What do you think?
Rate this book
Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion
A magisterial work of social history, Life After Death illuminates the many different ways ancient civilizations grappled with the question of what exactly happens to us after we die.In a masterful exploration of how Western civilizations have defined the afterlife, Alan F. Segal weaves together biblical and literary scholarship, sociology, history, and philosophy. A renowned scholar, Segal examines the maps of the afterlife found in Western religious texts and reveals not only what various cultures believed but how their notions reflected their societies’ realities and ideals, and why those beliefs changed over time. He maintains that the afterlife is the mirror in which a society arranges its concept of the self. The composition process for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam begins in grief and ends in the victory of the self over death.Arguing that in every religious tradition the afterlife represents the ultimate reward for the good, Segal combines historical and anthropological data with insights gleaned from religious and philosophical writings to explain the following why the Egyptians insisted on an afterlife in heaven, while the body was embalmed in a tomb on earth; why the Babylonians viewed the dead as living in underground prisons; why the Hebrews remained silent about life after death during the period of the First Temple, yet embraced it in the Second Temple period (534 B.C.E. –70 C.E.); and why Christianity placed the afterlife in the center of its belief system. He discusses the inner dialogues and arguments within Judaism and Christianity, showing the underlying dynamic behind them, as well as the ideas that mark the differences between the two religions. In a thoughtful examination of the influence of biblical views of heaven and martyrdom on Islamic beliefs, he offers a fascinating perspective on the current troubling rise of Islamic fundamentalism.In tracing the organic, historical relationships between sacred texts and communities of belief and comparing the visions of life after death that have emerged throughout history, Segal sheds a bright, revealing light on the intimate connections between notions of the afterlife, the societies that produced them, and the individual’s search for the ultimate meaning of life on earth.From the Hardcover edition.
880 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
37 people are currently reading
911 people want to read
About the author
Alan F. Segal
16 books15 followersAlan Franklin Segal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_F....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_F....
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 30, 2022
Segal gives a fairly exhaustive account on the evolution of Western beliefs about the afterlife, from ancient Egypt through the pre-modern orthodox versions of monotheistic religions. He does the best, most detailed and sensitive job exploring the changes in Judaism, and shows the least familiarity with Islam. I like how he examines the ways our visions of the afterlife shift according to what we value most highly, or fear most obsessively. The recorded debates on just how and under what conditions the soul can gain what sort of immortality can get remarkably hair-splitting, but the larger questions raised are powerful and personal. For example, "... is not culture a kind of drama in which we play ourselves and give ourselves lines and then judge ourselves as the audience?"
October 21, 2014
This may be the longest piece of shoddy "scholarship" I've ever read. Although well endnoted and occasionally showing glimmers of insight, the book seems a rushed job uncertain of its purpose. It is not a piece of disinterested scholarship. The introductory portion makes clear the author's opposition to modern belief in an afterlife and the concluding portion before the substantially redundant "Summary" digresses into an all-too-timebound--and rather ignorantly mainstream--discussion of 9/11. The midsection--reviewing Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Canaanite, Graeco-Roman, Hebrew, Persian, Christian and Islamic beliefs--seems the meat of the book, but the gristle of opinion at both ends distracts from it pose of objectivity. Furthermore, while occasional asides are made to thanatological research and to the phenomenology of supposed experiences of the afterlife, there is no real confrontation with the evidence. Indeed, the book ends with poetic pablum.
Bored to tears by much of it, occasionally impressed by the rare flash of insight or some coverage of a religious tradition I've not yet much studied (Zoroastrianism and Rabbinic Judaism in particular), I only finished the thing because of the compulsion to not leave undone what has been begun and because the book was a birthday gift from a much respected friend (who certainly has not read the thing).
Bored to tears by much of it, occasionally impressed by the rare flash of insight or some coverage of a religious tradition I've not yet much studied (Zoroastrianism and Rabbinic Judaism in particular), I only finished the thing because of the compulsion to not leave undone what has been begun and because the book was a birthday gift from a much respected friend (who certainly has not read the thing).
December 7, 2024
It is finished.
August 11, 2015
The author is clearly erudite because the book covers much more than suggested by the title. The erudition makes his amateurish coverage of modern politics (the Soviet-Afghan War was in the 1980s, not the 1990s, trying to explain the sources of underdevelopment in the Arab world in a 2-page aside is foolish, and it's equally foolish to disagree with Scott Atran on an area of Atran's expertise solely based on what one "thinks") and obvious errors ("Istambul" was not the capital of the Ottoman Empire and "Richard Dockins" did not invent meme theory) more frustrating than otherwise.
August 27, 2016
Super dry and dense...couldn't even finish it.
May 31, 2024
This is a good-quality and arguably magisterial work on the history of Western conceptions of the afterlife, beginning with Ancient Egyptian traditions and moving to the then-contemporary question of “fundamentalist” Islam in the wake of 9/11. It reads accessibly and engagingly in many places.
If there is a weakness to the work, it is perhaps an over-reliance on primary texts for explication of the afterlife beliefs of the various traditions and sects, at the expense of a more scholarly use of contemporary historical data regarding afterlife practices and beliefs, etc. Perhaps it is the case that this is simply the nature of contemporary Religious Studies as a discipline, but if that is the case it is a bit of a shame. Systematic explication of numerous passages from historical works gives a good intellectualist history of codified belief, but does it present good data regarding the nature, origin and popular understanding of those beliefs? One is tempted by a more materialist—or at least more fine-grained—account.
