Contribution with the title «Über Leben und Tod. On the changing power of contemporary mythologies» for the radio format Essay and Diskurs of Deutschlandfunk, on the subject of alternative afterlife narratives;
Language: German.
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It is the Christian and ancient mythologies that shape our self-image, which tell of life, death and transience, for example. What would change if we went in search of alternative narratives in a globalized world?
In this half-hour contribution, which was first broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on 4 March 2024, I explore different ideas of life after death and the mythological narratives associated with it. Be it the concept of ancestor worship, the idea of rebirth or an active culture of remembrance – I look at the treatment of life after death as a public fiction. The various narrative fictions influence a society's worldview and shape its values, norms, rituals and views. But these fictions are changeable. My essay serves as an appeal to consider other ideas about death and the afterlife and to incorporate them into a contemporary worldview.