For Today’s Catholics Hell Means 'the Hopeless Anguish of God’s Absence,' Says Holy Cross Professor

In an article for The Conversation, Joanne Pierce, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross, traces the conceptual evolution of hell through the Jewish and Greek cultures and their influence on the Christian description of hell or the afterlife, including examples from works such as Dante’s "Divine Comedy."

Pierce ultimately cites the representation found in the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," as the modern definition of hell, which "omits the gory details found in earlier attempts to describe the hellish experience, but restates that the chief pain of hell is eternal separation from God."

To read the full article, go to The Conversation. The piece has also been republished by Newsweek and Religion News Service.