Festival of Faiths sheds light on views about death
Dozens of books with titles like "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates" affirm what 43 percent of Americans believe: pets go to heaven.
While it sounds like a whimsical topic, the question of pet heaven actually offers a window into modern Americans' urban lifestyles and to their views on God and death, says John Ferre, a University of Louisville communications professor.
"There are a lot of people who say, 'If my dog or my cat isn't in heaven, I don't want to go,' " Ferre told an audience last night at the Louisville Gardens during the weeklong Festival of Faiths, which ends today.
Ferre said he's not a theologian and can't answer whether there's pet heaven. But he said it's an important question for many.
Most Americans own pets, and many consider them part of the family.
"A lot of times for children in America, their first experience with death is with the death of a pet," Ferre said, who began studying the topic after learning of the hundreds of grief-stricken letters to the creator of the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" after the death of the dog Farley in 1995.
Many pet-heaven books are written to console children and help their parents cope with grief -- or to console adult owners.
Others grapple with the question on a theological level, with one even warning the reader to get right with God or risk going to hell while the pet enjoys heaven. "The point is not to be with God or be united with Jesus or be united with your ancestors. It's to be reunited with your animal," Ferre said.
He added that there are "horror stories" of people who trace the loss of their faith as children to their ministers' brusque replies when they asked if their dead pet was in heaven.
Ferre said people who do believe in pet heaven cite certain Bible passages, such as a verse saying that "every creature" on Earth and in the sea will join in praise of God. Others cite paranormal sensations that their pet is still living.
He said theologians in the past dealt with animal souls only in passing, sometimes whimsically. The Christian author C.S. Lewis speculated that heaven for mosquitoes and hell for humans might be the same place.
Once people start believing pets have souls, however, it raises other questions about animal rights, said audience member Bob Stenger, a U of L law professor.
For example: Is it ethical to induce cancer or spinal deformities in laboratory animals for experiments -- "raising the question, who are you to prioritize life?" he said.
Belief in pet heaven is part of Americans' tendency to deny death, but Ferre said that's a positive thing.
"Death denial is an expression of American hopefulness, (that) death is not the last word."
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