Hello, my name's Mrs. Rawbone, and I'm your RE teacher today.

Welcome to this lesson on non-religious beliefs about death and the afterlife.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain non-religious beliefs about the afterlife and the arguments for and against life after death.

Some key words that we'll be using today are afterlife, consciousness, and soul.

By afterlife, we mean what follows the physical life on earth, or life after death.

Consciousness is the state of being aware of and able to think about one's existence, thoughts, and surroundings.

And the soul is the spiritual aspect of a being, that which connects someone to God.

The soul is often regarded as non-physical, and as living on after physical death in an afterlife.

Today's lesson will form two parts.

We'll be looking at beliefs about the afterlife and arguments for and against an afterlife.

So let's get started looking at beliefs about the afterlife.

A 2021 survey asked Americans whether they believed in heaven and hell.

And we can see here that 73% believed in heaven, and 62% in hell.

Of those who were Christian, 92% believed in heaven and 79 in hell.

Atheist, 3% believed in heaven and 1% in hell.

And agnostic, 26% believed in heaven and 14% in hell.

So what do you notice about the difference between beliefs in heaven and hell? Take a moment, turn and talk to someone nearby if you're able to, or you can pause and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

So you may have noticed that more people believe in heaven than in hell.

What do you notice about the views of non-religious people? So atheists and agnostics? Again, take some time, turn and talk to someone nearby if you can, or you can pause and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

So you may have noticed that actually, some non-religious people believe in heaven and hell.

So discussions about whether there can be life after death centre around whether a person can survive death.

So some people believe that consciousness continues in a non-physical way.

So that means our awareness of our own existence.

They might say humans have a soul.

This is often described as the spiritual aspect of the being.

It connects someone with God, it can survive after death.

Or they might refer to non-physical consciousness as an energy or a spiritual essence.

They might believe someone's memories or personal identity can exist separately from their body.

Alternatively, there are people who think the body can be brought back to life.

This is often referred to as the resurrection of the body, and it's an idea that's found in Christianity, in Islam, and in some ancient Egyptian beliefs.

So following this belief, the body may be restored, either in its original state or maybe in a renewed, transformed version.

Other people would say that it's actually a person's legacy and influence that remains after their death.

So their ideas, their actions, and their influence continues after they die.

Their experiences, stories, and relationships, will shape future generations through the memories of the people that they leave behind.

A 2023 survey asked Americans about whether they believed in a soul.

83% said they did.

91% of Christians did.

31% of atheist did.

And 60% of agnostics did.

So what do you notice about the views of non-religious people, atheists and agnostics? Take some time to look at the data, turn and talk to someone nearby if you can.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to rejoin.

So you may have noticed that most non-religious people believe in a soul.

So what is meant by soul? Pause the video.

Give yourself time to write down a definition, and then come back when you're ready to check and see whether what you've written is accurate.

So you may have written something like this.

"The spiritual aspect of a being, that which connects someone to God, the soul is often regarded as non-physical and as living on after physical death in an afterlife." Here are some possible beliefs about how someone might live on after death.

Consciousness beyond the brain.

The mind is separate from the body.

Technological immortality, or transhumanism, which suggests we could upload human consciousness into digital forms. Energy transformation.

When we die, our energy continues in another way.

Or psychological continuity, thoughts and memories could continue in another form.

So let's check your understanding.

Which belief suggests that a person's thoughts, memories, and identity continue after death? Is it A, energy transformation? B, psychological continuity? C, technological immortality? Or D, consciousness beyond the brain? Take a moment to choose what you think is the correct answer.

Pause the video if you need to.

And then come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you put psychological continuity.

So it's the idea that memories and thoughts continue after we die, and that's what continues with our identity.

Brandon, who's a humanist, is talking about whether he believes in an afterlife.

He says, "I believe this is the only life we have.

Our thoughts, feelings, and actions depend on our brains.

And when the brain is damaged, our personality and consciousness can change.

Without a working brain, we cannot live after death.

However, I do think we live on through our impact on other people, and Richard Dawkins says we are lucky, because the fact we know we are going to die means we get the chance to live." So what gives life meaning for Brandon? If you're able to turn and talk to someone nearby, please do, or you can pause and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's check your understanding again.

True or false? Humanists believe in life after death because consciousness can continue after the brain stops functioning.

Pause if you need to.

Decide whether it's true or false, but also have a think about why, and then rejoin when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you put false.

Did you have a think about why? Well, it's false because humanists believe that when the brain dies, consciousness ends, and therefore there's no life after death.

For task A on beliefs about the afterlife, I'd like you to write a paragraph introducing different beliefs about an afterlife.

You should include the fact that many people believe in an afterlife.

Mention a belief in the soul.

Mention a belief in the resurrection of the body.

And at least one other belief about how life after death may happen.

So for example, consciousness continuing beyond the brain.

And I'd also like you to compare these to humanist views.

So take a moment, think about what you're going to include in your answer and how.

Pause the video.

And come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said, "Many people believe in life after death, but the ideas about what happens vary.

One common belief is that the soul, the spiritual part of person that some believe connects them to God, survives after death and lives on in an afterlife.

Another belief is the resurrection of the body, where the body is restored to life, either in its original form, or a transformed one.

Some people believe that consciousness continues after death, meaning a person's awareness can exist beyond the brain.

In contrast, humanists believe that life is finite, and that meaning comes from living fully in the present without relying on the idea of an afterlife." So well done if you managed to include some different examples of types of belief in life after death, but also if you drew in the fact that humanists do not believe in an afterlife.

For the second part of our lesson, we'll be moving on to looking at arguments for and against an afterlife.

Here are some of the arguments for an afterlife.

Sources of wisdom and authority refer to a life after death.

Many people believe in an afterlife.

