A Partial History of Afterlife Beliefs

unit 1

Hunter-gatherer

focused on survival, living day to day, not too concerned with the afterlife or where they will end up after death

Egalitarian

did not allow for one individual to be the sole ruler

powersharing and cooperative

Most likely did not believe in a soul.

Ancestor worship

ancestors appeared in dreams

decreased remains as part of the living worlds and were used to preserve social order

burial requirements performed to keep ancestors from getting annoyed.

Ritualized music

brought tribes together through dance, bonding and coming togteher are the only way to survive.

Immediate return system - Hadza tribe

no plans for the future

everything was used immediately and if it had no more use they would discard it
no preparation for life after death

Piraha tribe

immediate experience
no interest in keeping history
self sufficient children, no coddling, worked alongside adults

no interest in advancing

Ancient egypt

believed in many gods very spiritual

Ka soul

separated from the body after death, difference between alive and the dead
life force/ “a person’s double“

Ba soul

travel between dead and living, not physical

personality/ soul

Akh

achieved only after successfully passing judgment and uniting their Ka (life force) and Ba (personality/soul)
grants after life

Homer

“psyche” is breathed into a person at birth, travels to Hades where it survives as a shadow

Pythagoras

The soul is its own identity and can leave the body and go to other people

Monism

theory that denies the existence of dualism; only one god

ritual salvation

the concept of achieving spiritual deliverance or redemption through the performance of specific ceremonies or rites

monotheism

belief in one god

Polytheism

belief in more than one god

Monolatry

belief in one god but acknowledging that there are others

Plato

The soul is immortal

The soul retains the personality of a person

The soul has a reasonable side and an animalistic side
believed only philosophers were rational souls

Aristotle

claimed the soul made the body, and interdependence
soul cannot exist without the body and vice versa

Hesiod

changed the idea that those who die don't become shades, they need credentials like being a hero who died in battle

Yahweh

One and only true god

Strengthened devotion to the tribe when there is one deity.

Yahwah controlled everything and everyone’s lives.

Groups were better able to survive when they believed in a monotheistic god, and this became the norm.

Initiation rites (cognitive dissonance):

harsh forms of entries into a group, it was a way to remove any potential free loaders.

social life

what the first known mode of religion is clearly bound to