Hell. In religion and folklore, Hell is an afterlife location in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, often torture as eternal punishment after death.
Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface.
Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Paradise, Purgatory, Limbo, and the underworld. Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth.
Such places are sometimes equated with the English word 'hell', though a more correct translation would be 'underworld' or 'world of the dead'. The ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.
Despite written accounts and depictions of Hell throughout much of human history, and common belief in such a location, there is no scientific evidence that Hell exists. The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period. The word has cognates in
Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface.
Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Paradise, Purgatory, Limbo, and the underworld. Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth.
Such places are sometimes equated with the English word 'hell', though a more correct translation would be 'underworld' or 'world of the dead'. The ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.
Despite written accounts and depictions of Hell throughout much of human history, and common belief in such a location, there is no scientific evidence that Hell exists. The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period. The word has cognates in
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