Soul

==Religious views==
In [[Judaism]] and in some [[Christianity|Christian]] denominations, only human beings have immortal souls (although [[immortality]] is disputed within Judaism and the concept of [[immortality]] was most likely influenced by Plato).<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Immortality of the Soul |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8092-immortality-of-the-soul |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220130344/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8092-immortality-of-the-soul |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=2016-12-14 |website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> For example, Thomas Aquinas, borrowing directly from Aristotle's ''[[On the Soul]]'', attributed "soul" (''[[wikt:anima|anima]]'') to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal.<ref>Peter Eardley and Carl Still, ''Aquinas: A Guide for the Perplexed'' (London: Continuum, 2010), pp. 34–35</ref> Other religions (most notably [[Hinduism]] and [[Jainism]]) believe that all living things from the smallest bacterium to the largest of mammals are the souls themselves ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]], [[jiva]]) and have their physical representative (the body) in the world. The actual [[self]] is the soul, while the body is only a mechanism to experience the [[karma]] of that life. Thus if one sees a tiger then there is a self-conscious identity residing in it (the soul), and a physical representative (the whole body of the tiger, which is observable) in the world. Some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This belief is called [[animism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080709052029/http://www.bartleby.com/65/so/soul.html "Soul"], ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. 2001–07. Retrieved 12 November 2008.</ref>

=== Ancient Near East ===
{{Main|Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul|Religions of the ancient Near East}}
[[File:Souls of Pe and Nekhen towing at Ramses' Temple in Abydos c.jpg|thumb|right|The [[souls of Pe and Nekhen]] towing the [[royal barge]] on a relief of [[Ramesses II]]'s temple in Abydos]]
In the [[ancient Egyptian religion]], an individual was believed to be made up of various elements, some physical and some spiritual. Similar ideas are found in ancient Assyrian and Babylonian religion. The [[Kuttamuwa stele]], a funeral stele for an 8th-century BCE royal official from [[Sam'al]], describes [[Kuttamuwa]] requesting that his mourners commemorate his life and his [[afterlife]] with feasts "for my soul that is in this stele". It is one of the earliest references to a soul as a separate entity from the body. The {{convert|800|lb|adj=on}} [[basalt]] stele is {{convert|3|ft|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|2|ft|abbr=on}} wide. It was uncovered in the third season of excavations by the Neubauer Expedition of the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]] in Chicago, Illinois.<ref>{{cite news |title=Found: An Ancient Monument to the Soul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/science/18soul.html?8dpc=&_r=1&pagewanted=all |quote=In a mountainous kingdom in what is now southeastern Turkey, there lived in the eighth century B.C. a royal official, Kuttamuwa, who oversaw the completion of an inscribed stone monument, or stele, to be erected upon his death. The words instructed mourners to commemorate his life and afterlife with feasts "for my soul that is in this stele." |work=The New York Times |date=17 November 2008 |access-date=18 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424210754/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/science/18soul.html?8dpc=&_r=1&pagewanted=all |archive-date=24 April 2009}}</ref>

===Baháʼí Faith===
The [[Baháʼí Faith]] affirms that "the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel".<ref>{{cite book |author=Bahá'u'lláh |author-link=Bahá'u'lláh |year=1976 |title=Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh |publisher=Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois |isbn=978-0-87743-187-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gleaningsfromwri0000baha_w8j0/page/158 158–63] |url=https://archive.org/details/gleaningsfromwri0000baha_w8j0/page/158 |access-date=2016-02-23 }}</ref> [[Bahá'u'lláh]] stated that the soul not only continues to live after the physical death of the human body but is, in fact, immortal.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bahá'u'lláh |author-link=Bahá'u'lláh |year=1976 |title=Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh |publisher=Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois |isbn=978-0-87743-187-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gleaningsfromwri0000baha_w8j0/page/155 155–58] |url=https://archive.org/details/gleaningsfromwri0000baha_w8j0/page/155 |access-date=2016-02-23 }}</ref> Heaven can be seen partly as the soul's state of nearness to God; and [[hell]] as a state of remoteness from God. Each state follows as a natural consequence of individual efforts, or the lack thereof, to develop spiritually.<ref name="rob1">{{cite book |author= Taherzadeh, Adib |author-link=Adib Taherzadeh |year= 1976 |title= The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1 |publisher= George Ronald |location= Oxford |isbn= 978-0-85398-270-8 |url= http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha%27i/Others/ROB/V1/Contents.html |access-date= 2016-02-23 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191017/http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V1/Contents.html |archive-date= 3 March 2016}}</ref> Bahá'u'lláh taught that individuals have no existence prior to their life here on earth and the soul's evolution is always towards God and away from the material world.<ref name="rob1"/>

===Buddhism===
The traditional doctrine in [[Buddhism]] regarding the soul, self or ego is that it is non-existent as a separate, permanent entity. The non-existence of self ([[anatman]]), the impermanence of all things ([[anitya]]), and the suffering ([[dukkha]]) experienced by living beings due to attachment to ideas of self and permanence are central concepts in almost all [[Schools of Buddhism|Buddhist schools]]. The doctrine of [[Buddha-nature]], while sometimes misinterpreted as referring to a "true self" or "soul" of some kind, actually depends upon acceptance of the concept of [[anatman]] to be properly understood. <ref>{{cite web |title=The Significance Of 'Tathagatagarbha'- A Positive Expression Of 'Sunyata' |url=http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha191.htm |access-date=2023-07-15|author-last=Shih|author-first=Heng-Ching}}</ref>

