Beyond the Threshold : Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions

A classic introduction to afterlife beliefs and experiences, now fully revised and expanded. Christopher M. Moreman offers a clear, balanced, and comparative study of how religions and cultures understand what happens after death, while also examining reported experiences that have shaped those beliefs across time and place.

This new edition features:
New “Further Thought” questions and Key Terms in every chapter for classroom use
Updated scholarship throughout, including recent research on the paranormal, near-death and distressing near-death experiences
Expanded comparative coverage of beliefs, lived experience, and cross-cultural perspectives

Organized in three parts, the book first surveys afterlife beliefs in major world traditions, including ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese religions, and African traditions. It then turns to reported experiences often associated with survival after death, including mediumship, apparitions and hauntings, near-death and out-of-body experiences, and past-life memories. A final section compares beliefs and phenomena, asking how religious teachings and human experience inform one another.

Accessible yet rigorous, Moreman treats controversial material with scholarly care and intellectual fairness, encouraging readers to think critically about evidence, interpretation, and the enduring human search for meaning in the face of mortality. By bringing religious doctrine into conversation with lived experience, it offers a uniquely comprehensive framework for studying one of humanity’s oldest and most universal questions.

Ideal for courses in religion, death studies, philosophy, anthropology, and the sociology of religion, this updated edition remains an indispensable resource for students and instructors alike.