For religion, whoever does not have faith in God is an impious person.
Impious is a concept that comes from a Latin word that serves to refer to someone who lacks the virtue of piety or faith in God . In turn, it is used as a synonym for hostile, as far as the religious and sacred is concerned.
Here we present some examples where the term appears: "It was a time in which the wicked were persecuted and, once found, tortured to death" , "The priest considered that the old man was a wicked man, although he did not dare to question him in public for his influence over the people" , "David showed ungodly behavior towards those who cried out for mercy" .
What is impiety
For theology , impiety consists of the denial of God as an all-powerful creature. In Roman times, impiety was associated with immorality, sacrilege and evil.
The notion even transcended the religious: anyone who did not respect their parents or country was considered impious. Those people who declared their freedom and denied their obligations towards other people (father, country or God) were considered impious: heartless and denaturalized people.
The salvation of the wicked
Purgatory is a concept widely spread by the Catholic Church to instill fear in the people and thus ensure the following of the faithful. Through the idea of punishment after death, this institution managed to fight against impiety.
Purgatory is the space where souls end up after death, before heading to heaven, also known as paradise. It is not a physical place but rather a state of transition of the soul towards purification , a step through which atonement for sins committed is achieved.
There go all those who, without having committed mortal sins, have left some loose ends (venial sins without confessing before a church authority). In this space, believers purify themselves from the stain of said sins to eliminate that temporary punishment and obtain the kind and compassionate gaze of God, to prepare for the only life that should matter: eternal life .
Christianity maintains that the wicked go to purgatory to atone for their sins.
Features of purgatory
It is believed that all those who enter Purgatory sooner or later head to heaven , therefore it is not reasonable to say that purgatory is the same as hell or that it can be a step towards it. Believers often pray for those who are in this limbo, because it is believed that the prayer of the living can help those in purgatory to be saved more quickly.
Purgatory is the opportunity for the wicked to become beings of piety, living fully in the fear of God and willing to get closer to that life they always dreamed of: eternal life.
It is worth clarifying that in all religions there are different points of view regarding whether or not eternal life exists and the path that must be followed to achieve it; Likewise, the treatment of the wicked differs between some religions and others.
What is meant by impious today?
Currently, the term was limited to exclusive use in the religious sphere. The most fundamentalist and conservative religious sectors describe as impious all people who, according to their view, do not respect divine commands or abide by the precepts that emanate from religious authority.
This worldview can cause many subjects who are not religious, although they do not consider themselves opponents of religion , to be considered impious due to their liberalism . Supporting abortion or contraception may be sufficient grounds for the Church to accuse people of impiety.