Editing Reincarnation (section)

{{Short description|Concept of rebirth in different physical form}}
{{Redirect2|Reincarnate|Past lives|other uses|Reincarnation (disambiguation)|and|Past Lives (disambiguation){{!}}Past Lives}}
{{distinguish|Resurrection}}
{{For|the Futurama episode|Reincarnation (Futurama)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
[[Image:Reincarnation AS.jpg|thumb|Illustration of reincarnation in [[Hindu art]]]]
[[File:Gati or existences.jpg|right|thumb|In [[Jainism]], a [[soul]] travels to any one of the four states of existence after death depending on its [[karma]]s.]]

'''Reincarnation''', also known as '''rebirth''' or '''transmigration''', is the [[Philosophy|philosophical]] or [[Religion|religious]] concept that the non-physical essence of a living [[being]] begins a new [[lifespan (disambiguation)|lifespan]] in a different physical form or [[physical body|body]] after biological [[death]].<ref name=":6">{{cite book |last=McClelland |first=Norman C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC |title=Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma |publisher=McFarland |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7864-5675-8 |pages=24–29, 171, 259 |access-date=2016-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126104519/https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC |archive-date=2016-11-26 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 =Juergensmeyer | first1 = Mark | last2 = Roof | first2 = Wade Clark | year = 2011 | title = Encyclopedia of Global Religion | publisher = SAGE Publications | isbn = 978-1-4522-6656-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ | access-date = 2016-09-25 | archive-date = 2019-03-31 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331224443/https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ | url-status = live |pages =271–272}}</ref> In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the [[soul]] of a human being is [[immortality|immortal]] and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its [[immortality]]. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.)

Reincarnation (''[[punarjanman]]'') is a central tenet of [[Indian religions]] such as [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Sikhism]].{{Sfn|Juergensmeyer|Roof|2011|pp= 271–272}}<ref>{{cite book 
 |first =Stephen J. |last =Laumakis |title =An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=_29ZDAcUEwYC |year =2008 |publisher =Cambridge University Press |isbn =978-1-139-46966-1 |access-date =2016-09-25 |archive-date =2017-01-21 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170121233453/https://books.google.com/books?id=_29ZDAcUEwYC |url-status =live |pages =90–99}}</ref><ref name="Gross1993p148">{{cite book |author =Rita M. Gross |title =Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism |url =https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros |url-access =registration |year =1993|publisher =State University of New York Press|isbn =978-1-4384-0513-1 |page =[https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros/page/148 148]}}</ref><ref>[[Gavin Flood|Flood, Gavin D.]] (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press</ref> In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of [[Judaism]], in certain [[Paganism|pagan religions]] (including [[Wicca]]), and in some beliefs of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]]<ref>Gananath Obeyesekere, ''Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth''. University of California Press, 2002, p. 15.</ref> and of [[Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology#Views on death|Aboriginal Australians]] (though most believe in an afterlife or [[Spirit world (Spiritualism)|spirit world]]).<ref>Crawley{{full citation needed|date= September 2022}}</ref> Some [[ancient Greek]] historical figures, such as [[Pythagoras]], [[Socrates]], and [[Plato]], expressed belief in the soul's rebirth or migration (''[[metempsychosis]]'').<ref>see Charles Taliaferro, Paul Draper, Philip L. Quinn, ''A Companion to Philosophy of Religion''. John Wiley and Sons, 2010, p. 640, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SSCx-67Tk6cC&dq=reincarnation+and+rebirth&pg=PA640 Google Books] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212163105/https://books.google.com/books?id=SSCx-67Tk6cC&pg=PA640&dq=reincarnation+and+rebirth&cd=8#v=onepage&q=reincarnation%20and%20rebirth&f=false |date =2022-12-12 }}</ref>

Although the majority of denominations within the [[Abrahamic religions]] do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include mainstream historical and contemporary followers of [[Catharism]], [[Alawites]], [[Hasidic Judaism]], the [[Druze]],<ref>Hitti, Philip K (2007) [1924]. ''Origins of the Druze People and Religion, with Extracts from their Sacred Writings (New Edition)''. Columbia University Oriental Studies. '''28'''. London: Saqi. pp. 13–14. {{ISBN |0-86356-690-1}}</ref> [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistics]], [[Rastafarians]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1 =Fernández Olmos |first1 =Margarite |url =https://www.worldcat.org/title/702357503 |title =Creole religions of the Caribbean: an introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo |last2 =Paravisini-Gebert |first2 =Lizabeth |publisher =New York University Press |year =2011 |isbn =978-0-8147-6227-1 |edition =2 |series =Religion, race, and ethnicity |location =New York |pages =186 |oclc =702357503}}</ref> and the [[Rosicrucians]].<ref>[[Max Heindel|Heindel, Max]] (1985) [1939, 1908] ''The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures (Collected Works)'': [http://www.rosicrucian.com/rcl/rcleng01.htm#lecture1 The Riddle of Life and Death] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629063357/http://www.rosicrucian.com/rcl/rcleng01.htm#lecture1 |date =2010-06-29 }}. Oceanside, California. 4th edition. {{ISBN|0-911274-84-7}}</ref> Recent scholarly research has explored the historical relations between different sects and their beliefs about reincarnation. This research includes the views of [[Neoplatonism]], [[Orphism (religion)|Orphism]], [[Hermeticism]], [[Manichaeism|Manichaenism]], and the [[Gnosticism]] of the [[Roman era]], as well as those in Indian religions.<ref>For discussion of the mutual influence of ancient Greek and Indian philosophy regarding these matters, see ''[[The Shape of Ancient Thought]]'' by [[Thomas McEvilley]]:
{{cite book
 |last1                = McEvilley
 |first1               = Thomas
 |author-link1         = Thomas McEvilley
 |date                 = 7 February 2012
 |orig-date            = 2002
 |title                = The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=KmqCDwAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = New York
 |publisher            = Simon and Schuster
 |isbn                 = 9781581159332
 |access-date          = 8 January 2025
}} 
</ref> In recent decades, many [[Europeans]] and [[North Americans]] have developed an interest in reincarnation,<ref name=Haraldsson2006>{{cite journal |last1=Haraldsson |first1=Erlendur |title=Popular psychology, belief in life after death and reincarnation in the Nordic countries, Western and Eastern Europe |journal=Nordic Psychology |date=January 2006 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=171–180 |doi=10.1027/1901-2276.58.2.171 |s2cid=143453837 }}</ref> and [[Reincarnation in popular culture|contemporary works]] sometimes mention the topic.<ref>
[https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=reincarnation%2C+re-incarnation%2C+transmigration%2C+metempsychosis&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 Chart of some recorded occurrences of terminology in English]
</ref>