Then why are some so sure?
that's a very good question! I can't be 100% sure since I'm not in their shoes, but I think it might be from the pre-existing religious beliefs they hold, or even just the notion that a religion could exist in combination with how our brains react to low oxygen levels.
some people expect an afterlife or reincarnation because they were raised to follow a certain religion that includes it, so when they die, they expect these things to happen and are very sure that they will. they believe in something so much that it can't possibly not exist or not happen. religion is taught here from such a young age that it becomes a way of life, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was just something ingrained in their minds for so long that it has become a reality to them.
alternatively, some people who didn't believe in an afterlife had their minds changed after being brought back from the brink of death, and I think that the strange visions these people had while being under a lack of oxygen were immediately associated with death and something beyond life because that was the easiest explanation for it. an extreme lack of oxygen often brings feelings of relaxation; we feel at peace, and when in combination with strange visions and sounds, we automatically associate these feelings with what happens after we die. after all, they were seen while someone was dying, so people often assume that those visions were the reality of death and religion! some people have also seen or heard gods / religious icons directly, while most just see some sort of tunnel of light.
the biggest reason why I'm hesitant to agree with them is because these visions, sounds, and feelings could genuinely just be in their minds and not be a reality, especially when we consider why religions were created and how they were used. religion turned from trying to explain the world around us into a grab for power and control, and there are so many different religions out there, so I'm not sure that I can believe any god is real or say that one religion is any more valid than another until the day I die. I just have to see something to believe it <:
+2 answers in: “What happens after we die?”
some people expect an afterlife or reincarnation because they were raised to follow a certain religion that includes it, so when they die, they expect these things to happen and are very sure that they will. they believe in something so much that it can't possibly not exist or not happen. religion is taught here from such a young age that it becomes a way of life, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was just something ingrained in their minds for so long that it has become a reality to them.
alternatively, some people who didn't believe in an afterlife had their minds changed after being brought back from the brink of death, and I think that the strange visions these people had while being under a lack of oxygen were immediately associated with death and something beyond life because that was the easiest explanation for it. an extreme lack of oxygen often brings feelings of relaxation; we feel at peace, and when in combination with strange visions and sounds, we automatically associate these feelings with what happens after we die. after all, they were seen while someone was dying, so people often assume that those visions were the reality of death and religion! some people have also seen or heard gods / religious icons directly, while most just see some sort of tunnel of light.
the biggest reason why I'm hesitant to agree with them is because these visions, sounds, and feelings could genuinely just be in their minds and not be a reality, especially when we consider why religions were created and how they were used. religion turned from trying to explain the world around us into a grab for power and control, and there are so many different religions out there, so I'm not sure that I can believe any god is real or say that one religion is any more valid than another until the day I die. I just have to see something to believe it <: