Soteriology (; "salvation" from "savior, preserver" and "study" or "word"[, which erroneously gives neuter nominative of the corresponding adjective, σωτήριον, as the base.]) is the study of Doctrine of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religions.
Buddhism
Buddhism is devoted primarily to awakening or enlightenment (
bodhi),
Nirvāṇa ("blowing out"), and
Moksha (
vimokṣa) from all causes of suffering (
duḥkha) due to the existence of sentient beings in
saṃsāra (the cycle of compulsory birth, death, and rebirth) through the threefold trainings (
Buddhist ethics,
Samadhi, and wisdom). Classical Indian Buddhism emphasized the importance of the individual's
Bhavana (through numerous spiritual practices like keeping
Five precepts, Buddhist meditation, and worship) in the process of liberation from the defilements which keep us bound to the cycle of rebirth. According to the
Abhidharma, liberation arises when the proper
Phenomenon (
dhārmata) are cultivated and when the mind has been purified of its attachment to fetters and
Five hindrances that produce unwholesome mental factors (various called defilements,
Three poisons, or
Asava).
However, the Pure Land traditions of Mahayana generally focus on saving "other power" of the celestial Buddha Amitābha.[Williams, Paul (2008). Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd Ed., p. 215. Routledge.] Birth in the Pure Land is accomplished through the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, which is called Nianfo and entails reciting the name of the celestial Buddha Amitābha with a mind of faith, which links us to the Buddha's power.[Jones, Charles B. (2019) Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice, p. 1. University of Hawai‘i Press / Honolulu.] At the moment of death, the Buddha then transports us to the Pure Land. The Chinese Buddhism and other mainland Pure Land traditions teach a synergistic soteriology in which one's own self-power links us to the Buddha's other power (which is still the main or "dominant condition" for salvation). This is called the doctrine of sympathetic resonance or "stimulus-response" ( ganying).[Jones, Charles B. (2019) Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice, p. 61. University of Hawai‘i Press / Honolulu.]
Christianity
The doctrine of salvation in
Christianity, also called "deliverance" or "redemption", focuses on the saving of
from sin and its consequences.
["The saving of the soul; the deliverance from sin and its consequences" OED 2nd ed. 1989.][Wilfred Graves, Jr., In Pursuit of Wholeness: Experiencing God's Salvation for the Total Person (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2011), 9, 22, 74-5.] Variant views on salvation are among the main lines dividing the various Christian denominations, being a point of disagreement between Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and
Protestantism; in the history of the Protestant Reformation, the Calvinist–Arminian debate has been particularly influential. These lines include conflicting definitions of
Total depravity, predestination, atonement, and most pointedly, justification. Christian soteriology ranges from exclusive salvation
to universal reconciliation concepts.
Christology plays a key role in debates about soteriology. In the Catholic tradition, the Roman Catholic Church claims soteriological authority.[The Oxford Handbook of Process Philosophy and Organization Studies. (2014). United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.][Gouwens, D. J. (1996). Kierkegaard as Religious Thinker. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.]
Epicurean philosophy
More than a century after the establishment of the Garden, the school in which
Epicurus taught philosophy, some people in the Greco-Roman world regarded Epicurus as their "Savior" (,
Sōtḗr). The most prominent soul saved by Epicurus was the Roman Empress
Pompeia Plotina.
Lucretius, author of
De Rerum Natura, also depicts the salvific power of philosophy, and of his Scholarch Epicurus, by employing literary devices like the "Broken Jar parable" (where the Scholarch is credited with helping mortals to easily enjoy pleasure), poetry, and imagery.
The salvation of Epicurus has no otherworldly connotations whatsoever. Judging from his Principal Doctrines and Letter to Menoeceus, he salves his disciples from supernatural fears and excessive desires for what is not natural and gives his disciples clear ethical guidelines that lead to happiness. Lucretius says Epicurus has set the boundaries for the limits of nature. His followers in Roman times developed Epicurus into a cultural hero and revered him as the founding figure of his School, and as the first to have developed a fully naturalistic cosmology that emancipated mortals from all fear-based superstition.
Hinduism
Soteriology is discussed in
Hinduism through its principle of
moksha, also called
nirvana or
kaivalya. "In India", wrote
Mircea Eliade, "metaphysical knowledge always has a soteriological purpose."
refers to freedom from
saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth. Soteriology is one of the four primary aims of human life (
Purusartha), alongside
dharma (duty),
artha (wealth), and
kama (pleasure). Rooted in the belief that existence is marked by suffering caused by ignorance, desire, and karma, moksha is seen as the ultimate liberation, often described in terms of nirvana (cessation), apunar-janma (non-return), or kaivalya (isolation). In Indian philosophy, different traditions such as
Vedanta,
Samkhya, and Yoga offer varied paths to moksha through knowledge, meditation, ethical action, or devotion (
bhakti), but all regard it as the final resolution to human suffering and bondage.
