salvationSALVATION
The concept is rooted in the Latin term salus (sound, safe). This ubiqui-
tous religious concept presupposes two things: being saved from some
situation on earth and a process by which this can happen. Various reli-
gions offer different answers, and some traditions provide multiple
responses, although salvation can be viewed as the goal of most religions.
Depending on the religion, the problematic nature of the human situation
that hinders the achievement of salvation is traced to such conditions as
sin, disobedience to God’s commandments, failure to follow the laws of
God by ignoring them, ignorance, desire, rebirth, and suffering.
Jews are part of a covenant, for instance, initiated by God, who
will save the faithful at the end of time. Christians are born into orig-
inal sin from which they will be saved by faith. Muslims have been
given a straight path by Allah, and those chosen by God will be saved
at the conclusion of history. Buddhists can follow a path of ethical
behavior, asceticism, and meditation to reach nirvāÏa that is free of
rebirth and suffering. If one takes the text of the Bhagavad Gītā as
representative of Hinduism, this work provides three paths to salva-
tion: knowledge (jñāna yoga), good works (karma yoga), and devo-
tion (bhakti yoga). In general, devotional types of religion that require
faith usually promise salvation in some kind of paradise that is free of
pain and suffering.
Further reading: O’Flaherty (1980); van der Leeuw (1963)SANCTIFICATION
This means to make holy (to be without a blemish). The source of sancti-
fication in Judaism and Islam is God, who is defined as the most holy,
whereas Christianity locates the source of holiness with the Holy Spirit,
which is part of the Trinity. The term sanctification possesses strong
Western connotations associated with the preparation for reading the Torah
in Judaism, preparing for prayers in Islam, and becoming a priest in Latin
Christianity, but it also plays an important role in other cultures with, for
instance, Buddhist ordination. Sanctification is directly connected to the
concept of purification and removal of sin in many contexts.
Further reading: Rappaport (1999)