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by Anonymous on March 2nd, 2007

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Does any religion besides Catholicism have Purgatory as an integral part of their beliefs?

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  • by singwell-is off researching a lot on March 3rd, 2007

    singwell-is off researching a lot

    not in the strict terms that Catholicism does, although Islam has some sort of intermediate places for babies, children and the mentally deficient to wait until Judgement Day.Zoroastrianism has a place where souls wait, and if in suffering, it is only light suffering (eeek how light is light?)
    Purgatory in Catholicism (and to some extent Orthodoxy) is the logical outcome of a turning away from the salvation by grace through faith taught in the Bible (Ephesians 2:8.9) to a doctrine of works and liturgy as the principle method of salvation. If you believe in grace, then Jesus has paid for your sin, and good works are a natural flow on from that as a sign of gratitude. If you believe in works, then you have to do as many as possible to get you into heaven. But how many is enough? To get around that vagueness, you have to create a middle ground between heaven and hell, where those not quite good enough to get into heaven, but not bad enough to go to hell hence Purgatory, a place where your sins are purged by the meritorious works are others on your behalf.

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  • by Stormarm on March 27th, 2011

    Stormarm

    Orthodoxy, the various "Old Catholic" denominations, and Anglo-Catholicism all hold to the reality of Purgatory -- meaning a state after death in which one's sins are purged and soul purified through passive suffering.

    Also, in Buddhism, what they typically call Hell is evidently more akin to Purgatory, since you can re-incarnate out of it after you have worked off enough bad karma ( though ultimately all souls will either attain Nirvana or absolute/ultimate Hell ... at which point all existance disolves into oblivion and the cycle begins again).

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  • by DavidHume on March 3rd, 2007

    DavidHume

    As far as I know it is mainly a Catholic thing. As with very many religious beliefs, there is no evidence (as far as I know) in the Bible for it, it is an added-on feature.

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  • by noletters on March 26th, 2007

    noletters

    Islam has something similar called the Barzark. It's the same general concept.

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  • by Christine on March 18th, 2011

    Christine

    Gehenna in Judaism is similar to purgatory in that it is a generally temporary place of reflection and/or suffering between death and the world to come. Some interpret the reciting of the mourner's kaddish as bringing relief to those who are or who may be in this transition.

    The Eastern Orthodox notion of Hell is also temporary and so comes closer to Catholic purgatory than to Hell. I think Islam makes a distinction between actions which lead to eternal punishment (atheism and blasphemy I assume) and actions which merely bring temporary punishment.

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