===Christianity===
{{See also|Soul in the Bible|Christian mortalism|Immortality of the soul|Christian conditionalism|Annihilationism}} 
[[File:SoulCarriedtoHeaven.jpg|thumb|Depiction of a soul being carried to heaven by two angels by [[William Bouguereau]]]]
According to some [[Christian eschatology]], when people die, their souls will be [[particular judgment|judged by God]] and determined to go to [[Heaven (Christianity)|Heaven]] or to [[Christian views on Hades|Hades]] awaiting a  [[resurrection]]. The oldest existing branches of Christianity, the [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental]] Orthodox churches, adhere to this view, as well as many Protestant denominations. Some Protestant Christians understand the soul as "life," and believe that the dead have no conscious existence until [[General judgment|after the resurrection]] ([[Christian conditionalism]]). Some Protestant Christians believe that the souls and bodies of the unrighteous will be destroyed in [[Christian views on Hell|Hell]] rather than suffering eternally ([[annihilationism]]). Believers will inherit [[eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]] either in Heaven, or in a [[Kingdom of God]] on earth, and enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Other Christians reject the punishment of the soul.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Paul the Apostle used ψυχή (psychē) and πνεῦμα (pneuma) specifically to distinguish between the Jewish notions of נפש (nephesh) and רוח ruah (spirit)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Αρχιμ. Βλάχος |first1=Ιερόθεος |title=Ορθόδοξη Ψυχοθεραπεία |date=30 September 1985 |location=Εδεσσα |publisher=Ιερά Μονή Τιμίου Σταυρού |page=Τι είναι η ψυχή |url=https://www.oodegr.com/oode/dogma/psyxi1.htm |access-date=25 January 2023 |chapter-url=https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/THEOL160/%CE%9A%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B1%20%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1%20%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%89%CF%80%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%AC%CF%81%CF%84%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%B7/%CE%9F%CE%A1%CE%98%CE%9F%CE%94%CE%9F%CE%9E%CE%97%20%CE%A8%CE%A5%CE%A7%CE%9F%CE%98%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%95%CE%99%CE%91.pdf |language=Greek |chapter=Κεφάλαιο Γ'}}</ref> (also in the Septuagint, e.g. Genesis 1:2 רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים = πνεῦμα θεοῦ = spiritus Dei = "the Spirit of God").

Christians generally believe in the existence and eternal, infinite nature of the soul.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harari |first=Yuval N. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/951507538 |title=Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-06-246431-6 |edition=1st US |location=New York |pages=92 |oclc=951507538}}</ref>

====Origin of the soul====
The "origin of the soul" has provided a vexing question in Christianity. The major theories put forward include [[creationism (soul)|soul creationism]], [[traducianism]], and [[pre-existence]]. According to soul creationism, God creates each individual soul directly, either at the moment of conception or at some later time. According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the preexistence theory, the soul exists before the moment of conception. There have been differing thoughts regarding whether human [[embryo]]s have souls from conception, or whether there is a point between conception and birth where the [[fetus]] [[ensoulment|acquires a soul]], [[consciousness]], and/or [[personhood]]. Stances in this question might play a role in judgements on the [[Christianity and abortion|morality of abortion]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0116.htm |title= "Do Embryos Have Souls?", Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD, Catholic Education Resource Center |publisher= Catholiceducation.org |access-date= 13 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629203818/http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0116.htm |archive-date= 29 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= Matthew Syed |date= 12 May 2008 |url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3912708.ece |title= Embryos have souls? What nonsense |work= [[The Times]] |location= UK |access-date= 13 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110918113735/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3912708.ece |archive-date= 18 September 2011}}</ref><ref>"The Soul of the Embryo: An Enquiry into the Status of the Human Embryo in the Christian Tradition", by David Albert Jones, Continuum Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-6296-1}}</ref>

====Trichotomy of the soul====
[[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (354-430), one of Western Christianity's most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body". Some Christians espouse a [[trichotomy (philosophy)|trichotomic]] view of humans, which characterizes humans as consisting of a body (''soma''), soul (''psyche''), and spirit (''pneuma'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm |title= Soul |publisher= newadvent.org |date= 1 July 1912 |access-date= 13 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111128201145/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm |archive-date=  28 November 2011| quote = In St. Paul we find a more technical phraseology employed with great consistency. Psyche is now appropriated to the purely natural life; pneuma to the life of supernatural religion, the principle of which is the Holy Spirit, dwelling and operating in the heart. The opposition of flesh and spirit is accentuated afresh (Romans 1:18, etc.). This Pauline system, presented to a world already prepossessed in favour of a quasi-Platonic Dualism, occasioned one of the earliest widespread forms of error among Christian writers – the doctrine of the Trichotomy. According to this, man, perfect man (teleios) consists of three parts: body, soul and spirit (soma, psyche, pneuma).}}</ref> However, the majority of modern Bible scholars point out how the concepts of "spirit" and of "soul" are used interchangeably in many biblical passages, and so hold to dichotomy: the view that each human comprises a body and a soul. Paul said that the "body wars against" the soul, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit" (Heb 4:12 NASB), and that "I buffet my body", to keep it under control.

====''Tota in toto corpore''====
According to Saint [[Thomas Aquinas]], the soul is ''«tota in toto corpore»''.<ref>Thomas Aquinas, ''Quaestiones disputatae De Anima'', ''[https://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost13/ThomasAquinas/tho_an10.html Quaestio decima: Vtrum anima sit in toto corpore et in qualibet parte eius?]''</ref><ref>''[[Summa Theologiae|ST]]'' I-I quaestio 76. See also [[Christian Klein]], ''An anima sit tota in toto corpore, et tota in qualibet parte, disquisitio philosophica'' {{inlang|la}}, Goetschius, 1655. {{OCLC|253546381}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | jstor=43065579 | title=Recenti Studii Su la Metafisica dell'anima | last1=Pepe | first1=Giovanni | journal=Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica | date=19 November 2023 | volume=11 | issue=2 | pages=167–194 }}</ref> 
This means that the soul is ''entirely'' contained in ''every single part'' of the human body, and therefore ubiquitous and cannot be placed in a single organ (heart or brain, etc.), nor it is separable from the body (except after the body's death).

