Heaven, Hell, Purgatory

Death and the Afterlife

Content

• Christian teaching on:

  • heaven

  • hell

  • purgatory

  • election

Key Knowledge

• different interpretations of heaven, hell and purgatory, including:

  • heaven, hell and purgatory are actual places where a person may go after death and experience physical and emotional happiness, punishment or purification

  • heaven, hell and purgatory are not places but spiritual states that a person experiences as part of their spiritual journey after death

  • heaven, hell and purgatory are symbols of a person’s spiritual and moral life on Earth and not places or states after death

• different Christian views of who will be saved, including:

  • limited election (that only a few Christians will be saved)

  • unlimited election (that all people are called to salvation but not all are saved)

  • universalist belief (that all people will be saved)

• the above to be studied with reference to the key ideas in Jesus’ parable on Final Judgement, ‘The Sheep and the Goats’ (Matthew 25:31–46)