Death and dying are not particularly desirable experiences for the average individual. Most of us live our lives as if we are immortal, which is fairly ironic considering how every present our mortality really is. Consider even our most basic, instinctual responses from day to day. As you drive down the street and someone cuts you off, you feel your heart begin to race. This is a very quick response. You are pumped full of adrenaline and can make split-second decisions which allow you to get out of the way and avoid a collision with the other driver. This is nature's way of allowing your mortality to communicate directly with you.
For atheists, death is a topic often discussed, though with little to actually discuss. The typical belief is that we simple die and decompose. "Ash to ash, dust to dust." While these words are found both in the Bible and in the Koran, they apply most accurately to atheists in that there is no return to a conscious physical form. The question then becomes: why is the nature of death so important to atheists? Let me speak for myself on this topic as it relates to Christianity (i.e. my upbringing). My own personal fear of death is one that stems from the Christian traditional concept of Hell and the afterlife in general. While I am for all intent and purpose an atheist, I have been psychologically conditioned to fear death on account of the images portrayed of the "after life." If one does not fear the imagery found in Dante's Inferno and Gustave Dore's illustrations of that book, then you are fortunate enough to have not been brought up around the notion of eternal damnation I am sure. Allow me to further examine Christians and how they manage thoughts of death and dying, and analyze how they rub off on society and by extension every individual who is mortal and has a rational fear of death.
Christians impose their own belief on other individuals when it comes to topics related to death, even on those who are not saved. The belief in god (whether rational or not) provides inherent comfort in times of hardship, especially when this belief is fundamental to an individual's lifestyle. When a religious individual loses someone close to them, they immediately will project their perception of their own death onto the recently deceased. For example, a Christian will likely say one of the following:
1. "They are in Heaven."
or
2. "They are in Hell."
There are no alternatives from a Christian's perspective. There is no notion of a simple, natural death where one only goes into the ground eternally. This is perhaps very obvious, but simultaneously very startling. As a result of this dichotomous way of thinking about death, many Christians will surround themselves with like-minded individuals so as to minimize the pain of losing someone who is not a believer in their faith. In all honesty, who would want to believe in something so serious as this and have to live with themselves after seeing a non-Christian depart this world for one of eternal damnation in Hell? I can think of no sympathetic or compassionate person who would desire this. It is only the makings of an inherently evil individual, and perhaps by extension an inherently evil deity, who allows for such knowledge to grace the mind. As such, Christians distance themselves from non-Christians for safety and comfort. This is the first manner of dealing with death.
By extension to this point, Christians have an easier time with death when their loved one's are Christians themselves. The pain and burden of death is relieved when one is confronted with the notion that their loved one is in Heaven (a place of eternal happiness in the presence of God himself). This is an every present memory in my own mind. My sister died at age 4, when I was ~10 years old. At the time I was a "Christian" (as if a 10 year old can honestly make that decision for themselves). Many people around me, all with good intentions, told me "she is in Heaven." For a time, this satisfied me and was just about the only comfort I could grasp. In recent years I have moved away from Christianity, and have come to the relative realization that my sister is just in the dirt. It is disheartening, though I would much rather deal with reality as opposed to clinging to a (highly desirable) fantasy.
How does this relate to atheism? The answer is simple. Christianity has set up a dichotomy with regards to death and the dying process. After one dies, one goes to either the positive afterlife (Heaven) or the negative afterlife (Hell). Christians are able to cope with death fairly successfully, and often have a large support group (friends, the church) to help in addition to this. They are comforted by the thought of Heaven as well, as one would expect. Atheists do not have this latter comfort. While it is not completely rational to fear death when it is just an empty void contained within the Earth, it is a very lonely experience for an atheist. While we all in some way or another "die alone," when one "dies" with God on their mind; they are likely to be comforted. My aunt recently passed away from cancer, and I stood by her deathbed almost like a spectator. She was comfortable with her passing, though. She was a Christian and did not seem to fear the dying experience. Maybe this is the result of age, but as far as I am concerned; I am an atheist and I fear death more then I would expect your average Christian to fear it. Christianity imposes concepts of absolute truth value as well, which have seeped into mainstream thought, media (music, television, film, artwork), and so forth. The conception of Hell is not one exclusively found in Christianity, but this is where many of us come to know about it. Hell is the image perfectly spun to contain human fear on a canvas. Even as an atheist, I fear Hell and eternal suffering. At the end of this article, I cannot help but return to the problem of evil as is often discussed in theological and philosophical circles.
If you have any comments or would like to start a civil debate, feel free!
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