In the fourth book of ''[[De Trinitate]]'', also Augustine of Hippo states that the soul is all in the whole body and all in any part of it.<ref>{{cite book|quote=Augustinus dixit, in ''VI [[De Trinitate]]'', quod anima est tota in toto corpore, et tota in qualibet parte eius.|author=Thomas Aquinas|title=Quaestiones disputatae De Anima|chapter=quaestio 10|url=https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~QDeAn.Q10.Obj16}}</ref>

====Views of various denominations====
; Roman Catholicism
The present [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] states that the term soul
: "refers to the innermost aspect of [persons], that which is of greatest value in [them], that by which [they are] most especially in God's image: ‘soul’ signifies the spiritual principle in [humanity]".<ref>{{cite book |title= Catechism of the Catholic Church |section=paragraph&nbsp;363 |section-url= https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1B.HTM |via= Vatican.va |access-date= 1 March 2023 }}</ref>

All souls living and dead will be judged by Jesus Christ when [[Second Coming|he comes back to earth]]. The Catholic Church teaches that the existence of each individual soul is dependent wholly upon God:
: "The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God."<ref>{{cite book |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church |section=paragraph&nbsp;382 |via= Vatican.va |section-url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p6.htm |access-date= 13 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111116203545/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p6.htm |archive-date= 16 November 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Dutch Church Sleepy Hollow 24.JPG|thumb|Depiction of the soul on a 17th&nbsp;century tombstone at the cemetery of the [[Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow]] ]]
;Protestantism
Protestants generally believe in the soul's existence and immortality, but fall into two major camps about what this means in terms of an [[afterlife]].  Some, following [[John Calvin]], believe that the [[immortality of the soul|soul persists]] as consciousness after death.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Helm |author-link=Paul Helm |year=2006 |title=John Calvin's Ideas |page=129 |quote=The Immortality of the Soul: As we saw when discussing Calvin's Christology, Calvin is a substance dualist.}}</ref> Others, following [[Martin Luther]], believe that the [[mortality of the soul|soul dies with the body]], and is unconscious ("sleeps") until the [[resurrection of the dead]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Anthony |last1=Grafton |author1-link=Anthony Grafton |last2=Most |first2=Glenn W. |author2-link=Glenn W. Most |last3=Settis |first3=Salvatore |author3-link=Salvatore Settis |title=The Classical Tradition |year=2010 |page=480 |quote=On several occasions, Luther mentioned contemptuously that the ''Council Fathers'' had decreed the soul immortal.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Marius |author-link=Richard Marius |title=Martin Luther: The Christian between God and death |year=1999 |page=429 |quote=Luther, believing in soul sleep at death, held here that in the moment of resurrection ... the righteous will rise to meet Christ in the air, the ungodly will remain on earth for judgment,&nbsp;...}}</ref>

;Adventism:
Various [[new religious movement]]s deriving from [[Adventism]] — including [[Christadelphians]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith |url=http://www.christadelphia.org/basf.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216144622/http://www.christadelphia.org/basf.htm |archive-date=16 February 2014 }}</ref> [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-03 |title=Soul Sleep {{!}} Adventist Review |url=https://adventistreview.org/magazine-article/2009-24/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=adventistreview.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=beckettj |title=What Is Your Soul, According to the Bible? |url=https://www.adventist.org/death-and-resurrection/what-is-your-soul-according-to-the-bible/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Adventist.org |language=en-US}}</ref> and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]<ref>{{cite periodical |title= Do you have an immortal soul? |date= 15 July 2007 |periodical=[[The Watchtower]] |page=3 |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2007520 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231082848/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2007520 |archive-date=31 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=What Does the Bible Really Teach? |page=211}}</ref> — similarly believe that the dead do not possess a soul separate from the body and are unconscious until the resurrection.

;Latter-day Saints ('Mormonism'):
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] teaches that the spirit and body together constitute the Soul of Man (Mankind). "The spirit and the body are the soul of man."<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Doctrine and Covenants]] |section=88:15 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Err_Jdbuu84C |via=Google Books |quote=And the spirit and the body is the soul of man.}}</ref> Latter-day Saints believe that the soul is the union of a pre-existing, God-made spirit<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Book of Moses|Moses]] |section=6:51 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/6.51?lang=eng |access-date= 2016-02-23 |via=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Hebrews |section=12:9 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/heb/12.9?lang=eng |access-date= 2016-02-23 |via=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Doctrine and Covenants |section=131:7–8 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/131.7-8?lang=eng |via=churchofjesuschrist.org |quote=Joseph Smith goes so far as to say that these spirits are made of a finer matter that we cannot see in our current state}}</ref> and a temporal body, which is formed by physical conception on earth.

After death, the spirit continues to live and progress in the [[Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)|Spirit world]] until the [[resurrection]], when it is reunited with the body that once housed it. This reuniting of body and spirit results in a perfect soul that is immortal, and eternal, and capable of receiving a fulness of joy.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Book of Mormon]] |chapter=Alma |at=5:15; 11:43–45; 40:23; 41:2 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Doctrine and Covenants |section=93:33–34 |section-url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/93.33-34?lang=eng |via=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref>

Latter-day Saint cosmology also describes "intelligences" as the essence of consciousness or agency. These are co-eternal with God, and animate the spirits.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Doctrine and Covenants]] |section=93:29–30 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/93.29-30?lang=eng |via=churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref> The union of a newly-created spirit body with an eternally-existing intelligence constitutes a "spirit birth"{{Citation needed |date= April 2014}} and justifies God's title "Father of our spirits".<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Teachings of Presidents of the Church]] |year=2011 |section=Chapter&nbsp;37: Joseph F. Smith |pages=331–338 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |section-url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-37?lang=eng}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Spirit |series=Guide to the Scriptures |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |place=Salt Lake City, UT |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/spirit?lang=eng |access-date= 2014-04-07 |via=churchofjesuschrist.org
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |title=[[Gospel Principles]]
 |section=Chapter&nbsp;41: The Postmortal Spirit World
 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
 |place=Salt Lake City, UT
 |section-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-41-the-postmortal-spirit-world?lang=eng
 |access-date= 2016-02-23
 |via= churchofjesuschrist.org
}}
</ref>

=== Confucianism ===
{{Main|Hun and po}}
{{See also|Soul dualism}}
Some Confucian traditions contrast a spiritual soul with a corporeal soul.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Boot
 | first1 = W.J.
 | chapter = 3: Spirits, Gods and Heaven in Confucian thought
 | editor1-last = Huang
 | editor1-first = Chun-chieh
 | editor2-last = Tucker
 | editor2-first = John Allen
 | title = Dao Companion to Japanese Confucian Philosophy
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-jJwBAAAQBAJ
 | series = Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy
 | volume = 5
 | location = Dordrecht
 | publisher = Springer
 | date = 2014
 | page = 83
 | isbn = 9789048129218
 | access-date = 27 April 2019
 | quote = [...] Confucius combines ''qi'' with the divine and the essential, and the corporeal soul with ghosts, opposes the two (as ''yang'' against ''yin'', spiritual soul against corporal soul) and explains that after death the first will rise up, and the second will return to the earth, while the flesh and bones will disintegrate.
}}
</ref>

