The Eclipse of Eternity A Sociology of the Afterlife [Hardcover]

Many people still believe in life after death, but modern institutions operate as though this were the only world - eternity is now eclipsed from view in society and even in the church. This book carefully observes the eclipse - what caused it, how full is it, what are its consequences, will it last? How significant is recent interest in near-death experiences and reincarnation?Introduction - The Afterlife: a Theological Survey - The Afterlife: Popular Beliefs Today - Secularisation and the Terror of Death - Idealist and Materialist Explanations - Medicine: the Secularisation of Hope - Funerals and Burials: the Secularisation of Ritual (1) - Cremation and Dissection: the Secularisation of Ritual (2) - Loss: the Secularisation of Meaning - Retrospect and Prospect - Pastoral Care - Heavens on Earth - Ethics without Eternity - The Reappearance of the Hereafter - The Eclipse of Eternity - Bibliography - IndexTONY WALTER