Incarnation means becoming a physical being or taking on a physical form. It describes a god, spirit, or divine being appearing in a human or animal shape on Earth. The term Incarnation specifically refers to the joining of divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. In Islamic writings, this concept is known as "ḥulūl."

Abrahamic religions

The Incarnation of Christ is a key Christian belief that God became human, taking on human nature, and appeared as Jesus, the Son of God and the second part of the Trinity. This belief teaches that the divine nature of Jesus was perfectly joined with his human nature in one person, making him both fully God and fully human. This joining of divine and human natures is called the hypostatic union. It happened when Jesus was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Bible passages often linked to this belief include John 3:1–21, Colossians 2:9, and Philippians 2:7–8.

Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is seen as the founder of the Druze faith and the main writer of Druze religious texts. He taught that God became human and took the form of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is a key figure in Druze beliefs, and the Druze founder ad-Darazi declared him to be the human form of God in 1018.

Historian David R. W. Bryer describes the Druze as a group within Isma'ilism that greatly honored the caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and considered him divine. He also says the Druze faith differs from Islam, much like how Christianity and Judaism differ from each other.

Some scholars suggest that Christian ideas are present in Druze beliefs, influenced by Isma'ili traditions. This is seen in the Druze belief that al-Hākim bi Amrillāh is divine. The initiation text, "Mīthāq Walī al-Zamān" (Pact of Time Custodian), begins with a statement that praises al-Hakim as the sole and eternal God, showing similarities to Christian views of Jesus' divinity. The Druze also see figures like Jesus, al-Hākim bi Amrillāh, and Hamza ibn Ali as the Messiah or Mahdi. They believe al-Hākim will return at the end of time to judge the world and rule, while Hamza ibn Ali is seen as a rebirth of Jesus, linked to the Universal Mind 'Aql and connected to al-Hākim.

Many modern scholars note that the Bible and Talmud once described God as having a human-like form, sometimes appearing in physical form. The Babylonian Talmud includes stories of God, Elijah, Satan, and demons appearing on Earth.

Since the time of Maimonides, most Jews have rejected the idea of God taking human form. However, some modern Hasidim believe in a similar concept. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a respected Hasidic leader, taught that the Rebbe is God’s essence placed in the body of a righteous person.

Rastas call God "Jah," a shortened form of God’s name in the Bible. Rastafari beliefs emphasize that Jah is present within every person, similar to the Hindu idea of Brahman. The phrase "I and I" and the saying "God is man and man is God" reflect the unity of divinity and humanity. Practices called livity, inspired by the Nazirite vow, are ways Rastas embrace this inner divinity.

Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, is often seen by Rastas as the Second Coming of Jesus or as Jah made human. Some view him as a human who lived by Christ’s teachings or as a prophet representing the divinity within people. Leonard Barrett noted that many Rastas believe in reincarnation, seeing Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and Haile Selassie as avatars of Jah. R. Matthew Charet explained that "Christ" is a title for Rastas, like "Buddha" is for Buddhists, and that the divine connection of Christ is not unique to Jesus but can be found in all humans through a realization of the "Christ-consciousness" within them.

Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, God is not believed to take a human form or become part of the world because God cannot be divided or become like humans. The Manifestations of God are not seen as God taking a human form, but instead are viewed as perfect mirrors that show God's qualities to the world.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion that does not believe in a god or any form of a god. Instead, it teaches the idea of rebirth, meaning that living beings are reborn many times in different forms. These forms include gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, or beings in hell. This cycle of rebirth, called samsara, continues until a person reaches nirvana, which ends the cycle of rebirth forever.

In Tibetan Buddhism, a spiritual teacher who has achieved enlightenment is believed to be reborn after death. This reborn teacher is called a tulku. According to Tulku Thond, there are three main types of tulkus: those who are representations of Buddha, those who are manifestations of highly skilled spiritual practitioners, and those who are reborn from teachers who lived virtuously. There are also other types of tulkus, such as those who are not officially recognized, those who are blessed, and those who have strayed from the spiritual path.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, the term "incarnation" refers to the belief in rebirth, and in theistic traditions, it is called "avatar." The word "avatar" means "to descend, to appear," and it describes the form in which a god or superhuman being takes on a new shape. It can also mean "to overcome, to remove, or to cross something." In Hindu teachings, "crossing or coming down" symbolizes the idea of the divine moving from an eternal, unchanging state into the changing, physical world. According to Daniel Bassuk, this represents the descent of the divine from "eternity into the temporal realm, from unconditioned to the conditioned, from infinitude to finitude." Justin Edwards Abbott explains that an avatar is a form with qualities (saguna) that represents the formless (nirguna) Brahman or Atman (the soul).

The word "avatar" is not found as a noun in the Vedas or the Principal Upanishads. However, the verb "avatarana," meaning "the action of descending," appears in ancient Hindu texts after the Vedic period. It refers to the act of the divine descending, not to a specific person (avatara). Paul Hacker notes that "avatarana" has two meanings: one is the divine descending, and the other is "relieving humans of suffering caused by evil forces."

The term "avatar" is most commonly linked to the Hindu god Vishnu. Early texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita, use other terms like "sambhavāmi" and "tanu" to describe Vishnu taking human form to support good and fight evil. The noun "avatar" appears more frequently in texts written after the sixth century CE, where it refers to the embodiment of a deity. This idea spreads widely in later Hindu stories, such as those in the Puranas, which include concepts like "ansha-avatar" (partial embodiments).

While other deities, such as Ganesha and Shiva, are also described as having avatars in medieval texts, these references are less common. The belief in avatars is a key difference between Vaishnavism and Shaivism, two major traditions within Hinduism.

Christian theologians have debated the translation of "avatar" as "incarnation," noting that in Christianity, an incarnation refers to a divine being taking on human form in a physical, imperfect body. In contrast, Hindu avatars are often seen as perfect and mythical. The Christian belief in Jesus being born to the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, as described in Christology, differs from the Hindu view. Scholars like Mercy Amba Oduyoye and H. M. Vroom compare this to a Christian belief called Docetism, which suggests that Jesus only appeared to be human. However, Sheth argues that this view misunderstands Hindu teachings. In traditions like Vaishnavism, avatars are true, perfect embodiments of spiritual beings, driven by noble purposes.

Serer religion

The Serer religion of West Africa does not believe in the idea that the supreme god, Roog (also called Koox in the Cangin language), appears in human form or takes on physical shape. However, the belief in the rebirth of ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits, called Pangool (singular: Fangool), is an important part of Serer religious teachings. These Pangool serve as messengers between the living and the divine. When Serers discuss incarnation, they are referring to these Pangool, who are considered holy because they help people communicate with the divine.

Meitei

In Meitei mythology and folklore, the epic cycles of incarnations in Moirang tell a repeating story of seven lives (or nine in some versions) of two divine lovers. This story takes place in the kingdom of Moirang, located in the area known as Ancient Kangleipak, which is now part of early Manipur.