===Hinduism===
{{Main|Ātman (Hinduism)|Jiva}}
''Ātman'' is a [[Sanskrit]] word that means inner [[self]] or soul.<ref>'''[a]''' [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atman Atman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223074014/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atman |date=23 December 2015 }}, Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press (2012), '''Quote''': "1. real self of the individual; 2. a person's soul";<br>'''[b]''' John Bowker (2000), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-280094-7}}, See entry for Atman;<br>'''[c]''' WJ Johnson (2009), A Dictionary of Hinduism, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-861025-0}}, See entry for Atman (self).</ref><ref name="davidlorenzenatman">[[David Lorenzen]] (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-21527-7}}, pp. 208–09, '''Quote''': "Advaita and nirguni movements, on the other hand, stress an interior mysticism in which the devotee seeks to discover the identity of individual soul (atman) with the universal ground of being (brahman) or to find god within himself".</ref><ref>Chad Meister (2010), The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-534013-6}}, p. 63; '''Quote''': "Even though Buddhism explicitly rejected the Hindu ideas of Atman ("soul") and Brahman, Hinduism treats Sakyamuni Buddha as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu."</ref> In [[Hindu philosophy]], especially in the [[Vedanta]] school of [[Hinduism]], Ātman is the [[first principle]],<ref>Deussen, Paul and Geden, A.S. The Philosophy of the Upanishads. Cosimo Classics (1 June 2010). p. 86. {{ISBN|1-61640-240-7}}.</ref> the ''true'' self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual. In order to attain [[Moksha|liberation (moksha)]], a human being must acquire self-knowledge (atma [[jnana]]), which is to realize that one's true self (Ātman) is identical with the transcendent self [[Brahman]] according to [[Advaita Vedanta]].<ref name=davidlorenzenatman/><ref>Richard King (1995), ''Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism'', State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2513-8}}, p. 64, '''Quote:''' "Atman as the innermost essence or soul of man, and Brahman as the innermost essence and support of the universe. (...) Thus we can see in the Upanishads, a tendency towards a convergence of microcosm and macrocosm, culminating in the equating of atman with Brahman".</ref>

The [[Hindu philosophy|six orthodox schools of Hinduism]] believe that there is Ātman (self, essence) in every being.<ref name="4sources">[[K. N. Jayatilleke]] (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0619-1}}, pp. 246–49, from note 385 onwards; Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2217-5}}, p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence."; Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}} to ''Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad'', pp. 2–4; Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist ‘No-Self’ Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206211126/https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana |date=6 February 2015 }}, Philosophy Now</ref>

In [[Hinduism]] and [[Jainism]], a ''jiva'' ({{lang-sa|जीव}}, {{IAST|jīva}}, alternative spelling ''jiwa''; {{lang-hi|जीव}}, {{IAST|jīv}}, alternative spelling ''jeev'') is a living being, or any entity imbued with a life force.<ref>{{cite book|author=Matthew Hall|title=Plants as Persons: A Philosophical Botany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqzkqnETEVYC|year=2011|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-3430-8|page=76}}</ref>

The concept of ''jiva'' in Jainism is similar to ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]]'' in Hinduism. However, some Hindu traditions differentiate between the two concepts, with ''jiva'' considered as individual self, while atman as that which is universal unchanging self that is present in all living beings and everything else as the metaphysical [[Brahman]].<ref name="varenne46">{{cite book |author=Jean Varenne |author-link=Jean Varenne |title=Yoga and the Hindu Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=meUWxDDqzuAC&pg=PA46 |year=1989 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0543-9 |pages=45–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Myers|title=Brahman: A Comparative Theology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfvaAAAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-83565-0|pages=140–43}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kO8-980xGk8C&dq=hiranyagarba&pg=PA32 |title=''The Philosophy of Person: Solidarity and Cultural Creativity'', Jozef Tischner and George McClean, 1994, p. 32 |isbn=9780819169266 |last1=McLean |first1=George F. |author1-link=George F. McLean |last2=Meynell |first2=Hugo Anthony |author2-link=Hugo Anthony Meynell |year=1988}}</ref> The latter is sometimes referred to as ''jiva-atman'' (a soul in a living body).<ref name=varenne46/>

===Islam===
{{Main|Rūḥ|Nafs}}
The [[Quran]], the holy book of [[Islam]], uses two words to refer to the soul: ''[[rūḥ]]'' (translated as spirit, consciousness, pneuma or "soul") and ''[[nafs]]'' (translated as self, ego, psyche or "soul"),<ref name="Talib">{{cite journal |last1 = Deuraseh |first1 = Nurdeen |last2 = Abu Talib |first2 = Mansor |year = 2005 |title = Mental health in Islamic medical tradition |journal = The International Medical Journal |volume = 4 |issue = 2 |pages = 76–79}}</ref><ref name="brag">{{cite journal |last1 = Bragazzi |first1 = NL |last2 = Khabbache |first2 = H |display-authors=etal |year = 2018 |title = Neurotheology of Islam and Higher Consciousness States |url = http://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/742/1296 |journal = Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy |volume = 14 |issue = 2 |pages = 315–21}}</ref> cognates of the Hebrew ''ruach'' and ''nefesh''. The two terms are frequently used interchangeably, though ''rūḥ'' is more often used to denote the divine spirit or "the breath of life", while ''nafs'' designates one's disposition or characteristics.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=5 |editor=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |year=2006 |publisher=Brill |chapter=Soul |author=[[Th. Emil Homerin]]}}</ref> In Islamic philosophy, the immortal rūḥ "drives" the mortal nafs, which comprises temporal desires and perceptions necessary for living.<ref name=":1" />

Several verses of the Quran that mention the rûh occur in chapters 17 ("The Night Journey") and 39 ("The Troops"):
{{blockquote|And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the Rûh. Say, "The Rûh is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind has not been given of knowledge except a little.|[[Quran 17:85]]}}

{{blockquote|And remember your Rabb inside your-self |[[Quran 7:206]]}}

{{blockquote|Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought..|[[Quran 39:42]]}}
===Jainism===
{{Main|Jīva (Jainism)|Vitalism (Jainism)}}
{{Further|Jain philosophy|Jainism and non-creationism}}
In Jainism, every living being, from plant or bacterium to human, has a soul and the concept forms the very basis of Jainism. According to Jainism, there is no beginning or end to the existence of soul. It is eternal in nature and changes its form until it attains liberation.

