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Death

What happens after death?

One question. Nine perspectives. Original sources.

Hand-checked editorial pageWritten and citation-checked by Anthoney Hamrick, Founder and editor, The Faith VaultLast citation review Not yet reviewed by a scholar of every tradition — see who has, and who we are looking forReport a correction

Overview

Few questions divide the traditions as clearly as this one. Christianity, Islam and much of Judaism speak of resurrection and judgement; Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism of rebirth conditioned by one's actions; the Bahá'í writings of the soul's continued progress; Taoism of return to the source; and Shinto of the dead as spirits and ancestors honoured by the living.

Nine perspectives

Christianity

From scripture

Christian hope centres on resurrection: Jesus says 'I am the resurrection and the life', and Paul describes the dead being raised with an imperishable, spiritual body. Revelation pictures a renewed creation in which death and mourning are no more. Traditions differ on the intermediate state (heaven, purgatory, sleep) and on the nature of judgement.

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Islam

From scripture

The Qur'an teaches that every soul will taste death and return to God, followed by resurrection and judgement on the Last Day, with Paradise for the righteous and punishment for the wicked. Between death and resurrection the soul waits in the grave (barzakh). Muslims are urged to remember death as a return: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him we return.'

  • Qur'an 2:156 — 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'
  • Qur'an 3:185 — 'Every soul will taste death... you will be paid in full on the Day of Resurrection.'
  • Qur'an 21:35 — Every soul will taste death; life is a test.
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Judaism

From scripture

The Hebrew Bible speaks sparingly of the afterlife; Ecclesiastes says the dust returns to the earth and the spirit to God, and Daniel speaks of the dead awakening. Rabbinic Judaism affirms resurrection and the World to Come (olam ha-ba), which Pirkei Avot calls the banquet hall for which this world is the vestibule. Beliefs vary widely across Jewish movements today.

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Buddhism

From scripture

Buddhism teaches rebirth: death is followed by a new birth conditioned by karma, within the cycle of samsara, until liberation (nirvana) ends the cycle. There is no unchanging soul that transmigrates; rather a stream of conditioned processes continues. The Buddha's final words — 'all conditioned things are subject to decay; strive on with diligence' — set death within the truth of impermanence.

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Hinduism

From scripture

The Bhagavad Gita teaches that the self (atman) is never born and never dies; at death it puts off the body as one changes worn-out clothes and takes another according to karma, until liberation (moksha). The Upanishads describe how a person's desires and deeds shape the next birth. Schools differ on what liberation is — union with God, or realisation of identity with Brahman.

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Sikhism

From scripture

Sikh scripture describes the soul passing through the cycle of birth and death until, by God's grace and remembrance of the Name, it merges back into the One. Guru Tegh Bahadur's saloks near the end of the Guru Granth Sahib meditate on the world's transience, and Guru Nanak's Alahania hymns reframe mourning as praise. Death approached with remembrance of God is called blessed.

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Bahá'í Faith

From scripture

Bahá'u'lláh describes death as 'a messenger of joy' and teaches that the soul, after separation from the body, continues to progress toward God in worlds beyond this one. Heaven and hell are understood as nearness to or remoteness from God rather than places. The body returns to the elements; the soul is eternal.

  • Hidden Words, Arabic 32 — 'I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve?'
  • Gleanings LXXXI — The soul after separation from the body continues to progress until it attains the presence of God.
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Taoism

From scripture

The Tao Te Ching speaks of all things returning to their root, and the Zhuangzi treats death as one more transformation in the ceaseless change of the Tao — famously in Zhuangzi's calm response to his wife's death and Master Lai's acceptance of what the Maker of Things will do with him. Religious Taoism later added elaborate teachings on immortality and the afterlife.

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Shinto

Expressed through practice — no direct text

The Kojiki tells of Izanami's descent to Yomi, the land of the dead, and Izanagi's purification on returning — establishing death as a source of pollution to be cleansed. In practice the dead become spirits (mitama) and, in time, ancestral kami honoured by their descendants. Shinto offers no fixed doctrine of judgement; funerary rites in Japan are often Buddhist.

