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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Beliefs and Doctrine

Afterlife

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/ˈɑːftəlaɪf/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, afterlife means: Existence after death as a religious tradition describes it, for example resurrection and judgement, paradise and hell, or rebirth in a new life.

In Turkish: ahiret, öteki dünya, ölümden sonraki hayat

How it is used

Usually with the: belief in the afterlife, rewards in the afterlife. Also countable when comparing traditions (different ideas of an afterlife). The theological study of last things, including the afterlife, is eschatology.

Example sentences

  1. Ancient Egyptian tombs were filled with objects for use in the afterlife.

  2. Belief in the afterlife and the Day of Judgement is one of the articles of faith in Islam.

Common collocations

  • belief in the afterlife
  • life in the afterlife
  • ideas of the afterlife
  • rewards in the afterlife
  • salvationBeing saved or set free from sin, suffering or their consequences, and reaching a final state of well-being with God or ultimate reality.
  • reincarnationThe belief that after death a soul or self is born again in a new body, human or otherwise; it is found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and other traditions.
  • sinAn act, thought or failure to act that a religious tradition regards as breaking God's law or going against God's will.
  • beliefSomething a person or group accepts as true, especially an idea about God, the world or the afterlife; also the state of accepting it.

More terms: Beliefs and Doctrine

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