Images of Heaven and the Spiritual Afterlife

Qualitative Analysis of Children'S Storybooks about Death, Dying, Grief, and Bereavement

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13628513
AutoresNancy L Malcom (0000-0002-1160-0568, Georgia Southern University, autor correspondente)
Ano2010
Volume62
Fascículo1
Páginas51-76
Data de publicação2010-10-21
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/om.62.1.c
PMID21138070
OpenAlexW2317753851
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas9
Referências citadas36

Many parents turn to picture books and storybooks to help explain issues surrounding death and dying to their young children. In addition to dealing with topics such as death, funerals, memories, and grief, a number of the books also mention the concept of heaven and what our loved ones might experience after they die. This article uses qualitative research methods to analyze 49 children's storybooks that touch on the existence of heaven or a spiritual afterlife. Results show that heaven is portrayed in a simplistic fashion, as a place high in the sky with bright lights, angels, and clouds. Even as heaven is presented in a relatively simple way, there are also patterned differences in depictions of the spiritual afterlife depending upon whether the decedent in the book was a family pet, a child, a parent, or a grandparent. The article concludes with a discussion of how these depictions of heaven and the afterlife might help young children cope with death-related grief

Afterlife · Art · Developmental psychology · Grandparent · Grief · Heaven · Literature · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Communication Studies and Media · Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis · Values and Moral Education