Future

==In religion==
Religions consider the future when they address issues such as [[karma]], [[afterlife|life after death]], and [[eschatology|eschatologies]] that study what the end of time and the end of the world will be. In religion, major prophets are said to have the power to change the future. Common religious figures have claimed to see into the future, such as minor [[prophet]]s and [[divination|diviners]].

The term "afterlife" refers to the continuation of [[existence]] of the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]], spirit or [[mind]] of a human (or animal) after physical [[death]], typically in a [[Spirituality|spiritual]] or [[ghost]]like afterworld. Deceased persons are usually believed to go to a specific region or [[planes of existence|plane of existence]] in this afterworld, often depending on the rightness of their actions during life.

Some believe the afterlife includes some form of preparation for the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] to transfer to another body ([[reincarnation]]).
The major views on the afterlife derive from [[religion]], [[esotericism]] and [[metaphysics]]. There are those who are skeptical of the existence of the afterlife, or believe that it is absolutely impossible, such as the [[materialism|materialist]]-reductionists, who believe that the topic is [[supernatural]], therefore does not really exist or is unknowable. In metaphysical models, [[theists]] generally, believe some sort of afterlife awaits people when they die. [[Atheism|Atheists]] generally do not believe in a life after death. Members of some generally non-theistic religions such as [[Buddhism]], tend to believe in an afterlife like [[reincarnation]] but without reference to [[God]].

[[Agnosticism|Agnostics]] generally hold the position that like the existence of God, the existence of supernatural phenomena, such as souls or life after death, is unverifiable and therefore unknowable.<ref>{{cite dictionary | url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agnostic | title=agnositic | dictionary=Merriam-Webster | access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref> Many religions, whether they believe in the soul's existence in another world like Christianity, Islam and many [[Paganism|pagan]] belief systems, or in reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one's status in the afterlife is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life, with the exception of [[Calvinistic]] variants of [[Protestant]] Christianity, which believe one's status in the afterlife is a gift from God and cannot be earned during life.

[[Eschatology]] is a part of [[theology]] and [[philosophy]] concerned with the final events in the [[Human history]], or the ultimate [[destiny]] of [[All humanity|humanity]], commonly referred to as the end of the world. While in [[mysticism]] the phrase refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and reunion with the Divine, in many traditional [[religion]]s it is taught as an actual future event [[prophecy|prophesied]] in [[sacred text]]s or [[folklore]]. More broadly, eschatology may encompass related concepts such as the [[Messiah]] or [[Messianic Age]], the [[Eschatology|end time]], and the [[Eschatology|end of days]].