I will let you in, just a little bit, into my bizarro world. I have the strangest beliefs.
There is this theory in science .... well two actually. One says that we create our own realities and the other says that there are an infinite number of alternate realities... and there are theories as to what causes the alternate realities.
I believe that death is another reality, different from this one. That is my definite belief. But I also have this odder belief that a person could potentially get to anther alternate reality through death... that in the same way that some people can accomplish lucid dreaming a person could go live an alternate life in an alternate reality and their body here would die. I won't explain why I have these beliefs. They are what they are, and I believe them.
I also think that it is entirely possible that when one dies they go to the alternate reality that they believe in. So... people who believe in reincarnation would start a new life in a different reality. People who believe that heaven is a place where angels sit on clouds and play harps would find themselves in that reality. Pearly gates or hell... yet another reality. No belief in an afterlife... then no alternate reality.
So, yeah, I have hope.