05 Big questions · Faith & life
What about people who don’t believe — or follow another religion?
Christians believe reconciliation with God ultimately comes through Jesus, but that gives no one permission to look down on anyone else. Christianity asks us to trust that God judges every person with full knowledge and perfect love, rather than pretending to know each person’s eternal destiny ourselves.
A little deeper
Christianity does make a challenging claim. It doesn’t present Jesus simply as one good spiritual teacher among many. Christians believe something unique happened through Jesus and that reconciliation with God ultimately comes through Him.
But that doesn’t give Christians permission to look down on anybody else. Quite the opposite. Christianity teaches that every human being has profound value and should be treated with dignity, humility and love.
So what happens to somebody who sincerely follows another religion? What about an atheist? Or someone who has never properly encountered Christianity at all?
Christians agree that salvation — being put right with God — comes through Christ and that God judges perfectly. Christians have differed over exactly how that applies to people who have never knowingly understood or accepted the Christian message.
So we shouldn’t pretend to know the eternal destiny of every individual. Christianity asks us to trust that God knows every person’s heart, knowledge, circumstances and choices more completely than another human being ever could.
And perhaps the more immediate question isn’t: “What is God going to do with everybody else?” It’s: “Who do I think Jesus actually was?” That’s a question you can investigate for yourself.
What Christians agree on
- Every human being has profound value, regardless of belief.
- Reconciliation with God comes through Christ.
- God judges perfectly, with full knowledge of each person’s heart and circumstances.
- Christians should not presume to pronounce on a stranger’s eternal destiny.
Where Christians differ
Christians agree salvation comes through Christ and that God judges perfectly — they have differed over exactly how that applies to people who never knowingly understood or accepted the Christian message.
Read it for yourself
- John 14:6Jesus’ most direct claim to uniqueness — the challenging part, stated honestly.
- Acts 10:34–35A leading apostle concludes God shows no favouritism between peoples.
- Romans 2:14–16God judges with full knowledge of what each person actually knew and did.
Each Bible reference links to the passage on Bible Gateway (NIV UK), so you can read it yourself rather than take our word for it. Short quotations elsewhere are marked with their translation.