Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Repentance & Atonement
Turning back from wrongdoing toward God or the good is a transformative possibility in every tradition. Repentance — whether called teshuvah, tawbah, metanoia, or prayaschitta — is more than regret: it is a fundamental reorientation of the heart and life.
Across the World's Religions
Christianity
- Practice
- Metanoia (repentance) — changing one's mind and turning to God
- Key Text
- Acts 3:19; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Luke 15:7
Islam
- Practice
- Tawbah — sincere repentance; Allah loves those who repent
- Key Text
- Quran 2:222, 39:53, 66:8
Judaism
- Practice
- Teshuvah — return to God; Yom Kippur as Day of Atonement
- Key Text
- Leviticus 16:30; Ezekiel 18:30-32; Hosea 14:1-2
Hinduism
- Practice
- Prayaschitta — atonement through penance, charity, and prayer
- Key Text
- Manusmriti 11.44-45; Bhagavad Gita 18:66
Buddhism
- Practice
- Patisaraniyakamma — making amends; turning from unwholesome to wholesome
- Key Text
- Dhammapada 173; AN 3.99; MN 61