ABSTRACT
Heaven and hell are the words used in English to indicate the world after death, eternal places above and below the earthly realm. Paradise is sometimes fused or confused with heaven, but commonly in Western tradition, paradise is considered synonymous with the Garden of Eden, the setting for the creation of the first parents and their fall from grace. Cosmologies, which explain the origin and development of this universe, almost universally include the heavens and the earth, and sometimes also a nether world. After hell, Tundale proceeds on a rising path meeting better and still better souls inhabiting open fields and pavilions. Sociology, anthropology, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, and biochemistry have attempted to explain various aspects of belief in, and even experiences of, an afterlife. However, heaven and hell are so thoroughly cross-cultural and cross-denominational that they bear a universal significance that defies easy interpretation within the framework of any single given culture or religion.
