The chapters in this book evolved from lectures given in the annual Distinguished Speakers Series organized by the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society and co-sponsored by the University of Victoria's Division of Continuing Studies

The Centre for Studies in Religion and Society was established at the University of Victoria in 1991 to foster the scholarly study of religion in relation to the sciences, ethics, social and economic development, and other aspects of culture. The primary aim is to promote dialogue between religion and these other aspects of

human experience. The Centre has a fundamental commitment to pluralism and pursues a broad range of research interests not

limited to any specific time, place, religion, or culture. It embodies the understanding that religious traditions have been formative of human reality and experience, and that the speeches are the proper object of creative, rigorous inquiry, whether from a disciplinary or an interdisciplinary perspective.

Each year the Centre invites distinguished scholars from various religions to speak on a common theme from the perspective of their own traditions. The 1995 Distinguished Speakers Series on Life after Death evoked such strong and positive audience response that the speeches were augmented and revised for publication as a book.