In Jainism, ''jiva'' is the immortal essence or soul of a living organism (human, animal, fish or plant etc.) which survives physical death.<ref name=jajinixxii/> The concept of ''Ajiva'' in Jainism means "not soul", and represents matter (including body), time, space, non-motion and motion.<ref name="jajinixxii">{{cite book|author=J Jaini|title=Outlines of Jainism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54A9AAAAIAAJ|year=1940|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=xxii–xxiii}}</ref> In Jainism, a ''Jiva'' is either ''samsari'' (mundane, caught in cycle of rebirths) or ''mukta'' (liberated).<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qN82XwAACAAJ|title=Gommatsara Jiva-kanda|first1=Jagmandar-lāl|last1=Jaini|year=1927|page=54}} [https://archive.org/download/sacredbooksofthe029558mbp Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Buddhism and Jainism |date=2017 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-024-0851-5 |editor-last=Sarao |editor-first=K.T.S. |editor-link=K. T. S. Sarao |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |page=594 |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_100397 |editor-last2=Long |editor-first2=Jeffery D. |editor2-link=Jeffery D. Long |chapter=Jiva }}</ref>

According to this belief until the time the soul is liberated from the ''[[Saṃsāra (Jainism)|saṃsāra]]'' (cycle of repeated birth and death), it gets attached to one of these bodies based on the [[Karma in Jainism|karma]] (actions) of the individual soul. Irrespective of which state the soul is in, it has got the same attributes and qualities. The difference between the liberated and non-liberated souls is that the qualities and attributes are manifested completely in case of ''[[siddha]]'' (liberated soul) as they have overcome all the karmic bondages whereas in case of non-liberated souls they are partially exhibited. Souls who rise victorious over wicked emotions while still remaining within physical bodies are referred to as [[Arihant (Jainism)|arihants]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sangave |first=Vilas Adinath |author-link=Vilas Adinath Sangave |title=Aspects of Jaina religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I8RUPwAACAAJ |edition=3
|publisher=Bharatiya Jnanpith |year=2001 |pages=15–16 |isbn=81-263-0626-2}}</ref>

Concerning the Jain view of the soul, [[Virchand Gandhi]] said
{{blockquote|the soul lives its own life, not for the purpose of the body, but the body lives for the purpose of the soul. If we believe that the soul is to be controlled by the body then soul misses its power.<ref>{{cite web|title=Forgotten Gandhi, Virchand Gandhi (1864–1901) – Advocate of Universal Brotherhood |url=http://www.all-famous-quotes.com/Virchand_Gandhi_quotes.html |publisher=All Famous Quotes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921112719/http://www.all-famous-quotes.com/Virchand_Gandhi_quotes.html |archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref>}}

===Judaism===
{{Primary sources section|find=soul|find2=in Judaism|date=October 2019}}

The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] terms {{Script/Hebrew|נפש}} ''[[nephesh|nefesh]]'' (literally "living being"), {{Script/Hebrew|רוח}} ''[[ruach]]'' (literally "wind"), {{Script/Hebrew|נשמה}} ''neshamah'' (literally "breath"), {{Script/Hebrew|חיה}} ''chayah'' (literally "life") and {{Script/Hebrew|יחידה}} ''yechidah'' (literally "singularity") are used to describe the soul or spirit.<ref>''Zohar'', ''Rayah Mehemna'', ''Terumah'' 158b.  See Leibowitz, Aryeh (2018). ''The Neshamah: A Study of the Human Soul''. Feldheim Publishers. pp. 27, 110. {{ISBN|1-68025-338-7}}</ref>

In [[Judaism]],  there was originally little to no concept of a soul.  As seen in the [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], the divine breath simply animated bodies.
{{blockquote|Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the man became a living being.
:—[https://biblehub.com/lexicon/genesis/2-7.htm Genesis 2:7]}}

Judaism relates the quality of one's soul to one's performance of the commandments (''[[mitzvot]])'' and reaching higher levels of understanding, and thus closeness to God. A person with such closeness is called a ''[[tzadik]]''. Therefore, Judaism embraces the commemoration of the day of one's death, ''[[Yartzeit|nahala]]''/''Yahrtzeit'' and not the [[birthday]]<ref>The only person mentioned in the [[Torah]] celebrating birthday (party) is the wicked [[pharaoh]] of Egypt {{Bibleverse|Genesis|40:20–22|JPS}}.</ref> as a festivity of remembrance, for only toward the end of life's struggles, tests and challenges could human souls be judged and credited for righteousness.<ref name="aish birthday">{{cite web|title=About Jewish Birthdays|url=http://www.aish.com/jl/l/ms/47139952.html|work=Judaism 101|publisher=Aish.com|access-date=11 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822100333/http://www.aish.com/jl/l/ms/47139952.html|archive-date=22 August 2013}}</ref> Judaism places great importance on the study of the souls.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13933-soul|title=Soul|publisher=jewishencyclopedia.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308035611/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13933-soul|archive-date=8 March 2016}}</ref>

[[Kabbalah]] and other mystic traditions go into greater detail into the nature of the soul. Kabbalah separates the soul into five elements, corresponding to the [[five worlds]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Nurturing The Human Soul&mdash;From Cradle To Grave |url=https://www.chizukshaya.com/2013/01/the-five-levels-of-mans-soul.html |website=Chizuk Shaya: Dvar Torah Resource |access-date=10 June 2022 |date=6 January 2013}}</ref>

# [[Nephesh|Nefesh]], related to natural instinct.
# [[Ruach]], related to intellect and the awareness of God.
# Neshamah, related to emotion and morality.
# Chayah, considered a part of God, as it were.
# Yechidah.  This aspect is essentially one with God.

