Universalism

• In Christianity, Universalism, Universal reconciliation, or universal salvation, is the doctrine that all people will eventually be saved and go to heaven when they die. This is a belief held by some protestant denominations.

• In comparative religion, a universalist religion is one that holds itself true for all people; it thus allows all to join, regardless of ethnicity. In contrast, ethnic religions, like ethnicity itself, can be determined not just by genealogy, but by geography, language, and other social boundaries. In that sense, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism are universalist religions. Judaism and Hinduism would be ethnic religions. Contrast with Chosen people.

• The name Universalism refers to certain religious denominations of universalist religions, which as a core principle adhere to standards and rituals which are convergent rather than divergent, often espousing themselves as alternatives to denominations based on dogmatic or factionalized differences.

• Universalism is also used as a synonym for moral absolutism.

• Universalism can also mean the wish for a closer union between all people of the world (the emergence of world citizens) and/or the aim of creating common global institutions (democratic globalization)

Universalism should not be confused with universism , which is a collection of atheist and agnostic beliefs.

See also

• the problem of Hell
• Unitarian Universalism