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Concept
Reincarnation
Summary
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth, transmigration, or in Ancient Greek-inspired texts metempsychosis, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or an animal to continue its immortality. The term transmigration means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.
Reincarnation (punarjanma) is a central tenet of the Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism; although there are Hindu groups who do not believe in reincarnation, instead believing in an afterlife. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, certain pagan religions including Wicca, and some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous Australians (though most believe in an afterlife or spirit world). A belief in the soul's rebirth or migration (metempsychosis) was expressed by certain Ancient Greek historical figures, such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato.
Although the majority of denominations within Christianity and Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Cathars, Alawites, the Druze, and the Rosicrucians. The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation that were characteristic of Neoplatonism, Orphism, Hermeticism, Manichaenism, and Gnosticism of the Roman era as well as the Indian religions have been the subject of recent scholarly research. In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation, and many contemporary works mention it.
The word reincarnation derives from a Latin term that literally means 'entering the flesh again'.
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