Kabbalah also proposed a concept of reincarnation, the ''[[gilgul]]'' (see also: ''[[nefesh habehamit]]'' – the "animal soul").{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Some Jewish traditions assert that the soul is housed in the ''[[Luz (bone)|luz]]'' bone, though traditions disagree as to whether it is the [[Atlas (anatomy)|atlas]] at the top of the spine, or the [[sacrum]] at bottom of the spine.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

===Scientology===
{{Main articles|Thetan}}
The [[Scientology]] view is that a person does not have a soul, it is a soul. It is the belief of the religion that they do not have the power to force adherents' conclusions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date= |title=Views on Heaven or Hell, Individuals as Eternal Spiritual Beings: Official Church of Scientology |url=https://www.scientology.org.au/faq/scientology-beliefs/does-scientology-have-doctrines.html |access-date=2022-03-25 |publisher=Official Church of Scientology: What is Scientology? |language=en-AU}}</ref>  Therefore, a person is immortal, and may be reincarnated if they wish. Scientologists view that one's future happiness and immortality, as guided by their spirituality, is influenced by how they live and act during their time on earth.<ref name=":0" /> Scientology's term for the soul is "[[thetan]]", derived from the Greek word "theta", symbolizing thought. Scientology counselling (called [[Auditing (Scientology)|auditing]]) addresses the soul to improve abilities, both worldly and spiritual. The ideologies surrounding this understanding align with those of the five major world religions.<ref name=":0" />

===Shamanism===
{{See also|Soul dualism}}
[[File:Manunggul Jar.jpg|thumb|The [[Neolithic]] [[Manunggul Jar|Manunggul burial jar]] from the [[Tabon Caves]], [[Palawan]], [[Philippines]], depicts a soul and a [[psychopomp]] journeying to the spirit world in a boat ({{circa}} 890–710 [[BCE]]).]]
[[Soul dualism]] (also called "multiple souls" or "dualistic pluralism") is a common belief in [[Shamanism]],<ref name="Sumegi">{{cite book |last1=Sumegi |first1=Angela |title=Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism: The Third Place |date=2008 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791478264 |page=16 |url=https://www.academia.edu/20048672 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Bock">{{cite thesis |last=Bock |first=Nona J.T. |date= 2005|title=Shamanic techniques: their use and effectiveness in the practice of psychotherapy |type=MSc |publisher= University of Wisconsin-Stout |url= http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2005/2005bockn.pdf}}</ref><ref name="jackson"/> and is essential in the universal and central concept of "soul flight" (also called "soul journey", "[[out-of-body experience]]", "[[Religious ecstasy|ecstasy]]", or "[[astral projection]]").<ref name="Hoppal2007">{{cite book |last1=Hoppál |first1=Mihály |title=Shamans and Traditions |date=2007 |publisher=[[Akadémiai Kiadó]] |location=Budapest |isbn=978-963-05-8521-7 |pages=17–26}}</ref><ref name="jackson">{{cite book|first1=Ulf|last1=Drobin|editor1-first=Peter|editor1-last=Jackson|title =Horizons of Shamanism|chapter =Introduction|publisher =Stockholm University Press|year =2016|pages=xiv-xvii|isbn =978-91-7635-024-9|url =https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/32054/619233.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref><ref name="Winkelman2"/><ref name="Winkelman"/><ref name=Hop-Nat/> It is the belief that humans have two or more souls, generally termed the "body soul" (or "life soul") and the "free soul". The former is linked to bodily functions and awareness when awake, while the latter can freely wander during sleep or trance states.<ref name="Bock"/><ref name="Winkelman2">{{cite book|first1=Michael James|last1=Winkelman|editor1-first=Kasumi-Clements|editor1-last=Niki |title =Religion: Mental Religion|chapter =Shamanism and the Brain|publisher =Macmillan Reference USA|year =2016|pages=355–372|isbn =9780028663609|url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323547873}}</ref><ref name="Winkelman">{{cite journal |last1=Winkelman |first1=Michael |title=Shamanic universals and evolutionary psychology |journal=Journal of Ritual Studies |date=2002 |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=63–76 |jstor=44364143 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44364143}}</ref><ref name=Hop-Nat>{{cite web |last=Hoppál |first=Mihály |url=http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol4/hoppal.htm |title=Nature worship in Siberian shamanism}}</ref><ref name=EncBr-GrBas>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Great Basin Indian |year=2007 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=March 28, 2007 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-57681 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In some cases, there are a plethora of soul types with different functions.<ref name="Merkur"/><ref name=Kul-ConSl>{{cite web |url=http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol4/hing.htm |title=Conceptions of soul in old-Estonian religion |volume=4 |last=Kulmar |first=Tarmo |author-link=:et:Tarmo Kulmar}}</ref>

Soul dualism and multiple souls are prominent in the traditional animistic beliefs of the [[Austronesian peoples]],<ref name="tan">{{cite book |first=Michael L. |last=Tan |title=Revisiting Usog, Pasma, Kulam |publisher=University of the Philippines Press |year=2008 |isbn=9789715425704 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EktzHrfup1UC}}</ref><ref name="sather2018">{{cite book |author=Clifford Sather |editor=James J. Fox |title=Expressions of Austronesian Thought and Emotions |chapter=A work of love: Awareness and expressions of emotion in a Borneo healing ritual |publisher=ANU Press |year =2018 |pages=57–63 |isbn=9781760461928 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wAxfDwAAQBAJ}}</ref> the [[Hun and po|Chinese]] people ([[Hun and po|''hún'' and ''pò'']]),<ref name="Harrell">{{cite journal |last1=Harrell |first1=Stevan |title=The Concept of Soul in Chinese Folk Religion |journal=[[The Journal of Asian Studies]] |date=1979 |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=519–528 |doi=10.2307/2053785|jstor=2053785 |s2cid=162507447 |doi-access=free }}</ref> the [[Tibetan people]],<ref name="Sumegi"/> most [[Ethnic groups of Africa|African]] peoples,<ref name="McClelland"/> most [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas#North America|Native North Americans]],<ref name="McClelland">{{cite book |last1=McClelland |first1=Norman C. |title=Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma |date=2010 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |isbn=978-0-7864-4851-7 |pages=251, 258}}</ref><ref name="Merkur">{{cite book |last1=Merkur |first1=Daniel |title=Becoming Half Hidden / Shamanism and Initiation among the Inuit |date=1985 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-22-00752-0 |pages=61, 222–223, 226, 240}}</ref> ancient [[South Asia]]n peoples,<ref name="jackson"/> Northern [[Eurasia]]n peoples,<ref name=Hop-Nat/><ref name="Hoppál">{{cite book |last1=Hoppál |first1=Mihály |title=Sámánok. Lelkek és jelképek ["Shamans / Souls and symbols"] |date=1994 |publisher=Helikon Kiadó |location=Budapest |isbn=963-208-298-2 |page=225}}</ref> and in [[Ancient Egyptians]] (the [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul|''ka'' and ''ba'']]).<ref name="McClelland"/>