Islam
Muslims believe that everyone is responsible for their own actions. So even though Muslims believe that Adam and Hawwa (Eve), the parents of humanity, committed a sin by eating from the forbidden tree and thus disobeyed God, they believe that humankind is not responsible for such an action. They believe that God (
Allah) is fair and just and one should request forgiveness from him to avoid being punished for not doing what God asked of them and for listening to Satan.
[In Az-Zumar (The Groups) chapter, in verse 7, in the Qur'an, "No bearer of Burdens shall bear the burden of another" 39:7. So repentance in Islam is to be forgiven from the poor decisions sent forth by one's hand. In Islam, for one to repent, s/he has to admit to Allah that they were disobedient, feel regret for their behavior, be willing not to do the same again and finally to ask for repentance through prayer. S/he does not need to go to speak to someone to deserve the repentance, simply during the prayer, s/he speaks to her/his God, Allah (prays) asking His forgiveness. Allah said in the Qur'an "O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your misdeeds, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)". al-Tahreem 66:8 Muslims believe that God is merciful and thus believers are expected to continuously seek forgiveness so that their misdeeds may be forgiven. "Say: O my servants who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds) Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” al-Zumar 39:53 and also "And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterward seeks Allah’s forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" al-Nisaa 4:110.] Muslims believe that they, as well as everyone else, are vulnerable to making mistakes and thus they need to seek repentance repeatedly at all times.
Muhammad said, "By Allah, I seek the forgiveness of Allah and I turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times each day." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6307) God wants his servants to repent and forgives them, he rejoices over it, as Muhammad said: "When a person repents, Allah rejoices more than one of you who found his camel after he lost it in the desert." (Agreed upon. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6309) Islamic tradition has generally held that it is relatively straightforward to enter Jannah (Paradise). In the Quran, God says: "If you avoid the great sins you have been forbidden, We shall wipe out your minor misdeeds and let you through the entrance of honor Paradise."[An’Nisa 4:31]
However, by direct implication of these tenets and beliefs, Man's nature is spiritually and morally flawed such that he needs salvation from himself. Finding appreciation, forgiveness, and joy in Allah is the only (or best) practice to be saved from this terrible fate of corruption and meaninglessness. al-Tahreem 66:8
Sufism
The focus on
fanāʾ in
Sufism, sometimes let to a dismissal on both paradise and hell as means of salvation, which often went hand in hand with a rejection of the present world.
[Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 Vols.): Volume 1: Foundations and Formation of a Tradition. Reflections on the Hereafter in the Quran and Islamic Religious Thought / Volume 2: Continuity and Change. The Plurality of Eschatological Representations in the Islamicate World. (2017). Niederlande: Brill. p. 282][Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p, 225] The prospect of paradise and fear of hell would distract the Muslim too much from devotion to God.
[Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 226] Instead, one should throw away both worlds (
al-takhalli min al-kawnayn) and focus solely on the reality behind them.
[Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. pp. 225-226]
These Sufis considered the true meaning of hell to be separation from and heavenly bliss to be the union with God.
"O Lord, if I worship You out of fear of hell, burn me in hell, andif I worship You in the hope of paradise, forbid it to me. However, if I worship You for Your own sake, do not deprive me of Your eternal beauty!"[Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 227]
Another radical rejection of paradise and hell can be found by Bayazid Bastami. He describes paradise as yet another veil, occupying people with temporal bliss rather than God.[Keeler, A. (2024). Bāyazīd: The Life and Teachings of the Mystic Abū Yazīd Al-Basṭāmī (d. Ca. 234/848): Based on the Earliest Sources. Deutschland: Brill. p. 145] In his own mystical ascension, remniscient of Muhammad's Journey through the heavens, he describes the visions of paradise as nothing but another worldly distraction; the true goal of his quest is meeting God.[Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 228] By doing so, he also makes critical remarks about the inhabitants of the paradise, stating that "those who are in paradise are not in God" and "let them be fooled", because, once in paradise, they will realize that they are veiled from the greatest pleassure, which is meeting God.[Lange, Christian. Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 230]
Similarly, al-Shibli responded then asked about hell, that "fire and hell are but sugar in comparison with being separated from." Al-Niffari proclaimed that entering hell would be the ultimate test for the Sufi, because once entered, "the Fire would be extinghuished", but paradise would be populated only by "slaves". Once in hell, all worldly and intellectual properties will be burned until only union with God remains.
