Simple question/s, not to be confused with a debate about religion and proof of gods existence. This is posted in the philosophy section for a reason, so a reminder to S.A.M, Medicine woman, (Q), Snakelord, and all participating warriors of the ever present religious battle "This is not a debate about religion and gods existence" .

As humans would it have a more positive effect on our lives if we believed in an afterlife, would it be better for our stress/happiness/peace of mind etc if we all believed in having life after death?.

No religious rules please, just talking about living after death in an afterlife and if people would be more happy and prefer it.



peace.

I think it depends on the afterlife and any associated beliefs.

For example, the Christian version, I think, is a bad one, in general, because it makes this world and this life quasi real and of little importance in and of itself. This is anti-political and pretty much trains people to accept things like injustice.

Reincarnation beliefs - if you allow these as afterlife phenomena - on the other hand allow for this life to be important, lessons can be learned and carried over. It might also give one more reasonable goals than the Christian version, which in many cases demands states approaching perfection. Some of the reincarnation belief systems allow for baby steps, slow progress and seem, in this way, more humane to me.

It is just an afterlife, not christian or any other type of scripture. you just live afterwards, good things happen bad things happen but you live forever as you.

peace.

Yes, specifically heaven and hell. Why? Quite obvious; as bribes to encourage you to do good and discourage you from doing bad.

Yes and no. Yes because it gives people hope and peace of mind when a loved one passes, knowing that you will see them again someday. No because it can make one de-value their time on this earth constantly living just for happiness after death. But not all people get that wrapped up in the afterlife, even if they do believe in it.

sometimes it's better to believe in afterlife, sometimes it's not. believing in afterlife can make you lazy because you have all the time in the world. and believing that you disappear forever when you die might make you unhappy because you feel like you don't have enough time to do everything you want to do.

in the east people believe in afterlife, but that's exactly what makes them unhappy. their greatest wish is to die (nirvana, samadhi). in the west it's the opposite: people usually want to live forever, but they believe they are dead forever when they die, which makes them unhappy. eastern and western people should change their beliefs with each other. humans and things constantly change, so we should also change our beliefs to adapt to the change.