Many religions have their version of an answer to the question “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” Often it is summed up in a single well-known sentence. Here are a few examples.

Christianity (Protestant)

The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647) is “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Generations of children memorized it.

Martin Luther taught that every honest occupation, of a farmer, a mother, or a craftsman, and not only that of a priest, is a vocation: a calling from God. So one serves God’s purpose through one’s everyday work.

In modern times, the pastor John Piper developed the catechism’s “enjoy him forever” into what he calls Christian Hedonism: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Christianity (Catholic)

The Baltimore Catechism, long the standard in American Catholic schools, asks “Why did God make you?” The answer is: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”

Augustine opens his Confessions with what may be the most famous line on this subject in Christian history: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Thomas Aquinas taught that humanity’s final happiness is the direct vision of God, the beatific vision. The Second Vatican Council emphasized the universal call to holiness: every person, not only the clergy, is called to holiness in their daily life.

Common to both Protestants and Catholics is the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37–40): to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Islam

The Quran (51:56) (in the surah Adh-Dhariyat) says that God created jinn and humankind only to worship Him. Muslims commonly cite this verse as the purpose of human life.

The Quran also describes humans as God’s khalifa, His vicegerents or stewards on earth (Quran 2:30), and describes life as a test: God “created death and life to test you, which of you is best in deed” (Quran 67:2). Worship (ibadah) is understood broadly: any good act done with the right intention, such as honest work, kindness, or caring for one’s family, counts as worship.

Judaism

In Pirkei Avot (2:8), Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai says of learning Torah: “for this you were created”.

Ramchal’s Mesillat Yesharim opens by stating that a person was created only to delight in God in the world to come, and that the way there is by keeping the commandments in this world.

Even more directly, the Mishnah (Kiddushin 4:14) says: “I was created only to serve my Creator”. The prophet Micah summed up what God asks of a person: “to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The prophet Isaiah describes the people of Israel as called to be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6): a purpose that extends beyond the Jewish people, to be an example and a source of moral light for all humanity. And the idea of tikkun olam, repairing the world, gives human life a role in making the world better.

Hinduism

The classical framework of Puruṣārtha names four aims of life: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Of these, moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth) is the highest and ultimate goal.

The Bhagavad Gita (2:47) teaches karma yoga: to act according to one’s duty, without attachment to the fruits of one’s actions. The Upanishads point to the realization that one’s true self (Atman) is one with ultimate reality (Brahman), expressed in the famous saying “Tat tvam asi”, “You are that” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7). And the concept of lila describes the universe as God’s divine play: created not out of need, but out of joyful, spontaneous playfulness.

Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths set the goal as ending suffering and reaching nirvana.

The way to this goal is the Noble Eightfold Path: right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. In Mahayana Buddhism, the ideal is the bodhisattva, who seeks enlightenment not only for themselves but for the sake of all beings. And in modern times, the Dalai Lama wrote in The Art of Happiness (1998): “I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness.”

Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

The “plan of salvation” says we came to earth to gain a body, be tested, and return to God. The Book of Mormon also says that “men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25).

God’s own purpose is stated in the Pearl of Great Price: “this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). The ultimate goal is exaltation: eternal progression toward becoming like God. Families play a central role in this: through temple “sealing”, families are believed to remain together forever.

Bahá’í Faith

The Short Obligatory Prayer, which Bahá’ís recite daily, opens: “I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee.” In addition, Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, wrote in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (section CIX): “All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”

The rest of the teaching builds on these:

  • Spiritual growth of the soul: This life is compared to the womb. Just as an embryo develops limbs and senses it will need after birth, we develop here the spiritual qualities we will need in the next world: love, justice, truthfulness, detachment, and knowledge of God.
  • Work as worship: Work done in a spirit of service to humanity is considered a form of worship.
  • Unity of humankind: A central aim is building a unified, peaceful world society, and individual purpose is tied to this larger goal.
  • Independent investigation of truth: Bahá’ís are expected to seek the truth for themselves, rather than blindly follow tradition.

Two points of nuance

  • Diversity within traditions: Most traditions have thinkers who interpret, debate, or soften the official answer. So these are best understood as the official or classical answers, not as what every believer holds.
  • Buddhism: It presents its goal more as something to verify through practice than as a doctrine to accept on authority. So it fits “a definitive answer”, but only loosely fits “expected to accept it”. In the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha advises not to accept teachings merely on the basis of tradition or authority, but to test them in one’s own experience.