Jainism
In
Jainism, the soteriological concept is
moksha, which is the final
gunasthana. The Jain theory explains
moksha differently from the similar term found in Hinduism.
is a blissful state of existence of a soul, completely free from the karmic bondage, free from
saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death. It is the highest state of existence of a soul, even higher than the gods living in the heavens. In the state of moksha, a soul enjoys infinite bliss, infinite knowledge and infinite perception. This state is achieved through realisation of self and achieving a completely desireless and unattached state.
Judaism
In contemporary
Judaism, redemption (
Hebrew language ge'ulah) is God's gathering in the people of
Israelites from their various exiles.
This includes the final redemption from the
Jewish diaspora.
[Salvation, Judaism. [6] Accessed 4 May 2013] Judaism does not posit a need for
personal salvation in a way analogous to Christianity; Jews do not believe in
original sin.
["How Does a Jew Attain Salvation?" [7] Accessed: 4 May 2013] Instead, Judaism places greater value on individual morality as defined in the
Halakha and embodied in the
Torah—the teaching given to
Moses by God on Mount Sinai and sometimes understood to be summarized by the
Ten Commandments (
Biblical Hebrew עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים,
ʿĂsereṯ haDəḇārīm, lit. 'The Ten Words'). The
Tannaim sage Hillel the Elder taught that the Law could be further compressed into the single maxim popularly known as the
Golden Rule: "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow".
In Judaism, salvation is closely related to the idea of redemption, or rescue from the states and circumstances that destroy the value of human existence. God, as the creator of the universe, is the source of all salvation for humanity (provided an individual honors God by observing God's precepts). So, redemption and/or salvation depends on the individual. Furthermore, Judaism stresses that one's salvation cannot be obtained through anyone else, invoking a deity, or believing in any outside power or influence.
Some passages in Jewish religious texts assert that an afterlife exists for neither the good nor evil. For example, the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes tells the reader: "The dead know nothing. They have no reward and even the memory of them is lost."[Ecclesiastes 9:5] For many centuries, rabbis and Jewish laypeople have often wrestled with such passages.
Mystery religions
In the mystery religions of the Greco-Roman world, salvation was less worldly and communal, and more a mystical belief concerned with the continued survival of the individual soul after death.
Some savior gods associated with this theme are dying-and-rising gods, often associated with the seasonal cycle, such as
Osiris,
Dumuzid,
Adonis, and
Dionysus. A complex of soteriological beliefs was also a feature of the cult of
Cybele and
Attis.
The similarity of themes and archetypes to religions found in antiquity to later Christianity has been pointed out by many authors, including the Church Fathers of the early Christian church. One view is that early Christianity borrowed these myths and motifs from contemporary Hellenistic mystery religions, which possessed ideas such as life-death-rebirth deities and sexual relations between gods and human beings. While Christ myth theory is not accepted by mainstream historians, proponents attempt to establish causal connections to the cults of Mithraism, Dionysus, and Osiris among others.
Sikhism
Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the
Naam Japo (name) and message of God, meant to bring one into union with God. But a person's state of mind has to be detached from this world, with the understanding that this world is a temporary abode and their soul has to remain untouched by pain, pleasure, greed, emotional attachment, praise, slander, and above all, egotistical pride. Thus their thoughts and deeds become
nirmal or pure, and they merge with God or attain union with God, just as a drop of water falling from the skies merges with the ocean.
Taoism
Becoming an enlightened person is what is considered salvation in many
Taoism beliefs.
Some Taoist immortals were thought of as deceased humans whose souls achieved a superior physical form.
Other religions
Shinto and
Tenrikyo similarly emphasize working for a good life by cultivating virtue or virtuous behavior.
In an age that still saw salvation as primarily collective - based on the religion of the family, clan, or state - rather than the emerging province of the individual (as popularized by Buddhism and the mystery religions such as Mithraism). Hellenistic ruler cults from about 300 BCE sometimes promoted the revering of a king as the savior of his people. Prominent examples included Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt and the Seleucids Antiochus I Soter and Demetrius I Soter. In the Egyptian context, the deification of a ruler was built on traditional pharaonic religious ideas.
See also
Further reading
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John McIntyre, Shape of Soteriology: Studies in the Doctrine of the Death of Christ, T&T Clark, 1992.
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