March 28, 2025/Midnight
Erie, PA.— Gannon University is home to over 2,000 students at any given time of year. Within this student body, a variety of different people exist. We are united through our pursuit of education at Gannon University. However, our differences may lie in our ages, career choices, races, faiths, or a plethora of other things. In every aspect that we are different, there is one where we are similar. In Roundtable, we explore the similarities and differences in the thoughts and opinions of Gannon students.
Views about what the afterlife will be like can differ vastly from person to person, or across cultures. While some people believe in a heaven and hell afterlife, others believe in reincarnation, or nothingness. Some people prefer not to think about it at all.
This week, three students were asked what their beliefs on the afterlife were. What do they think happens after death, and what could be waiting for us?
Damira Harkless, a nursing major who will graduate in 2028, says that she is open to a variety of different views and beliefs. She says that while she has not made up her mind, she likes the idea of reincarnation.
“I think I feel more drawn to it.” Harkless says, “Hearing from other people’s stories, like on social media and stuff, it makes sense to me personally. And seeing patterns and stuff in life, makes me more drawn to it.”
Esther Ihemesie, a sophomore biology major on a pre-med track, says, “I one hundred percent believe that depending on you following Jesus, saying that Jesus is your Lord and savior, if you just believe that he is your Lord and savior, you will go to heaven. If you repent before your death, you will also reach heaven.”
She adds, “The afterlife in heaven is where you will have eternal life. You won’t ever miss anything. You’ll have everything you meet then and there. I can’t wait to get to heaven actually, it’s not a sad thing for me.”
Rajih Rajiaet Mpanga, a sophomore industrial engineering major states that he believes, “We’re judged according to how we lived our lives on earth, and according to that, we either go to heaven or hell, I think.”
A study from the Pew Research Center states, “Of the items listed, U.S. adults are most likely to say that in heaven, people are definitely or probably free from suffering, with roughly seven-in-ten members of the general public holding this view. This perspective is nearly unanimous among the 73% of Americans who express belief in heaven.”
The study also mentions, “Roughly a quarter of all U.S. adults (26%) say that they do not believe in heaven or hell, including 7% who say they do believe in some kind of afterlife and 17% who do not believe in any afterlife at all.”
There are many different ways to interpret or speculate on what could happen in the afterlife, or, if an afterlife will exist at all.
