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Heaven Is for Real and America’s Fascination with Near-Death Experiences

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Death, Dying, and Mysticism

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism ((INTERMYST))

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Abstract

One way that humans respond to the inescapable reality of death is to deny death’s finality. Ever since ancient times, individuals have reported visionary experiences of an afterlife. In postmodern American culture, many people demonstrate keen interest in narratives of near-death experiences (NDEs). This interest can be elucidated by examining one particular narrative that captured the popular imagination—bestselling “nonfiction” book and Hollywood movie Heaven Is for Real (2010; 2014). This story’s commercial success is noteworthy in a culture in which the rise of atheism has challenged an earlier consensus that there is life after death, and in which growing toleration of non-Christian religions has undercut the Bible’s once-authoritative status to shape popular concepts of heaven, hell, and the necessity of faith in Jesus for eternal salvation. This chapter contextualizes Heaven Is for Real within a larger history of American interest in NDEs, and uses the methods of close reading, comparison with other NDE narratives, and analysis of popular reactions to explain the exceptional popularity of this particular account.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Candy Gunther Brown
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Thomas Cattoi Christopher M. Moreman

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© 2015 Thomas Cattoi and Christopher M. Moreman

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Brown, C.G. (2015). Heaven Is for Real and America’s Fascination with Near-Death Experiences. In: Cattoi, T., Moreman, C.M. (eds) Death, Dying, and Mysticism. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137472083_9

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