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Every organised religion and spiritual philosophy has their own concept of heaven. They share the belief that heaven represents a type of peaceful life after death related to the immortality of the soul. Yet, that is where the simalarity ends. Each religion and philosophy has evolved their own interpretation of heaven and a different criteria that followers must meet before entry to heaven can be achieved. For Christians, for example, it is through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance of sin, and in Buddhism there are several heavens and those who accumulate good karma will be reborn in one of them.

So what does this mean? That there is more than one heaven? That there is only one heaven, split into different sections with a different religious criteria for entry to each. Is one religion right, and one wrong? Who would be so arrogant to assume that only christians possess the right to enter heaven?

Personally, I am a Humanist and that means that I do not believe in organised religion or the popular concept of a god. It doesn't necessarily mean, however, that I don't believe in a heaven. I believe that if heaven exists, it is a state of mind, affected by our memories and imagination. That means that it would be personal and different for everyone, and not some kind of elite club as some religions would have you beleive.

Learn more about this author, Robert Stephenson.
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