Do Animals Have Souls? What Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Teach

Hebrew scripture uses the word nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ) for the animating life-force, and it's applied to animals as well as humans. The same term that describes a human 'living soul' in Genesis 2:7 appears in contexts covering all breathing creatures. Psalms reinforces the idea that God actively sustains the soul in life: 'Which holdeth our soul in life' Psalms 66:9 — a claim that Jewish commentators like Rashi read as applying to all creatures God breathes life into.

Rabbinic tradition, developed extensively in the Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin and Berachot), distinguishes between levels of soul. The nefesh (vital soul) is shared by animals; the ruach (spirit) and neshamah (higher rational soul) are uniquely human. Medieval philosopher Maimonides (1135–1204) argued in Guide for the Perplexed that animals possess a lower-order soul tied entirely to physical existence, with no afterlife dimension. By contrast, the Kabbalistic tradition — especially as articulated by the Zohar (13th century) — suggests animal souls can be reincarnated (gilgul neshamot), a minority but persistent view.

So Judaism's answer is nuanced: yes, animals have a nefesh, but it's not the same as the uniquely human soul that carries moral accountability and potential for eternal relationship with God. There's genuine disagreement between rationalist and mystical streams of Jewish thought on what happens to animal souls after death.

Christian theology has wrestled with this question for centuries, and it's far from settled. The Greek word psychē (soul/soul-life) in the New Testament is applied specifically to humans in key passages. In Matthew 26:38, Jesus himself says, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death' Matthew 26:38, using psychē in a deeply personal, moral, and spiritual sense. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:45 draws a sharp distinction: 'The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit' 1 Corinthians 15:45 — a contrast that theologians like Augustine (354–430) used to argue that the human soul is categorically different from animal life.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), drawing on Aristotle, taught in the Summa Theologica that animals possess a 'sensitive soul' — capable of sensation and appetite — but not a rational, immortal soul. That immortal dimension belongs to humans alone. Most Protestant Reformers, including Calvin, followed this line.

However, there's a dissenting tradition. C.S. Lewis speculated in The Problem of Pain (1940) that beloved animals might participate in resurrection through their relationship with humans. More recently, theologians like John Wesley pointed to Romans 8:21 (creatures sharing in liberation) as a hint of animal redemption. Revelation 22:15 does notably exclude 'dogs' from the New Jerusalem Revelation 22:15, though most scholars read this as a metaphor for immoral people rather than a literal statement about animals.

The mainstream Christian answer is that animals don't possess an immortal soul in the same sense humans do, but the question of animal afterlife remains genuinely open in many theological circles.

Islamic theology distinguishes between the ruh (spirit/soul) and the nafs (self/soul), and classical scholars generally hold that the immortal, accountable soul — the one that faces judgment — belongs uniquely to humans and jinn. Animals are understood to be conscious, sentient beings created by Allah with their own forms of awareness and even worship (tasbih), as Surah 17:44 states that all creation glorifies God. However, this doesn't equate to possessing a soul in the full theological sense.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), according to hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, indicated that on the Day of Judgment, justice will be rendered even between animals — the hornless sheep will have recompense against the horned — after which animals will become dust. This suggests animals have some form of accountable existence but not an eternal afterlife in the way humans do.

Scholars like Ibn al-Qayyim (1292–1350) discussed animal souls in Kitab al-Ruh, acknowledging that animals have a nafs that animates them but arguing it doesn't survive death in a meaningful sense. There's minority scholarly opinion, however, that paradise may include animals for the joy of its human inhabitants. The Quran's emphasis on human khalifa (stewardship) over creation implies a hierarchical distinction between human and animal souls.

Islam's position is that animals are honored, sentient creatures deserving of ethical treatment, but they don't possess the immortal, morally accountable soul that defines human spiritual destiny.

Within the Hebrew Bible passages provided, the focus falls squarely on the human soul and on the presence of animals in creation and judgment scenes. Psalm 66:9 speaks of God preserving “our soul,” underscoring human dependence on God for life and stability; it doesn’t extend this language to animals in the verses at hand. Psalms 66:9 Isaiah 13:21 vividly depicts wild creatures occupying desolated places, showing animals as part of the moral landscape of judgment, but it doesn’t ascribe a “soul” to them in these lines. Isaiah 13:21 Daniel 5:21 contrasts a human mind made “like the beasts,” which implies a meaningful distinction between human interior life and animal nature, but it still stops short of defining an animal “soul.” Daniel 5:21 Given only these passages, a definitive claim that animals have souls can’t be made—they emphasize the human soul and portray animals without explicit reference to animal souls. Psalms 66:9 Isaiah 13:21 Daniel 5:21

In the New Testament material provided, the term “soul” (psychē) is explicitly used for human persons. Jesus speaks of his soul as “exceeding sorrowful,” highlighting human interior consciousness before God. Matthew 26:38 Mark 14:34 Paul contrasts “the first man Adam” as “a living soul” with “the last Adam” as “a quickening spirit,” a theological move focusing on human destiny and resurrection life in Christ, not on animals. 1 Corinthians 15:45 The provided passages don’t state that animals have souls, nor do they discuss their eternal destiny. Even where animals appear (e.g., imagery involving dogs), the text doesn’t attribute “soul” to them. Revelation 22:15 Within these citations, then, the emphasis is on the human soul and its transformation, not on animal souls. 1 Corinthians 15:45 Matthew 26:38 Revelation 22:15

We can’t responsibly summarize Islam’s position here because no Qur’an or Hadith passages were provided in the retrieved set; making claims without Islamic sources would be unsound. We therefore refrain from asserting whether animals have souls from an Islamic standpoint within this answer.