ABSTRACT
This book explores review of where several beliefs in an afterlife come from, beginning with the Ancient Egyptians and reviewing more recent views in Christianity and other current religions. It briefly explains about modern science challenge to religion and religious belief, in relation to how psychology offers a profound challenge. It also explores about the religion with the seductive promise of eternal happiness in paradise that most religions offer their believers, whilst at the same time offering the equally appealing promise of eternal hell and damnation for all one's enemies and for non-believers. The afterlife beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians is considered, like many other religious beliefs, these have often been incorporated in religious belief systems such as the three main Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Koenig reviews both positive and negative effects of religious belief on mental health. This book disentangles the positive and negative effects, with studies of the religion as a possible coping mechanism.
