Reincarnation (Rebirth) is the philosophical and religious concept that the nonmaterial essence of a living being begins a new lifespan in a different physical form after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, and after a period of assessment in the afterlife, the soul transmigrates into a newborn baby to continue its immortality (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another.)

In Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, réincarnation is known as Samsara, the journey of the soul toward liberation (moksha or nirvana) from the cycle of births and deaths. It is also an esoteric belief among certain streams of Judaism, of pagan traditions like Wicca, of the indigenous people of the Americas, and of aboriginal Australians. As far back as antiquity, prominent Greek historical figures among whom Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato, fully endorsed the soul's  transmigration. Although the majority of Abrahamic denominations do not accept that individual souls reincarnate, some do include it as part of their beliefs; these groups include contemporary followers of Catharism, hasidic Judaism, the Druze, Kabalistics, and the Rosicrucians. In recent decades, it is noteworthy that many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in the subject and declare having adopted the belief in reincarntaion.

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