Description
In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the Dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface. Other afterlife destinations include heaven, paradise, purgatory, limbo, and the underworld.
Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth (for example, see Kur, Hades, and Sheol). Such places are sometimes equated with the English word hell, though a more correct translation would be "underworld" or "world of the dead". The ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.
Incidence
Many individuals have been intimidated by descriptions of hell articulated by priesthoods. Offers to "save people from hell" are frequently used as part of the proselytizing process. "Go to hell" is a common curse, though not always intended literally.
A fundamental Protestant church has prepared a map of the USA showing the proportion of people in any State or region who accept Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. It updates the map and uses it, amongst other purposes, for guiding its mission in saving souls from hell.