Even though I don't really practice religion very much I am Christian and grew up in that religion. I decided to compare two religions to see the different ways that they approach death. I chose to compare Christianity to Buddhism because Buddhism is a popular religion and I have learned a little about it in the past. I know they had a different view of life after death, so I wanted to do some research and look at how the two religions go about the topic.
Christians believe that you have one life on earth. Then based on your actions and beliefs in life it is decided if you go to heaven (Final Judgement). In heaven there is eternal life where God and other people you know are present. There is no suffering and sins in heaven. Some Christians also believe in hell which is where people who sin or are non believers of God go to and it is torture, they suffer (eternally for some religions).
Buddhists on the other hand have completely different beliefs of what happens after someone dies. The religion teaches that you are stuck in a cycle of life (samsara), after you die there is rebirth and you die and then you're born again. How good your life is each time depends on your Karma which depends on the persons sins and actions in the previous lives. Their goal is to get out of this repetitive cycle and reach Nirvana. Nirvana is a state in which there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self. The person is released from the effects of karma and samsara. They are free.
Obviously, their beliefs on after life are very different from each other. I found this interesting because although the beliefs are very different, both religions have a similar theme. They both have some kind of reason to keep people going and to make people do good. They both try to keep people from sinning and doing bad because the people think that they will be rewarded. They both have this peaceful place that is the goal: heaven and Nirvana (even though it's not a place). This connects to the book I was reading about care of the dead called Curtains because the author talks about how all religions have similar parts because he believes that if we thought we just disappear when we die we wouldn't get anything done. I find this idea very interesting. I think that the Buddhist way is a little negative though because it kind of seems like they make life seem like a bad thing filled with suffering from this unnecessary greed and desire. But overall they still have this peaceful thing that is the goal for everyone to reach.
Refrences:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/cycle.htm
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/afterlife.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism4.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity
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