Non-religious beliefs about death and the afterlife
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain non-religious beliefs about the afterlife and the arguments for and against life after death.
Key learning points
- Some non-religious individuals believe in an afterlife or a soul.
- Non-religious views include psychological continuity, energy transformation, and technological immortality.
- Humanists reject life after death, focusing on the present.
- Arguments for an afterlife cite authority, widespread belief, and disputed evidence.
- Arguments against it stress brain-dependent consciousness, religious contradictions, and social control.
Keywords
Afterlife - what follows the physical life on earth; life after death
Consciousness - the state of being aware of and able to think about one's existence, thoughts, and surroundings
Soul - the spiritual aspect of a being; that which connects someone to God. The soul is often regarded as nonphysical and as living on after physical death, in an afterlife
Common misconception
Only religious people believe in life after death.
People who aren't religious often believe in some sort of life after death; this can range from believing in a soul which lives on to believing that our legacy lives on.
Teacher tip
This is a sensitive issue which you may want to pre-warn students about, particularly as the lesson covers arguments that there is no life after death
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Catholics believe in , a temporary state of purification before entering heaven.
Q2.Christians believe in , which means being raised from the dead in either a physical or spiritual form.
Q3.In Christian belief, is eternal separation from God, often seen as a place of punishment.
Q4.What does the Bible say about life after death?
Q5.How does belief in the afterlife influence Christians?
Q6.What does 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 teach about resurrection?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is an argument against an afterlife?
Q2.Which of these is an example of ‘evidence’ used to support belief in an afterlife?
Q3.Which non-religious belief suggests that energy continues after death?
Q4.The is the spiritual aspect of a being, often regarded as living on after physical death.
Q5.Non-religious people known as reject the idea of an afterlife and believe that meaning comes from living fully in the present.
Q6.Some non-religious people believe in {{} - the idea that a person’s awareness can continue beyond the brain.
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Non-religious beliefs about death and the afterlife, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Non-religious beliefs about death and the afterlife, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Issues of life and death unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.