In my own beliefs consciousness goes back to a mass 'center' of it when its ready and different bits of all of us form and enter a body on its first breath. Some are still tied to the earth which helps me with ghosts and other experiences but the form the mass consciousness takes isn't one that can experience this on its own, so it comes piecemeal through all of us and our experiences. So even though someone may pass it won't be their exact conciousness of last time being reincarnated. I believe when one passes their 'afterlife' is based on how that consciousness is altered and the eternity of afterlife if they believe in it, is experienced in a small blip of time because time passing and the experience of it are different measures. Sometimes the life a consciousness is born into isn't a good one, but there's no penalty except for the person's own consciousness or possibly whatever measures of morality the center has had or created. To me it makes sense because before a young age a child has no set identity, and we view the cohesion of one identity in a body as a development in a growing child's psyche. Its also why there seems to be bits of truth in most religions, because they've all taken pieces of the whole story and seen it as an entire thing and not just a part of a whole.
I know it sounds strange, and doesn't seem to match fully with any religions i know of. But its the best working model i have that makes sense to me at least.