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Where traditions overlap

  • Every tradition treats death as a transition rather than simple ending.
  • Most connect what follows death to how one has lived — through judgement, karma or the soul's condition.
  • Several counsel remembering death as a way to live well now (Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Bahá'í Faith).

Where they differ

  • Resurrection of the body (Christianity, Islam, rabbinic Judaism) versus rebirth in new bodies (Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism).
  • Buddhism denies a permanent soul; Hinduism, Sikhism and the Bahá'í Faith affirm an eternal self or soul.
  • Taoist texts frame death as natural transformation; Shinto expresses death mainly through purification and ancestor veneration rather than doctrine.

Sources

TraditionPassageSummary
ChristianityJohn 11:25–26
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
'I am the resurrection and the life.'
Christianity1 Corinthians 15:42–44
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
The body is raised imperishable and spiritual.
ChristianityRevelation 21:4
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
'Death will be no more.'
IslamQur'an 2:156
Quran.com
'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'
IslamQur'an 3:185
Quran.com
'Every soul will taste death... you will be paid in full on the Day of Resurrection.'
IslamQur'an 21:35
Quran.com
Every soul will taste death; life is a test.
JudaismEcclesiastes 12:7
Sefaria
Dust returns to earth, spirit returns to God.
JudaismDaniel 12:2
Sefaria
'Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.'
JudaismPirkei Avot 4:16
Sefaria
'This world is like a vestibule before the World to Come.'
JudaismMishnah Sanhedrin 10:1
Sefaria
'All Israel have a share in the World to Come.'
BuddhismMahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16)
SuttaCentral, Sujato
The Buddha's death and final instruction.
BuddhismDhammapada 277
Access to Insight, Buddharakkhita
'All conditioned things are impermanent.'
BuddhismDhammapada 153–154
Access to Insight, Buddharakkhita
Wandering through many births until the builder of the house is seen.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 2:20
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
The self is never born and never dies.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 2:22
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
As a person discards worn clothes, the self takes new bodies.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 2:27
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
'For one who is born, death is certain.'
HinduismBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5
Sacred Texts, Müller SBE
As one acts and desires, so one becomes.
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1426–1429 (Salok Mahalla 9)
SikhiToTheMax
Guru Tegh Bahadur on the transience of the world.
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 579–580 (Alahania, Guru Nanak)
SikhiToTheMax
Hymns for the time of death: dying in remembrance of God is blessed.
Bahá'í FaithHidden Words, Arabic 32
Bahá'í Reference Library
'I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve?'
Bahá'í FaithGleanings LXXXI
Bahá'í Reference Library
The soul after separation from the body continues to progress until it attains the presence of God.
TaoismTao Te Ching 16
ctext.org, Legge
All things return to their root; returning is stillness.
TaoismZhuangzi, ch. 18 'Perfect Enjoyment'
ctext.org, Legge
Zhuangzi on his wife's death as a passage between seasons.
TaoismZhuangzi, ch. 6 'The Great and Most Honoured Master'
ctext.org, Legge
Master Lai accepts death as part of transformation.
ShintoKojiki, Book 1, Sect. IX (Izanami and Yomi)
Sacred Texts, Chamberlain 1882
The underworld and Izanagi's purification.
ShintoEncyclopedia of Shinto — 'Tama' (mitama)
Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin
Spirit or soul; the spirits of the dead.
ShintoEncyclopedia of Shinto — 'Sorei'
Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin
Ancestral spirits honoured by their descendants.

All citations on this page were opened in the linked reference editions and compared with the summaries (last full pass September 12, 2026). Links open at the verse, paragraph or section wherever the edition supports it; otherwise at the chapter or entry. Translations vary; we link to widely used public editions so you can compare. Evidence labels on each perspective follow our editorial standards.

Frequently asked questions

Which religions believe in reincarnation?

Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism teach rebirth conditioned by karma (with different accounts of what is reborn). Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith teach a single earthly life followed by resurrection, judgement or the soul's progress.

Do all Christians believe in hell?

Most historic churches teach some form of final judgement, but views on hell's nature and permanence vary from eternal punishment to annihilation to universal reconciliation.

What is the Buddhist view of the soul?

Buddhism teaches anatta (not-self): no fixed, unchanging soul passes from life to life; rather a conditioned process continues, shaped by karma.

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