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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...

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Main Authors: Al-Issa, Riyad Salim, Krauss, Steven Eric, Roslan, Samsilah, Abdullah, Haslinda
Format: Article
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) 2021
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/93386/
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/1026
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spelling my.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
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
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.
format Article
author Al-Issa, Riyad Salim
Krauss, Steven Eric
Roslan, Samsilah
Abdullah, Haslinda
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
author_facet Al-Issa, Riyad Salim
Krauss, Steven Eric
Roslan, Samsilah
Abdullah, Haslinda
author_sort Al-Issa, Riyad Salim
title 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_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_sort to heaven through hell: are there cognitive foundations for purgatory evidence from islamic cultures
publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
publishDate 2021
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/93386/
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/1026
_version_ 1789426939168030720
score 13.223943

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