ABSTRACT
It is sometimes hypothesised that it is easier to accept their mortality for religious believers, than it is for agnostic or atheist individuals. In fact, religion itself is often portrayed as an attempt to stave off death anxiety. This chapter evaluates the theory that mortality is easier to accept when death is considered a transitional event, rather than complete and irreversible annihilation. Problems that arise within this hypothesis are exposed: the author analyses how far personal religious faith in the afterlife delivers the qualities of solidity, reliability and universality that are required to make mortality acceptable for the individual. Further, some 20th-century Christian theological conceptions of afterlife/eternal life are contrasted with traditional images of “heaven”. Ultimately, the chapter suggests a position of doxastic humility, or optimistic agnosticism, as the most promising attitude to achieve mortality acceptance.
