Christianity

Abstract

In several Western European democracies, more than a third of the population believe in Heaven, as shown by the latest World Values Survey (WWS 2020), including Norway (34%), the United Kingdom (35.2%), and Finland (33.9%). The percentage is considerably higher in culturally Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox nations, as well as the United States (66.9%). Belief in Hell is almost as widespread in these countries as belief in Heaven. The lowest values in the West are reported in Denmark, where still 17.8% believe in Heaven and 9.4% in Hell. Moreover, although longitudinal data are sparse, they show varying trends but no overall decline since the 1980s. The persistence of afterlife beliefs after centuries of secularization suggests that belief in Hell and Heaven is firmly ingrained in Christian cultures. This chapter looks at the origins and history of postmortem rewards and punishments in Christianity, focusing especially on their connection with moral behavior.