To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures
The purgatory doctrine, which has played a vital role in Christian culture, states that most believers must experience afterlife punishment in order to be cleansed of their sins before entering Heaven. Traditional Islamic theology rejects the notion of purgatory (Al-Motahher) through the Balance doc...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
2021
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| _version_ | 1796982872219844608 |
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| author | Al-Issa, Riyad Salim Krauss, Steven Eric Roslan, Samsilah Abdullah, Haslinda |
| author_facet | Al-Issa, Riyad Salim Krauss, Steven Eric Roslan, Samsilah Abdullah, Haslinda |
| author_sort | Al-Issa, Riyad Salim |
| collection | UPM |
| description | The purgatory doctrine, which has played a vital role in Christian culture, states that most believers must experience afterlife punishment in order to be cleansed of their sins before entering Heaven. Traditional Islamic theology rejects the notion of purgatory (Al-Motahher) through the Balance doctrine (Mizan), which states that if the good deeds performed during a Muslim’s life outweigh their bad deeds, the person will enter heaven without suffering or punishment. This study hypothesizes that folk intuitions and cognitive biases (tendency to proportionality) explain, in part, the emergence and spread of the purgatory doctrine in the Islamic world. Drawing on a cognitive science of religion lens, the current study examines this hypothesis in an Islamic cultural context. Quantitative surveys (three studies) conducted in Jordan (n = 605, and n = 239) and Malaysia (n = 303) indicate that the doctrine of purgatory is prevalent (36% in Jordan and 69% in Malaysia) despite its contradiction with the Balance doctrine as defined by Islamic theology. To our knowledge, this is the first study documenting the phenomenon of theological incorrectness in Muslim afterlife beliefs by using empirical research. Implementation of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T10:58:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm.eprints-93386 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T10:58:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | upm.eprints-933862024-01-26T03:10:58Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/93386/ To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures Al-Issa, Riyad Salim Krauss, Steven Eric Roslan, Samsilah Abdullah, Haslinda The purgatory doctrine, which has played a vital role in Christian culture, states that most believers must experience afterlife punishment in order to be cleansed of their sins before entering Heaven. Traditional Islamic theology rejects the notion of purgatory (Al-Motahher) through the Balance doctrine (Mizan), which states that if the good deeds performed during a Muslim’s life outweigh their bad deeds, the person will enter heaven without suffering or punishment. This study hypothesizes that folk intuitions and cognitive biases (tendency to proportionality) explain, in part, the emergence and spread of the purgatory doctrine in the Islamic world. Drawing on a cognitive science of religion lens, the current study examines this hypothesis in an Islamic cultural context. Quantitative surveys (three studies) conducted in Jordan (n = 605, and n = 239) and Malaysia (n = 303) indicate that the doctrine of purgatory is prevalent (36% in Jordan and 69% in Malaysia) despite its contradiction with the Balance doctrine as defined by Islamic theology. To our knowledge, this is the first study documenting the phenomenon of theological incorrectness in Muslim afterlife beliefs by using empirical research. Implementation of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) 2021-11 Article PeerReviewed Al-Issa, Riyad Salim and Krauss, Steven Eric and Roslan, Samsilah and Abdullah, Haslinda (2021) To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures. Religions, 12 (11). pp. 1-16. ISSN 2077-1444 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/1026 10.3390/rel12111026 |
| spellingShingle | Al-Issa, Riyad Salim Krauss, Steven Eric Roslan, Samsilah Abdullah, Haslinda To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title | To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title_full | To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title_fullStr | To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title_full_unstemmed | To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title_short | To heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from Islamic cultures |
| title_sort | to heaven through hell are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from islamic cultures |
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