Abstract
The psychological and social effects of the doctrine of purgatory (temporary afterlife punishment) have not received sufficient attention from sociologists. Temporary afterlife punishment (TAP) is any kind of ‘temporary’ torment a person believes they will receive after death as a result of one’s sins, before admission into heaven/paradise. Investigating the effects of TAP beliefs can help to understand their social impact on contemporary Islamic societies. Drawing on related research on the Protestant ethic hypothesis, and self-control theory, the present study theorized the negative psychological and social impact of TAP. We argue that the effect of the Predestination doctrine on pro-sociality is best attributed to the Protestant denial of belief in TAP, and that the positive impact of afterlife punishment beliefs on self-control and prosocial behavior decreases with belief in TAP. To test these hypotheses, we first developed the Temporary Afterlife Punishment Expectations (TAPE) scale and examined the relationship between TAPE and self-control, rule-breaking ability, and integrity (as an indicator of prosocial behavior). Data were collected from Muslim youth in two countries (Jordan N = 605 and Malaysia N = 303). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the Jordanian data support the construct validity of the TAPE scale. In line with our hypotheses, path analysis results supported the negative effects of TAPE on self-control, rule-breaking ability, and integrity. Replicating the study with the Malaysian sample led to similar results. Future research directions are recommended.
Highlights
Received: 11 November 2021Le Goff (1984) and Ekelund et al (1992) were mistaken in their claim that Islam does not have its own doctrine of purgatory
Despite agreement among Muslim sects on temporary afterlife punishment (TAP), there is no theological consensus in Islam regarding TAP belief
This study suggests that the concept of supernatural reward and punishment has a direct impact on self-control mechanisms by affecting the anterior cingulate cortex that is associated with performance monitoring and affective responses to errors
Summary
Received: 11 November 2021Le Goff (1984) and Ekelund et al (1992) were mistaken in their claim that Islam does not have its own doctrine of purgatory. Hell as a core doctrine of belief (Hamza 2016). This doctrine states that a Muslim whose evil deeds outweighs his or her good deeds in life might be sent to Hell, where they will remain for a certain period, only to be eventually brought out and admitted into Heaven (Chittick 2008). Despite agreement among Muslim sects on TAP, there is no theological consensus in Islam regarding TAP belief. Maghreb countries; and the Zaidiyyah-an Islamic minority in Yemen) reject the idea of TAP. While the details of this dispute are beyond the scope of this research, one can find similarities between the idea of TAP in Islam and purgatory in Christianity. The dispute among the different sects of Islam regarding TAP is similar to the disagreement between
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