Unit 6 - Influences of developments in religious belief
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Edexcel Religious Studies AS/A-Level - Unit 6 - Influences of developments in religious belief - 6.1 (b) + (c) Reincarnation and Rebirth
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Unit 6 - Influences of developments in religious belief
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This essay covers unit 6.1 (b) and (c) of the Edexcel Religious Studies specification - Reincarnation and rebirth - in unit 6 Influences of developments in religious belief. It is used in Section C of Paper 1 (Question 4), includes a synoptic link, and can be tailored to earlier questions of the pa...
Unit 6 - Influences of developments in religious belief
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Evaluate the view that reincarnation and rebirth are the best explanations for post mortem
experience
This essay aims to evaluate whether reincarnation and rebirth are the best explanations for
post mortem experience by examining key points, as well as evaluating key criticisms
offered.
Post mortem existence needs to be defined in order to fully understand reincarnation and
rebirth. It explains the belief of life after death with many religions believing in post mortem
experience, with many explanations involving the soul. There are a number of beliefs about
the soul. Through the Abrahamic perspective, it is explained that the soul is what gives
humans life and is what God blew into Adam’s soul, referred to as ‘nefesh’ in Hebrew. The
soul is known as the ruh in Islam and is often interpreted as an immaterial element of a living
being. For Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, the soul is referred to as the atman and is a
part of Brahman, and will return to him through the process of moksha. Lastly, Descartes, a
French philosopher, describes the soul as having no extension with space, instead with the
brain through the pineal gland. In terms of the nature of the soul, there are two main
explanations: dualism and monism. Dualism is the belief that the soul and body are separate
entities with different natures with the body being physical, and the soul being immaterial.
Whereas monism is the belief that soul and body are one. Hinduism is a dualist faith
whereas Buddhism is a monist faith. However, both explain similar concepts of post mortem
experience, which are reincarnation and rebirth.
Hinduism involves the belief of reincarnation using the cycle of samsara. It is explained that
there is an atman (soul) which is in the body, and it is eternal as well as stems from
Brahman. Reincarnation in Hinduism means to be re-enfleshed, meaning the soul
continuously enters new bodies. The main aim of the cycle of samsara is to achieve moksha,
meaning to be with Brahman, the source of all existence. The process is governed by karma,
which is the law of cause and effect. Humans must strive to do their dharma (meaning duty),
and will have consequences involving karma: good karma (if someone lives according to
their faith) and bad karma (if someone discards their faith). The consequences may be
experienced in this life or can influence one’s next life after reincarnation.
Buddhists believe in a form of reincarnation called rebirth. In Buddhism, there is no concept
of a soul, meaning the faith is monist. Similar to reincarnation followed by Hindus, Buddhists
also place an emphasis on karma, but there is no soul or atman that transfers from body to
body. They believe there is continuity in each life, but the consciousness in the new person
is neither identical nor entirely different to the former body. The Buddha taught the doctrine
of anatta, meaning no self. Essentially, they believe that the self is an illusion and that a
person is in a constant state of flux and made up of thoughts and feelings that interact with
the body. In Buddhism, all is impermanence. The aim of rebirth in Buddhism is to attain
nirvana, meaning enlightenment, and is achieved through letting go of things based on
cravings and desire. This can link to ethics as Buddhism plays a key role in Pacifism: the
central ethical code in Buddhism is five precepts with the first being to abstain from harming
living beings. Breaking this precept results in bad karma and bad rebirth.
Now this essay will go on to explain the key criticisms of reincarnation and rebirth.
One criticism that can be raised against reincarnation and rebirth can be found by looking at
the population. During the industrial revolution, there was a tremendous increase in
population - during the 20th century, the world has grown by 5 billion people. This is
inconsistent with beliefs regarding reincarnation and rebirth as if everyone who is born was
reincarnated from someone deceased, we should not see this tremendous increase in
population. New lives should not be created if all life is from reincarnation. We could go even
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