And there's evidence of an afterlife, including ghosts, mediums, and near-death experiences.

Zoe, who is an atheist, and does not believe in an afterlife, is responding to the arguments for life after death with a counter-argument.

So here's an argument for.

Sources of authority and wisdom refer to a life after death.

Zoe says, "Holy books were written a long time ago, and are wrong about many things.

They also disagree on what form life after death takes." Here's another argument for.

Many people believe in an afterlife.

Zoe's response is, "This doesn't make it true.

In the past, many people believed the sun orbits the earth, and they were mistaken." Another argument for.

There's evidence of an afterlife, including ghosts, mediums, and near-death experiences.

Zoe's response is that, "Ghost sightings can be mistakes or hoaxes, mediums use tricks, and near-death experiences are just brain reactions to a lack of oxygen." Let's check your understanding.

What are the missing words? "Some people claim that sightings of (blank) are (blank) of an afterlife, but others argue they are hoaxes or (blank)." So take a moment to think about how you might fill those three gaps.

Pause if you need to, and then come back when you're ready to check.

So you should have said "ghosts" and "evidence", and for the final word, "mistakes".

So, "Sightings of ghosts might be evidence of an afterlife, but others argue that they are hoaxes or mistakes." You might have put "tricks" as well.

Well done if you've got any of those words.

Here are some of the arguments against an afterlife.

Consciousness depends on the brain.

When the brain stops, consciousness stops.

Different religions offer conflicting accounts of an afterlife.

And beliefs about an afterlife were created or invented as a form of social control, to scare people into behaving well.

Niamh, who is a Roman Catholic and believes in an afterlife, is responding to the arguments against life after death with a counterargument.

So an argument against.

Consciousness depends on the brain, and when the brain stops, consciousness ends.

Niamh responds, "The soul is not physical like the brain, and so it could continue to exist even when the brain has stopped working." Different religions offer conflicting accounts of the afterlife.

Niamh responds, "Different beliefs don't mean there's no afterlife.

People can experience the same thing in different ways." Beliefs about an afterlife were invented as a form of social control, to scare people into behaving well.

And Niamh replies, "Believing in life after death is logical, because it ensures justice in the next life, and it gives us hope and comfort in this one." Let's check your understanding.

What does it mean to say that belief in an afterlife is a form of social control? So take some time to think about those arguments against belief in life after death.

Pause the video, give yourself time to write an answer to the question, and then come back when you're ready to see what you might have written.

So you could have said, "It ensures people do good and avoid wrongdoing because they fear punishment after death." So well done if you mentioned the idea of fear and that it encourages people to behave well.

For task B, on our arguments for and against an afterlife, part one, Niamh who's a Roman Catholic and Zoe who's an atheist are discussing the statement, "Death is the end.

There is no afterlife." I'd like you to complete the table by filling in the missing arguments.

So Niamh is arguing for, and she says, "Sources of wisdom and authority refer to a life after death." Zoe's arguing against, she's replying.

So she's giving some counter arguments, and she gives a counter to Niamh saying, "This doesn't make it true.

In the past, many people believed the sun orbited the earth." And another argument for from Niamh is there is evidence of an afterlife, including ghosts and near-death experiences.

So you need to come up with a counter-argument from Zoe to Niamh's two arguments for, and then you need to look at Zoe's counter-argument and see if you can work out what Niamh's argument for was.

So pause the video, think back to those arguments for, and the counters or replies to them.

Complete the table, and come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said as a response to "Sources of wisdom and authority refer to life after death," that the holy books were written a long time ago and they were wrong about many things.

The argument that Zoe's responding to when she says, "This doesn't make it true.

In the past, many people believed the sun orbited the earth," would probably be, "Lots of people believe in an afterlife." And finally, the counter to, "There is evidence of an afterlife" might be that ghost sightings can be hoaxes or mistakes, and near-death experiences have scientific explanations, like oxygen deprivation in the brain.

So well done, particularly if you managed to work out how those arguments kind of balance against each other.

For part two of the task, we're going to be looking at the same statement, "Death is the end, there is no afterlife," but this time you're going to be looking at the arguments against, and the counter-arguments to them.

So Zoe is arguing against.

She says, "Consciousness depends on the brain.

When the brain stops, consciousness ends." What might Niamh say in reply? Zoe also says, "Different religions offer conflicting views on the afterlife." How might Niamh respond to this? And finally, Niamh has responded, "Life after death ensures justice in the next life and comforts us in this one." What argument of Zoe's might she be replying to? So think back to those arguments against and the replies to them.

Pause the video, take your time, and come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said, for Zoe's comment about, "consciousness depends on the brain, and when the brain stops, consciousness ends," that Niamh might have replied, talking about how the soul is not physical and could continue to exist after the brain ceases to work.

As a reply to, "different religions offer conflicting views," Niamh might respond, "People can experience the same thing in different ways." And the argument that Niamh is replying to when she says, "Life after death ensures justice in the next life and hope in this one," might have been, "Beliefs about an afterlife were invented as a form of social control to scare people into behaving well." So well done again if you manage to show that balance of arguments and how they kind of play off each other in this debate.

In today's lesson, we have learned that many people believe in a soul, the spiritual aspect of the being which connects someone to God and is often regarded as non-physical and living on in an afterlife.

Non-religious views on the afterlife include psychological continuity, energy transformation, consciousness beyond the brain, and technological immortality.

Humanists reject life after death and focus on finding meaning in the present life.

Arguments for an afterlife include appeals to authority, widespread belief, and evidence, like ghosts and near-death experiences.

Arguments against highlight that the brain is needed for consciousness, conflicting religious accounts, and the role of social control.

Thank you very much for working with me today on this lesson.

I really appreciate all of your effort.