--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I finally decided that people believed in…" description: "\"“I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg" --- # I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife… ![“I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg) > ““I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling to belief in an afterlife to avoid confronting mortality. **In simple terms:** Belief in afterlife eases fear of death. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mortality without denial. Themes mortality faith psychology Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical discussion - personal reflection Key Concepts existential coping belief systems Questions to Reflect On - Why do we need comfort after death? - What alternatives exist for coping? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex spiritual motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Afterlife Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife-couldn-276045/) [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-afterlife-389563/) [People Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-believed/) ## Related quotes > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [People believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they-couldn-t-bear-not-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I never liked writing concluding paragraphs to papers—where you just repeat what you’ve already said with phrases like In summation, and To conclude. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-never-liked-writing-concluding-paragraphs-to-papers-where-you-just-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [People, I thought, wanted security. They couldnt bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldnt bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldnt-bear-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn't bear the though of their loved ones not existing, and couldn't even imagine themselves not existing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bear-the-though-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Humanism inspires a lot of enthusiasm for everyday life and urges people to be better to one another, to work towards a better future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/humanism-inspires-a-lot-of-enthusiasm-for-everyday-life-and-urges/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [One time he was asked if he believed in an afterlife. After a moment's hesitation he said no, that he thought there was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/one-time-he-was-asked-if-he-believed-in-an-afterlife-after-a-moment-s/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Nowadays, people send rockets into space, and I think it does make you question if there's a God. They can make babies in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-parfitt/nowadays-people-send-rockets-into-space-and-i-think-it-does-make-you/) [Judy Parfitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-parfitt/) > [“People never believed of others what they couldn't imagine of themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meljean-brook/people-never-believed-of-others-what-they-couldn-t-imagine-of/) [Meljean Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meljean-brook/) > [It's never been just about me. It's about my grandparents who used to drive me to swim practice. My dad who - on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-long/it-s-never-been-just-about-me-it-s-about-my-grandparents-who-used-to/) [Jessica Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-long/) > [My race and sex had a great deal more to do with what people believed I could do than with what I actually could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/my-race-and-sex-had-a-great-deal-more-to-do-with-what-people-believed/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“I have loved and been loved, thoroughly and deeply by good and decent people who believed in me. Who let me dare to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-dean/i-have-loved-and-been-loved-thoroughly-and-deeply-by-good-and-decent/) [Carolee Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-dean/) > [I will never forget the will of the people who believed in me wherever I went during the election campaign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-geun-hye/i-will-never-forget-the-will-of-the-people-who-believed-in-me/) [Park Geun-hye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-geun-hye/) > [People believed what they wanted to believe, no matter what was right in front of their eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/people-believed-what-they-wanted-to-believe-no-matter-what-was-right/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [It always amazed me that people believed I was this beautiful object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/it-always-amazed-me-that-people-believed-i-was-this-beautiful-object/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/john-green-12_afterlife_i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-i_3183163.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.” — John Green", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I finally decided that people believed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-finally-decided-that-people-believed-in-an-afterlife-because-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```