Do all cultures believe that there’s life after death?

on Aug 7, 2026

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Do all cultures believe that there’s life after death? – C.D.

A: A question was posed by the ancient patriarch Job centuries ago: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14, NKJV). All these years later, people are still asking this same question.

People may say they don’t think of death, but they deceive themselves. Death is a certainty. Everyone dies, eventually. For those who live long enough to become old, the certainty increases when we feel the body begin to break down – deteriorate. Many of us are experiencing it now. We know we’re marching toward the grave. After death, what comes next?

Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote, “It’s instinctive to believe in life after death.” Something down deep inside tells us there’s a future world – an eternal world – and we’re to be prepared for it.

Egyptians believed in life after death. They built elaborate pyramids for their dead and made provisions for life beyond the grave. African chiefs were buried with several wives to give them companionship in the future life. The Norsemen, who had never seen a Bible, were buried with horses and armor that they might be equipped as warriors for battles in the afterlife. The “happy hunting ground” is a depiction of the afterlife that has been associated with Native Americans. Life after death has been discussed by people of all tribes, all over the world, in every kind of culture, having all kinds of questions.

This question is answered in Scripture. As Job struggled in patience amidst great suffering, the answer to whether man will live again after death came to him: “Oh, that my words were written! … For I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:23–25, NKJV).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)