The belief in soul dualism is found throughout most [[Austronesian people|Austronesian]] [[shamanistic]] traditions. The reconstructed [[Proto-Austronesian]] word for the "body soul" is ''*nawa'' ("breath", "life", or "vital spirit"). It is located somewhere in the [[abdominal cavity]], often in the [[liver]] or the [[heart]] (Proto-Austronesian ''*qaCay'').<ref name="tan"/><ref name="sather2018"/> The "free soul" is located in the head. Its names are usually derived from Proto-Austronesian ''*qaNiCu'' ("ghost", "spirit [of the dead]"), which also apply to other non-human nature spirits. The "free soul" is also referred to in names that literally mean "twin" or "double", from Proto-Austronesian ''*duSa'' ("two").<ref name="yu2000">{{cite book |first=Jose Vidamor B. |last=Yu |title=Inculturation of Filipino-Chinese Culture Mentality |volume=3 |publisher=Editrice Pontifica Universita Gregoriana |series=Interreligious and Intercultural Investigations |year =2000 |pages=148–149 |isbn=9788876528484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4WqAOKb5c8C}}</ref><ref name="duSa">{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Robert Blust |author1-link=Robert Blust |author2=Stephen Trussel |dictionary=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary |entry=*du |url=http://www.trussel2.com/acd/acd-s_d.htm#30339 |access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref> A virtuous person is said to be one whose souls are in harmony with each other, while an evil person is one whose souls are in conflict.<ref name="mercado1991">{{cite journal |author=Leonardo N. Mercado |year=1991 |title=Soul and Spirit in Filipino Thought |journal=Philippine Studies |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=287–302 |jstor=42633258}}</ref>

The "free soul" is said to leave the body and journey to the [[Spirit world (spiritualism)|spirit world]] during sleep, [[trance|trance-like states]], [[delirium]], [[insanity]], and death. The duality is also seen in the healing traditions of Austronesian shamans, where illnesses are regarded as a "[[soul loss]]" and thus to heal the sick, one must "return" the "free soul" (which may have been stolen by an evil spirit or got lost in the spirit world) into the body. If the "free soul" can not be returned, the afflicted person dies or goes permanently insane.<ref name="salazar">{{cite journal |author=Zeus A. Salazar |author-link=Zeus A. Salazar |year=2007 |title=Faith healing in the Philippines: An historical perspective |journal=Asian Studies |volume=43 |issue=2v |pages=1–15 |url=http://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-43-02-2007/Faith%20Healing%20in%20the%20Philippines%20Zeus%20Salazar.pdf}}</ref>

In some ethnic groups, there can also be more than two souls. Like among the [[Tagbanwa people]], where a person is said to have six souls – the "free soul" (which is regarded as the "true" soul) and five secondary souls with various functions.<ref name="tan"/>

Several [[Inuit]] groups believe that a person has more than one type of soul. One is associated with respiration, the other can accompany the body as a shadow.{{sfn|Kleivan|Sonne|1985|pp=17–18}} In some cases, it is connected to [[Inuit religion|shamanistic beliefs among the various Inuit groups]].<ref name="Merkur"/> Also [[Caribou Inuit]] groups believed in several types of souls.{{sfn|Gabus|1970|p=211}}

The [[shaman]] heals within the spiritual dimension by returning 'lost' parts of the human soul from wherever they have gone. The shaman also cleanses excess negative energies, which confuse or pollute the soul.

=== Shinto ===
{{expand section|date=September 2021}}
[[Shinto]] distinguishes between the souls of living persons (''tamashii'') and those of dead persons (''[[mitama]]''), each of which may have different aspects or sub-souls.

===Sikhism===
[[Sikhism]] considers soul (''atma'') to be part of [[God in Sikhism|God]] ([[Waheguru]]). Various hymns are cited from the holy book [[Guru Granth Sahib]] (SGGS) that suggests this belief. "God is in the Soul and the Soul is in the God."<ref>SGGS, M 1, p. 1153.</ref> The same concept is repeated at various pages of the SGGS. For example: "The soul is divine; divine is the soul. Worship Him with love."<ref>SGGS, M 4, p. 1325.</ref> and "The soul is the Lord, and the Lord is the soul; contemplating the Shabad, the Lord is found."<ref>SGGS, M 1, p. 1030.</ref>

The ''atma'' or soul according to Sikhism is an entity or "spiritual spark" or "light" in the human body - because of which the body can sustain life. On the departure of this entity from the body, the body becomes lifeless – no amount of manipulations to the body can make the person make any physical actions. The soul is the "driver" in the body. It is the ''roohu'' or spirit or ''atma'', the presence of which makes the physical body alive.

Many{{quantify|date=September 2021}} religious and philosophical traditions support the view that the soul is the ethereal substance – a spirit; a non-material spark – particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being. The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly even within a given religion as to what happens to the soul after death. Many within these religions and philosophies see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it possibly material.

===Taoism===
According to Chinese traditions, every person has two types of soul called [[hun and po]] (魂 and 魄), which are respectively [[yin and yang|yang and yin]]. [[Taoism]] believes in ten souls, ''sanhunqipo'' ([[:zh:三魂七魄|三魂七魄]]) "three ''hun'' and seven ''po''".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deathreference.com/Ce-Da/Chinese-Beliefs.html |title=Encyclopedia of Death and Dying (2008) |publisher=deathreference.com |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105103959/http://www.deathreference.com/Ce-Da/Chinese-Beliefs.html |archive-date=5 November 2011}}</ref> A living being that loses any of them is said to have mental illness or [[unconsciousness]], while a dead soul may [[reincarnate]] to a [[disability]], lower [[desire realm]]s, or may even be unable to reincarnate.

