Reincarnation is the belief that some essential part of a living being, whether soul, self or stream of consciousness, begins a new life in another body after death. Central to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, and found in ancient Greek philosophy, Kabbalah and modern esotericism, it remains a matter of faith and philosophy rather than scientific demonstration.
Reincarnation at a glance
| Also known as | Rebirth, transmigration, metempsychosis |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit terms | Samsara (cycle), punarjanman (rebirth) |
| Central in | Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism |
| Greek exponents | Pythagoras, Plato |
| Jewish form | Gilgul in Kabbalah |
| Scientific status | No accepted scientific evidence |
Terms and definitions
Several words describe the idea. Reincarnation (from Latin, "entering the flesh again") and transmigration are general English terms. Metempsychosis, a Greek word, was used for the teachings of Pythagoras and Plato. In the Indian religions the key concept is samsara, the wandering or cycle of repeated birth and death, and punarjanman, "birth again."
Most traditions link rebirth with a moral law. The Sanskrit term karma (action) expresses the idea that deeds in one life shape the conditions of the next. Many traditions also teach that the ultimate aim is not endless rebirth but release from it.
Indian religions
In Hinduism, the atman or self is eternal and passes from body to body, as the Bhagavad Gita compares to a person changing worn-out clothes. The goal is moksha, liberation from the cycle through knowledge, devotion or disciplined action. Ideas of rebirth appear in the Upanishads, later than the earliest Vedas.
Buddhism accepts rebirth but rejects a permanent self, the teaching of anatta. What continues is a causally linked stream of mental processes, conditioned by karma, and the cycle is marked by dukkha, unsatisfactoriness. Nirvana ends it. Jainism teaches that karmic matter binds the soul (jiva) to rebirth, while Sikhism sees liberation in union with God through remembrance of the divine Name.
Greek, Jewish and other traditions
In ancient Greece, rebirth was associated with Orphism and above all with Pythagoras, who is said to have recalled past lives. Plato presented the soul's return in new bodies in dialogues such as the Phaedo, the Phaedrus and the Myth of Er in the Republic. Later Platonists, including Plotinus, continued the theme.
Mainstream Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach resurrection or a single earthly life, but reincarnation appears within some of their mystical currents. Kabbalah developed the doctrine of gilgul, the rolling or cycling of souls, systematized in the sixteenth century by Isaac Luria's school. The Druze faith holds that souls are reborn immediately in new human bodies. Beliefs in rebirth are also found in many Indigenous and traditional religions around the world.
Modern Western interest
From the nineteenth century, reincarnation gained a Western following through Spiritism, whose founder Allan Kardec made it central, and through Theosophy, led by Helena Blavatsky, which blended Indian ideas with evolutionary theories of spiritual progress. In the twentieth century the psychic Edgar Cayce, the New Age movement, and practices such as past-life regression spread the idea widely.
Western esoteric versions usually present rebirth as a path of learning and growth, sometimes connected to claims about the Akashic records. This optimistic reading differs from the classical Indian view, in which rebirth is mainly something to escape. Surveys show that a notable minority of people in Europe and the Americas now express some belief in reincarnation.
Research and the scientific view
The psychiatrist Ian Stevenson (1918-2007) of the University of Virginia spent decades collecting cases of young children, many in South Asia and Lebanon, who reportedly spoke of memories of a previous life. His book Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1966) is the best-known work in this field, and colleagues continued his research.
Critics, including the philosopher Paul Edwards, argue that such cases can be explained by cultural expectation, parental influence, unreliable testimony, cryptomnesia (forgotten memories resurfacing) and selective reporting. Past-life memories produced under hypnosis are considered especially unreliable, since hypnosis is known to encourage confabulation. There is no known mechanism by which memories could pass between lives, and the scientific consensus holds that reincarnation has not been demonstrated. For believers, however, it remains a religious and philosophical conviction rather than a laboratory hypothesis.
Related concepts
Reincarnation connects with many other ideas treated in this encyclopedia. Karma explains why beings are reborn in particular circumstances. Anatta shows how Buddhism reinterprets rebirth without a lasting self. Thanatology, the study of death and dying, considers how beliefs about the afterlife shape grief and end-of-life care.
Other related terms include resurrection, the bodily raising of the dead taught in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which differs from reincarnation because the person returns once, in a transformed body, rather than through a series of lives. Soul migration into animals or plants, accepted in some Indian and Greek teachings, is rejected by many modern Western believers, who usually imagine rebirth only in human form.
Related entries
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Frequently asked questions
Which religions believe in reincarnation?
Reincarnation or rebirth is a central teaching of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It also appears in the Druze faith, in Jewish Kabbalah as gilgul, in ancient Greek philosophy through Pythagoras and Plato, in Spiritism and Theosophy, and in many Indigenous traditions. Mainstream Christianity and Islam generally do not accept it.
What is the difference between reincarnation and rebirth in Buddhism?
Reincarnation usually implies a permanent soul moving into a new body. Buddhism denies such an unchanging self, the doctrine of anatta, so many scholars prefer the word rebirth. What continues is a stream of consciousness and karmic tendencies, linked by cause and effect, rather than a fixed entity passing from life to life.
Is there scientific evidence for reincarnation?
No. Researchers such as Ian Stevenson documented children who claimed past-life memories, but critics point to cultural influence, flawed testimony and selective reporting, and hypnotic regression is known to produce false memories. No mechanism for reincarnation is known, and mainstream science regards it as unproven, though it remains an important religious belief.
Sources and further reading
- Reincarnation · Wikipedia
- Reincarnation · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Ian Stevenson, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1966) · American Society for Psychical Research
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.