Real virtue lies primarily when Segal is exploring the area of his unique expertise, where Jewish and early Christian belief interact, including the various adaptations of Jewish thought to its contextual influences (namely Greek and Persian). Lots of important pocket-facts to take away, including commentary on the status of the Book of Daniel and the Qumran texts. This perhaps the most complexified account in the book, and merits re-reading.
If there is a weakness to the work, it is perhaps an over-reliance on primary texts for explication of the afterlife beliefs of the various traditions and sects, at the expense of a more scholarly use of contemporary historical data regarding afterlife practices and beliefs, etc. Perhaps it is the case that this is simply the nature of contemporary Religious Studies as a discipline, but if that is the case it is a bit of a shame. Systematic explication of numerous passages from historical works gives a good intellectualist history of codified belief, but does it present good data regarding the nature, origin and popular understanding of those beliefs? One is tempted by a more materialist—or at least more fine-grained—account.
Real virtue lies primarily when Segal is exploring the area of his unique expertise, where Jewish and early Christian belief interact, including the various adaptations of Jewish thought to its contextual influences (namely Greek and Persian). Lots of important pocket-facts to take away, including commentary on the status of the Book of Daniel and the Qumran texts. This perhaps the most complexified account in the book, and merits re-reading.
November 17, 2018
As you'd expect given the title and subject matter, this book is a bit dense at times. With everything else that has been going on while I've been reading it, it's been a bit of a slog. It's a good book though and I think well worth the effort.
October 12, 2023
Segal has provided a great deal of depth in his review of civilizations from Egypt and Mesopotamia through to today and their thoughts on life after death.
January 11, 2015
Confronting the history of the ‘afterlife’ in the ‘Western’ tradition, Alan Segal’s Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in the Western Religion is a fascinating post-9/11 social history. In many cases it reads like a great books humanities course with a religious theme. This isn’t to denigrate the book, but, rather, to place it within an intellectual and historical frame.
Contextualizing books such as Life After Death is crucial to judging whether or not they are worthy of readers’ attention. In this case, Mr. Segal’s book will be very useful for those who can read religion as a socio-historical phenomenon and not at all useful for those coming from a position of faith—or very nearly useless for the latter. Certainly, there are some that will be able to separate their faith from the rational and critical [not in the sense of being negative] interrogation of religion from its early manifestations in Mesopotamia and Egypt to that of the Post-Industrial world.
Ultimately, it is a good book with many fine features, but it is one that will appeal to secularists and sceptics rather than those with some sense of the transcendent purpose of life.
Mr. Segal’s book is often bleak and definitely antiseptic in its approach to its topic, but it is also informative and well documented. What comes out of reading this book is a sense of its milieu, post 9/11, and its rational scepticism. This is not to say Life After Death is an anti-religious work, but that it has a definite perspective and this perspective is not one most of a religious persuasion are going to be able to wholeheartedly embrace.
Still and all, Life After Death is an excellent and comprehensive, though by no means complete, history of the evolution, within religion, of its response to death and the significance of this event for the individual, the group, the culture, and the civilization in which all, more or less, exist and attempt to cohabit with one another…more or less successfully.
At the moment of writing, early 2015, it feels as though humans are managing to do this less successfully than they have in the past. However, the effort is being made and that, at the very least, is worth something.
An excellent introduction to the history of the concept of life after death in the religious traditions of the West and Near/Middle East from the earliest civilizations to the early 21st Century. Recommended for those interested in a secularist reading of Western religious history as it intersects with death and post-human existence.
Rating 4 out of 5 stars.
Contextualizing books such as Life After Death is crucial to judging whether or not they are worthy of readers’ attention. In this case, Mr. Segal’s book will be very useful for those who can read religion as a socio-historical phenomenon and not at all useful for those coming from a position of faith—or very nearly useless for the latter. Certainly, there are some that will be able to separate their faith from the rational and critical [not in the sense of being negative] interrogation of religion from its early manifestations in Mesopotamia and Egypt to that of the Post-Industrial world.
Ultimately, it is a good book with many fine features, but it is one that will appeal to secularists and sceptics rather than those with some sense of the transcendent purpose of life.
Mr. Segal’s book is often bleak and definitely antiseptic in its approach to its topic, but it is also informative and well documented. What comes out of reading this book is a sense of its milieu, post 9/11, and its rational scepticism. This is not to say Life After Death is an anti-religious work, but that it has a definite perspective and this perspective is not one most of a religious persuasion are going to be able to wholeheartedly embrace.
Still and all, Life After Death is an excellent and comprehensive, though by no means complete, history of the evolution, within religion, of its response to death and the significance of this event for the individual, the group, the culture, and the civilization in which all, more or less, exist and attempt to cohabit with one another…more or less successfully.
At the moment of writing, early 2015, it feels as though humans are managing to do this less successfully than they have in the past. However, the effort is being made and that, at the very least, is worth something.
An excellent introduction to the history of the concept of life after death in the religious traditions of the West and Near/Middle East from the earliest civilizations to the early 21st Century. Recommended for those interested in a secularist reading of Western religious history as it intersects with death and post-human existence.
Rating 4 out of 5 stars.
November 20, 2013
Another addition to the religious studies section of my library. As a non believer, I find meticulous texts detailing the rise and metamorphosis of religious thought fascinating. I would recommend this to serious readers as it took me 3 weeks of solid dedication to work through the text.
August 16, 2025
i didn't realize i've been reading this for a month, that's bonkers
slow, heavy read with pockets of profundity and absolute fascination. glad i read it
slow, heavy read with pockets of profundity and absolute fascination. glad i read it
Read
February 26, 2018on chalkboard in henry's lecture flashback, 01.07
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews