Title: Religious Groups’ Views on End-of-Life Issues | Pew Research Center
Headings: Religious Groups’ Views on End-of-Life Issues
November 21, 2013
Religious Groups’ Views on End-of-Life Issues
Assemblies of God
Buddhism
Catholicism
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Episcopal Church
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
National Baptist Convention
Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Southern Baptist Convention
United Church of Christ
Unitarian Universalist Association
United Methodist Church

Content: The church also teaches that it is justified to stop medical treatment, including artificial nutrition and hydration, when that treatment brings significantly more burdens than benefits to a person. Such decisions also should be informed by the moral norm against taking life, Sedgwick says. “ The dividing line here is the difference between the intent to take life and withdraw [ing] treatment.” For more information: Episcopal Church Resolution. 1991. “ Establish Principles With Regard to the Prolongation of Life. ” Hinduism
While there is no formal Hindu teaching on assisted suicide or euthanasia, there is a general concern in Hinduism that prematurely ending a person’s life could negatively impact their karma, says Deepak Sarma, a professor of South Asian religions and philosophy at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The concept of karma centers around the belief that good and bad occurrences in one’s life are caused by actions taken in past lives, since Hindus believe in reincarnation. “ We believe that whatever suffering you experience now is because of something you did in the past,” Sarma says. “