Beyond the Threshold introduces readers to afterlife beliefs and experiences in world religions. The second edition has been revised and updated throughout, including a new chapter on afterlife beliefs and practices in selected African traditions, new research on the afterlife and near-death experiences, the addition of key words and definitions to each chapter, and more. Christopher M. Moreman offers an introduction to afterlife beliefs in ancient cultures, which are essential to understanding the roots of many modern ideas about death. He examines the folklore and doctrines of major world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese religions, and several African traditions. He also discusses psychic phenomena across traditions, such as mediums, near-death and out-of-body experiences, and past-life memories. While ultimately the afterlife remains unknowable, the second edition of this unique, in-depth exploration of both beliefs and experiences can help readers reach their own understanding of the afterlife and how to live.

"Moreman (philosophy and religious studies, California State Univ., East Bay), editor of Routledge Companion to Death and Dying (2018), provides an accessible overview of different spiritual traditions' beliefs about the state of the human body and soul after death. The book covers the major world religions—Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism—but Moreman expands this second edition (the first edition appeared in 2008) to include African traditions. In addition, he includes the beliefs and practices of individuals such as mediums and those who have had near-death experiences, looking at how they have shaped cultural views of the afterlife. What is most helpful about this book is that it presents these traditions in a fair, informative, and balanced way without getting lost in more technical debates or theological questions that might be of more concern to specialists. Moreman's inclusiveness makes the book relevant for those interested in cultural studies as well as those studying religion and dying. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates; general readers; professionals." - CHOICE

"There are only a few academic books in the new millennium dealing with afterlife beliefs. Christopher Moreman’s second edition of his book, Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions, is most welcome in this context. . . Moreman is to be commended for expanding the usually narrow focus on the afterlife in the religious studies field. . . Moreman is also to be commended for bravely bringing subjects such as spiritualism, mediumship, ghosts, near death experience (NDE), out of body experience (OBE), and past life memories into the academic arena. . . . All afterlife beliefs stem from a basic human religious experience, and despite many differences of interpretation, most human cultures agree that some sort of mysterious survival exists beyond death. Moreman’s book is a good starting point for any scholar interested in this subject." - Reading Religion