===Zoroastrianism===
{{Main|Zoroastrianism}}

===Other religious beliefs and views===
[[File:Charun dead souls Cdm Paris 2783.jpg|thumb|[[Charon (mythology)|Charon]] (Greek) who guides dead souls to the Underworld. 4th century BCE.]]
<!-- {{Main|Salvation|Soul sleep}} No, [[Salvation]] and [[Soul sleep]] are not the "main articles" for "Life and death", as this former article section has been called. Any connections between these terms should be made explicit in the text. At the very least, [[Template:Seealso]] would be more appropriate than [[Template:Main]]. -->
In theological reference to the soul, the terms "life" and "death" are viewed as emphatically more definitive than the common concepts of "[[life|biological life]]" and "biological death". Because the soul is said to be transcendent of the ''[[matter|material]] existence,'' and is said to have (potentially) [[immortality|eternal life]], the death of the soul is likewise said to be an ''eternal death''. Thus, in the concept of [[divine judgment]], God is commonly said to have options with regard to the dispensation of souls, ranging from [[Heaven]] (i.e., [[angel]]s) to [[hell]] (i.e., [[demon]]s), with various concepts in between. Typically both Heaven and hell are said to be eternal, or at least far beyond a typical human concept of [[life expectancy|lifespan]] and time.

According to [[Louis Ginzberg]], the soul of [[Adam]] is the image of [[God]].<ref>[[Louis Ginzberg|Ginzberg, Louis]] (1909). ''[[Legends of the Jews|The Legends of the Jews]] [https://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/two.htm#4 Vol I, Chapter II: Adam] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201063745/https://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/two.htm |date=1 December 2017 }}'' (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. <br>Citation: ''God had fashioned his (Adam's) soul with particular care. She is the image of God, and as God fills the world, so the soul fills the human body; as God sees all things, and is seen by none, so the soul sees, but cannot be seen; as God guides the world, so the soul guides the body; as God in His holiness is pure, so is the soul; and as God dwells in secret, so doth the soul''.</ref> Every soul of human also escapes from the body every night, rises up to heaven, and fetches new life thence for the body of man.<ref>[[Louis Ginzberg|Ginzberg, Louis]] (1909). ''[[Legends of the Jews|The Legends of the Jews]] [https://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/two.htm#4 Vol I, Chapter II: The Soul of Man] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201063745/https://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/two.htm |date=1 December 2017 }}'' (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.</ref>

===Spirituality, New Age, and new religions===

====Brahma Kumaris====
In [[Brahma Kumaris]], human souls are believed to be incorporeal and [[eternity|eternal]]. God is considered to be the Supreme Soul, with maximum degrees of spiritual qualities, such as peace, love and purity.<ref name="Ramsay_Possession">{{cite thesis
| last = Ramsay
| first = Tamasin
| author-link=Tamasin Ramsay
|date=Sep 2010
| title = Custodians of Purity An Ethnography of the Brahma Kumaris
| url=https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/thesis/Custodians_of_purity_an_ethnography_of_the_Brahma_Kumaris/4546132
| publisher= Monash University
| page=105
}}</ref>

====Theosophy====
In [[Helena Blavatsky]]'s [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], the soul is the field of our psychological activity (thinking, emotions, memory, desires, will, and so on) as well as of the so-called paranormal or [[psychic]] phenomena (extrasensory perception, out-of-body experiences, etc.). However, the soul is not the highest, but a middle dimension of human beings. Higher than the soul is the spirit, which is considered to be the real self; the source of everything we call "good"—happiness, wisdom, love, compassion, harmony, peace, etc. While the spirit is eternal and incorruptible, the soul is not. The soul acts as a link between the material body and the spiritual self, and therefore shares some characteristics of both. The soul can be attracted either towards the spiritual or towards the material realm, being thus the "battlefield" of good and evil. It is only when the soul is attracted towards the spiritual and merges with the Self that it becomes eternal and divine.

====Anthroposophy====
[[Rudolf Steiner]] claimed classical [[trichotomy (philosophy)|trichotomic]] stages of soul development, which interpenetrated one another in consciousness:<ref>{{cite book|translator-last=Creeger|translator-first=Catherine E.|first=Rudolf|last=Steiner|title=Theosophy: an introduction to the spiritual processes in human life and in the cosmos|url=https://archive.org/details/theosophyintrodu00stei|url-access=limited|year=1994|publisher=Anthroposophic Press|location=Hudson, NY|isbn=978-0-88010-373-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/theosophyintrodu00stei/page/n74 42]–46|edition=3rd}}</ref>
* The "sentient soul", centering on sensations, drives, and passions, with strong [[conatus|conative]] (will) and emotional components;
* The "intellectual" or "mind soul", internalizing and reflecting on outer experience, with strong affective (feeling) and cognitive (thinking) components; and
* The "consciousness soul", in search of universal, objective truths.

====Miscellaneous====
In [[Surat Shabd Yoga|Surat Shabda Yoga]], the soul is considered to be an exact replica and spark of the Divine. The purpose of Surat Shabd Yoga is to realize one's True Self as soul (Self-Realisation), True Essence (Spirit-Realisation) and True Divinity (God-Realisation) while living in the physical body.

Similarly, the spiritual teacher [[Meher Baba]] held that "Atma, or the soul, is in reality identical with Paramatma the Oversoul – which is one, infinite, and eternal...[and] [t]he sole purpose of creation is for the soul to enjoy the infinite state of the Oversoul consciously."<ref>[[Meher Baba|Baba, Meher]]. (1987). ''Discourses''. Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Press. p. 222. {{ISBN|978-1-880619-09-4}}.</ref>

[[Eckankar]], founded by [[Paul Twitchell]] in 1965, defines Soul as the true self; the inner, most sacred part of each person.<ref>Klemp, H. (2009). The call of soul. Minneapolis, MN: Eckankar</ref>

[[George Gurdjieff|G.I. Gurdjieff]] taught that humans are not born with immortal souls but could develop them through certain efforts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gurdjieff |first=George Ivanovitch |author-link=George Gurdjieff |title=Life is real only then, when 'I am'|date=25 February 1999|isbn=978-0-14-019585-9|location=London|publisher=Arkana|oclc=41073474}}</ref>