Understanding how world religions answer fundamental questions of life and death

As long as human societies have existed, religions have offered different answers to questions about death and dying, along with different rituals of celebration and commemoration, theories of the afterlife, and much more. The way religious traditions respond to these concerns is fundamental to the role they play in human life.

Understanding Death offers an introduction to multiple world religions and how they address these questions according to their particular social and historical contexts. Organized around the idea of the self and its expression in various religious analyses of death and afterlife, it incorporates contributions from members of each faith into a wide-ranging discussion of these all-important issues. Now updated to incorporate new religious traditions and modern concerns, it offers students and readers a unique opportunity to meet these faiths on their own terms and see the world from their diverse perspectives.

Readers of the second edition of Understanding Death will also find:

New chapters on Sikhism and Jainism, oft neglected in world religions textbooks Analysis informed by direct teaching experience of key subjects New discussion of 21st century changes in attitudes towards death and dying

Understanding Death is ideal for undergraduate students in relevant university courses, as well as for anyone interested generally in Religious or End-of-life Studies.