Do Christians believe in reincarnation?

Whether or not Christians believe in reincarnation is a topic frequently Googled, so here writer Lauren Windle shares her thoughts.

Reincarnation is the idea that when you die, your soul is reborn into a new body. The person would carry few or no memories with them from their past lives. Some believe that doing good things can elevate your social position in future lives, while bad behaviour can lead to lower positions. The belief is that, at some point, the person will have passed enough lives in a high position that they reach enlightenment and make it into eternal bliss (Nirvana).

Reincarnation isn’t part of the Christian faith, and it doesn’t feature in the Bible. The early Church did debate the idea with some seeing its merits, but it was in 553AD at the Second Council of Constantinople that early Church Fathers concluded that the idea had no place in the Christianity.