, there are about four divisions of atheists in Australia. Andrew Singleton, a sociologist of religion, affirmed that atheists belong to either one of the four groups below:

Life continues in heaven

Most of the atheists expressed their congruence with this belief and 20 individuals actually asserted to the belief that life actually continues in heaven. However, there was a different perspective of life after death as some claimed to be “theocentric”: they believe in eternal solitude with God alone while others said they were “anthropocentric”: Believing that they will re-unite with family and friends after death.

Continuing on

Respondents in this category, who were not raised in religion, say hold that there is no consciousness that exists after death, but “an aspect of our being continues in some way.”

Reincarnation belief

Under this category, nine people agreed that they believe in reincarnation as a result of what they observe happening in religious groups such as Buddhism and Hinduism. They believe in existing in the form of another human being or different species at different times.

Death is the end

There was a group of atheists who still believe that death marks the end of human life. Thus, they do not agree to the notion that life continues after death.