Universal Salvation in Comparative Perspective

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Various religions in the first millennium debated whether hell was permanent and whether all people might be saved. Beginning with the New Testament passages that are used to argue for and against universal salvation, this class will introduce students to debates about universal salvation in Christianity, Manichaeism, Buddhism, and Islam, with special emphasis given to the comparison of Catholic debates on universal salvation with Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese Buddhist sources.