The belief that those who live a morally worthy life earn a place in heaven is held across cultures and religions. Even among non-believers, many would say that those who lead a more moral life would certainly deserve to go heaven, if it does exist.
According to Christian doctrine, on the Day of Judgement we must give an account of our lives. Saint Peter weighs up our good deeds and our bad ones and decides whether we should be allowed in to the place of eternal peace or sent elsewhere.
In Catholic theology, after death we may enter an intermediate place, purgatory, where we are cleansed of our remaining sins. Although sins are forgiven in confession, there remains a liability which is expiated in purgatory.
Catholicism is more generous than some forms of Protestantism: not only do sinners get a chance to redeem themselves, but non-believers can make it to heaven if they are morally upstanding.
Some Protestant churches reject the belief that access to heaven is the reward for good moral character. Salvation is granted by the grace of God, and accepting Jesus into one’s life is the only way to be saved, although it goes without saying that living a righteous life will follow the embrace of Jesus.
Most other religions believe that good people go to heaven. Traditional Judaism describes a final judgement where virtue is rewarded and wickedness punished. Heaven and hell feature prominently in Islam and represent the reward or punishment for one’s life on judgement day, although only believers can enter heaven.
For Hindus the accumulation of good karma is rewarded in an after-life or a better reincarnation. Buddhists see heaven as a transitional stage between one earthly existence and the next; too much bad karma results in suffering in one or more hells, but the fully enlightened being can escape the cycle of rebirth and retire to the bliss of nirvana.
What do Australians think?
If most Australians do hold the belief that good people deserve to go to heaven then a good measure of how we regard the moral standing of our political leaders would be whether we believe they deserve to go to heaven. These questions have been explored in a recent national opinion survey commissioned by the Australia Institute.
Overall, 63 per cent of respondents said they believe in heaven or some form of life after death. Twenty-three per cent said they did not,