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30 theories about what happens when you die

For many people the fear of death revolves around the fear of the unknown. What happens when we die? Do we go to heaven, get reincarnated into an animal, or get re-programmed in the simulation? Narrowing down the many theories people have about death, check out these top 30 philosophies about the afterlife!

The simulation theory
Does it ever feel like everything in life is programmed? What if death was? The simulation theory believes that our lives are just quantitative data in a higher being's video game.

The Rastafarian theory
Rastafarians believe that life is eternal. It is only those who shun righteousness that actually die. Because of this, funerals are not really celebrated in their culture.

The never-ending life theory
The never-ending life theory is definitely one of the most unique on the list. This claims that when you die you are immediately reborn into your life again without any memory of the life you had just lead before.

The cosmic theory
The cosmic theory claims that our consciousness belongs to the universe, not to our individual bodies. When you die, your consciousness returns to the cosmos.

The Buddhist theory
Buddhists believe in reincarnation after death. There are different realms that you can be reborn into after death, whether it be a god, demi-god, human, animal, or ghost.

The parallel universe theory
The parallel universe theory has been explained in countless sci-fi movies and comic books, but could it be real? This theory claims that when we die we will be living in the same universe as we were before, just in a different portion of space and time.

The dream theory
What if it was all just a dream? The dream theory claims that when we die, we will just wake up from a very confusing, vivid, and long dream. Pinch yourself.

The Aztec theory
The ancient Aztec's view of the afterlife was separated into three paths: the sun, Mictlan, or Tlalocan. How you died determined your afterlife. Fallen soldiers and women who died giving birth became hummingbirds that followed the sun. People who died from a "less glorious" cause would go to Mictlan. And anyone who died by drowning went to Tlalocan.

Plato's theory
Plato believed that the physical world actually limited our knowledge, and that when a person dies they move on to a new life that is more fulfilling. His theory was that death gives souls a chance to find their true existence.

The nothingness theory
What if when we die everything turns to pitch black and you are gone forever? Not exactly a comforting thought.

The Mormon theory
The Church of Latter-Day Saints believes that good and righteous Mormons become gods when they die. Alternatively, non-believers are condemned in the afterlife.

The Egyptian pharaoh theory
Egyptian pharaohs believed that death was impermanent. For this reason, mummification was essential to preserve the body for its second life.

The uncertain theory
All that we really know about death is what happens to the physical body. The uncertain theory addresses this cold reality while leaving the rest up for debate.

The paranormal theory
This theory is usually the backbone of most horror films. Those who believe in the paranormal claim that after death, our souls remain among the living on Earth. It is also often believed that communication with these souls is possible through various mediums.

The Hindu theory
Hinduism also holds the belief of reincarnation. A person's status or form in the next life is determined by their actions during this current life.

The egocentric theory
Do you think you are the center of the universe? If so, the egocentric theory of death may be just the one for you! This theory claims that the universe starts with your birth and ends with your death.

The 'Stranger Things' theory
If you have seen the hit Netflix series 'Stranger Things' then you know what the Upside Down is. The show claims that there is an alternate dimension to our universe that a person can become trapped in, being neither alive nor dead.

The frozen head theory
Some people believe that by freezing themselves after death, they will be preserved for the future. They may still be alive, just very, very cold.

The Solaqlism theory
Does anything outside of your mind really exist? The solipsism theory is valid in both life and death. The only thing that we can definitively say is real, is what an individual sees and experiences. So perhaps, when the individual dies, everything else does as well.

The excretion theory
The excretion theory claims that the universe is a giant brain in a human body, and individuals are merely cells. When a cell dies in a human body it gets excreted, so perhaps that is what happens to people in the end.

The Christian theory
Christians believe in both Heaven and Hell. If a person is good and righteous, they will enter the utopia that is Heaven. If they lead a life of sin and wrongdoings, they will end up in Hell.

The nihilist theory
Nihilism deems that all values are meaningless and baseless. That being said, a true nihilist way of approaching death and the afterlife is that there is nothing at all afterwards, because even life had nothing.

The 'Beetlejuice' theory
The hit Tim Burton film 'Beetlejuice' revolves around a recently deceased couple that is haunting their old home and its new owners. The only way to be freed from this middle dimension is if an iconoclast exorcist frees you. Would you like the afterlife to be like this 1988 comedy?

The pessimist theory
Perhaps this conversation is moot because we are already dead? That's what the pessimist theory believes anyways.

The many worlds theory
The many worlds theory claims that when we die, we are only dying in this one, current universe. There are other universes out there for us to move on to.

The illusion theory
The illusion theory claims that the world is created more in our minds than in a literal sense, meaning that it is all an illusion. Following this understanding, death is a human-constructed concept, and when we die we still remain.

The Good Place' theory
Another viral TV idea of the afterlife. The hit series 'The Good Place' follows the main characters who are accidentally let into Heaven, also known as "The Good Place." Full of frozen yogurt, custom houses, and your true soulmate, many viewers hope that this fictional philosophy is true.

The levels theory
What if being a human being was just the first level of existence? The levels theory claims that when we die, we move on from our first initial form.

The tree theory
Have you ever heard of the Tree of Life? Some people decide to take that literally by having their remains buried in a tree pod. This way, your body is given back to the Earth and perhaps you will become a proud tree in your next existence.

Reference: Stars Insider