What Different Religions Teach About Reincarnation

Reincarnation, also called rebirth or transmigration, is one of the most widespread ideas about death. It is often described as one belief, but the religions that teach it explain it very differently. This article summarizes each, in general terms.

What is reincarnation?

The rebirth of something that survives death. Britannica defines it as the rebirth of the aspect of an individual that persists after bodily death, whether consciousness, mind, soul, or something else, in one or more later existences. It adds that the major religions with this belief are Asian religions that arose in India: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Britannica also notes that the ancient Greek Orphic mystery religion held that a soul survives death and is later reincarnated.

What does Hinduism teach?

That the self is reborn until it is freed. Britannica says that in Hinduism birth and rebirth continues endlessly until a person achieves moksha, or liberation, by realizing that the eternal core of the individual (atman) and ultimate reality (brahman) are one. The New World Encyclopedia describes karma as the sum of one’s actions and the force that determines the next birth, and calls the karma-driven cycle of death and rebirth samsara.

What does Buddhism teach?

Rebirth without a permanent self. Britannica notes that Buddhism denies an unchanging, substantial soul and teaches instead the concept of anatman, or non-self, yet it holds to a belief in the transmigration of karma. The goal, Britannica says, is nirvana, the extinction of desires and liberation from bondage to samsara. The New World Encyclopedia stresses that Buddhist rebirth differs from the Hindu-based view because there is no eternal soul to be reborn.

What does Jainism teach?

That karma is a kind of substance. The New World Encyclopedia says Jains conceive of karma as a substance, not a force. It adds that the soul (jiva) is trapped in the cycle by the karma that builds up on it. EBSCO adds that Jains hold that all karma of any kind must be eliminated before one can escape the cycle and reach moksha.

What does Sikhism teach?

That rebirth follows actions, and liberation comes through devotion. EBSCO says Sikhism holds that the soul is reborn many times, that rebirth is determined by one’s actions, and that the cycle is broken when liberation (mukti) is reached. A comparison of the four traditions adds that in Sikh teaching, liberation comes through God’s grace and living within the divine order.

How many people believe in it?

A third of people in the countries Pew surveyed. Pew found a median of 33 percent across 35 countries, with 48 percent in India, Nigeria, and Thailand, and 31 percent in the United States. Buddhists and Hindus were consistently more likely than others in their countries to believe in reincarnation. For more, see What Do Different Religions Believe Happens After We Die? and How Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain Views of Reincarnation Differ.