Why might people not believe in life after death?

There are lots of reasons for this. Some people do not want to believe in life after death, especially when they are severely depressed. These people want to believe that suicide would end their suffering, and that they do not have to continue to struggle. Others believe that worrying about the future is a waste of time, and that every day should be lived only as it comes - so they don't consider the concept. They're is also no evidence that there is life after death and so some people might not want to believe since they have no proof.

Also, acknowledging life after death is usually associated with a religion, and people who have been raised void of religious influence and are not of faith, may have trouble believing in something beyond the grave. Some people believe only in what they have direct evidence of, or have witnessed; and evidence of life after death can only be found when it is too late to come back and tell the world.

Answer:

Actually, there is plenty of non-religious evidence for life after death. See, for example, the roseandlotus website and follow the links. But people are afraid to believe it, in case they are then pressured into following a religion that they have already developed a distaste for, and so they developed the myth that belief in life after death is only for the weak-minded. But that is only a myth, and there is no evidence at all, apart from wishful thinking, for the proposition that there is nolife after death.

Answer:

Belief in existence after death is the tradition of all mankind. All ancient societies worldwide without exception shared this tradition.

In very recent generations, the abandonment of tradition in general has been taking place and that is why things have gotten so much worse, including the fact that many people no longer are aware of God or the afterlife.