Purgatory and Protestant Beliefs About Death and Judgement
Purgatory is the Catholic doctrine that souls who die in God's grace but are not yet fully cleansed of sin undergo a state of final purification, rejected by Protestant teaching, which holds that salvation is by faith alone (sola fide). This disagreement has practical effects, such as Catholic prayer for the dead, and is sometimes compared with the Islamic concept of barzakh.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the Catholic definition of purgatory: a temporary state of purification for those who die in God's grace but still carry the effects of sin, before entering heaven, defined in the Catechism (CCC 1030-1032).
- Learn the texts Catholic teaching draws on to support purgatory, e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15's image of works being tested 'as through fire', and 2 Maccabees 12:46 ('it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead').
- Learn why most Protestant traditions reject purgatory: it does not appear in the shorter Protestant Old Testament canon (2 Maccabees is regarded as apocryphal, not scripture, by Protestants), and it can be seen as implying Christ's atonement alone is not sufficient for salvation.
- Learn the key Protestant emphasis of salvation by faith alone, sola fide, supported by Ephesians 2:8-9 ('by grace you have been saved, through faith... not by works'), and belief that a believer goes directly to be with Christ at death.
- Learn a supporting Protestant reference for immediate presence with Christ, e.g. Philippians 1:23 ('I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far').
- Learn the practical differences this produces: Catholic practices such as praying for the dead and requiem masses, historically also indulgences (whose abuse helped trigger the Reformation), against a general Protestant absence of these practices.
- Practise noting, briefly, that Islam has no equivalent doctrine of purgatory, but a related concept called barzakh, an intermediate state between death and the Day of Judgement, so the ideas should not be treated as directly the same.
- Practise the 12-mark evaluation structure on this topic: state the strongest Catholic argument for purgatory, the strongest Protestant argument against it, and a conclusion that explains which is more persuasive and why.
Worked example
Explain two reasons why many Protestant Christians reject the Catholic doctrine of purgatory.
- Identify a first reason: purgatory is mainly supported by texts, such as 2 Maccabees 12:46, that appear in the Catholic Old Testament but are treated as apocryphal, not scripture, in the Protestant biblical canon.
- Develop it: since Protestant theology places final authority in scripture alone (sola scriptura), a doctrine resting on a text outside their accepted canon is not treated as binding.
- Identify a second reason: purgatory can appear to suggest that Christ's death alone is not sufficient to fully cleanse a believer, which conflicts with the Protestant emphasis on salvation by faith alone.
- Develop it with a reference: this reflects Ephesians 2:8-9, that believers 'have been saved, through faith... not by works, so that no one can boast'.
- Combine both points into a complete answer: many Protestants reject purgatory because its key supporting text falls outside their scriptural canon, and because it can seem to undermine the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, which their doctrine of salvation by faith alone insists is already complete.
Practice questions
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Q1What is purgatory, according to Catholic teaching?Show answer
Answer: A temporary state of purification for souls who die in God's grace but are not yet fully cleansed of sin, before entering heaven.
Q2Which biblical book, accepted by Catholics but not by most Protestants, is often cited to support praying for the dead?Show answer
Answer: 2 Maccabees (2 Maccabees 12:46).
Q3Give the Latin term for the Protestant doctrine that salvation is by faith alone.Show answer
Answer: Sola fide.
Q4According to Philippians 1:23, where does Paul say he desires to be after death?Show answer
Answer: 'With Christ', which he says 'is better by far'.
Q5Give one practice associated with Catholic belief in purgatory that most Protestant churches do not follow.Show answer
Answer: Praying for the dead (or requiem masses, or historically indulgences).
Q6What is the related, but distinct, Islamic concept of an intermediate state between death and the Day of Judgement called?Show answer
Answer: Barzakh.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Religious Studies exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two contrasting Christian beliefs about what happens to a soul immediately after death.
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'The doctrine of purgatory is more helpful than harmful for Christian understanding of death.' Evaluate this statement, referring to Christian teaching and reaching a justified conclusion.
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