Purgatory

In the early days of Christianity, people pretty much thought that at the Last Judgment you went to Heaven if you had been good or you went to Hell if you had been bad and that was that. But later on people started to say, well, what if you had been mostly good except for one thing? Would you really have to stay in Hell forever just for that one thing? And beginning with Augustine, Christian writers began to form the idea of Purgatory, which was a bad place, like Hell.

You went there after the Last Judgment if you had done some bad things but you were mostly good. And you paid for the bad things, but then after a while you could still go on to Heaven. The idea of Purgatory was first clearly laid out by Gregory the Great around 580 AD.

Main Christianity page
Main religion page

!!NEW!!
Science for Kids

Teachers - check out our social studies lesson plans for middle school ancient history! Kidipede covers Egyptian Art, the Middle Ages, Ancient Rome, Native Americans and much more. Instant museum in your classroom.

Parents and grandparents – find the perfect gift for your middle school kid in Kidipede’s store! Kidipede has history books and other educational gifts for kids, from Halloween costumes to CD’s and DVD’s to art supplies. Now that’s good parenting! Pay securely through Amazon.

Teens – Kidipede has the best homework help around. Find out about ancient Greek music, medieval clothing fashions, and Native American technology trends. What was trendy clothing in ancient China? Who were the most popular girls in ancient Rome? How did teens decorate their rooms in ancient India?