ABSTRACT
Many writers and thinkers are beginning to seriously turn their thoughts to the question of the long term impact of superlongevity and immortality. Most of the people writing and theorizing about immortality treat the phenomenon as an "event." The greatest dividing line in the new society will not be rich and poor man and woman. These will pale by comparison to the ultimate source of division between people, the choices that people make regarding superlongevity and immortality. Much has been made of the social and economic impact of medical technology. Critics have suggested that the technologies will be so expensive and scarce that only the rich will be able to pay the asking price of immortality. The doctrines of some religions might be more amenable to, and less threatened by, humankind's attainment of physical immortality than one would think. The religious instinct is extremely strong and well-rooted in human experience, not to mention the human psyche.
