I asked people about their beliefs about Life after Death in an online form that I advertised generally through contacts, asking them to pass the request on. Responses were returned anonymously. As well as ticking boxes, many, though not all, wrote some free text about their thoughts, which I reproduce below. My aim is to have glimpses inside people’s minds, for them to be able to express themselves honestly and without judgement. My idea is to be able to sidestep the social niceties, and fear of rejection, and see how similar and how different we all are.

I’m aware this is not a representative sample. In a way, although doing this scientifically and analysing the data could be interesting, I’m more attracted to the sense of it being anecdotal, as that feels more personal. I don’t want to compare people actually, except to notice that people are different. I want to connect with each reflection, each person, as them, not as a representative of anything more.

These are the kinds of stories we make up with a topic that has no objective answer, none that anyone can prove is right or wrong. Are we the same with other aspects of life, where there might be more chance of personal or objective evidence to support one’s view?

The work was presented at the Remake show in rooms belonging to the Newington Green Unitarian Church.