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What Is the Chief End of Man?

Human purpose compared across 20+ traditions: glorify and enjoy God (Westminster), beatific vision, theosis, exaltation, worship ('ibadah), moksha, nirvana, eudaimonia, and materialist self-made meaning

ByKaleb Dixon

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Updated 2026-10-18 · 5 min read
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PurposeHuman natureTheosisEudaimonia

"What is the chief end of man?" (what humans exist for) is the famous first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Most theistic traditions answer it in a similar shape: humans exist to know, love, worship, and enjoy God, and to share in God's own life. The Westminster answer ("to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever"), the Catholic "to know, love, and serve him," the Orthodox theosis, the Qur'an's "to worship Me," the Bahá'í "to know Thee and to worship Thee," and Luzzatto's "to delight in God" all sit close together. The sharp differences are about what that union looks like (vision of God, deification, exaltation to godhood, or everlasting life on a paradise earth) and how it is reached (grace, sacraments, obedience, knowledge, or devotion). Outside theism, the question itself changes. Hindu and Buddhist traditions aim at liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Greek and Roman philosophy aims at eudaimonia (flourishing) through virtue or tranquility. Confucianism aims at moral self-cultivation. Atheist materialism denies there is any built-in "end" at all, and holds that purpose is something humans create.

At a Glance

Tradition Short answer
Protestant To glorify God and to enjoy him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q1).
Lutheran To receive God's gifts by faith, then thank and serve him by serving the neighbor in one's vocation.
Methodist / Wesleyan To be restored to the image of God: holiness of heart and life, perfect love of God and neighbor.
Messianic Jewish To love the God of Israel with all one's heart (the Shema), sanctify his Name, and take part in Israel's calling, now fulfilled through Yeshua.
BibleProject To be God's image: royal priests who partner with him to rule and develop creation, joining heaven and earth.
Catholic To know, love, and serve God in this life and share his blessed life forever (the beatific vision).
Eastern Orthodox Theosis: to become by grace what God is by nature, through union with God.
Latter-day Saints "Men are, that they might have joy." Progress toward eternal life and exaltation with Heavenly Father in eternal families.
Jehovah's Witnesses Friendship with Jehovah, sanctifying his name, and everlasting life on a restored paradise earth.
Atheist materialism There is no given purpose. Meaning is created by humans within a natural universe.
Islam To worship ('ibadah) God alone and serve as his steward (khalifah) on earth.
Judaism To serve God through Torah and mitzvot, honor his glory, and repair the world. In Luzzatto's phrase, "to delight in God."
Hinduism Moksha: liberation from rebirth, understood as realizing Brahman (Advaita) or as eternal loving service of God (Dvaita, bhakti).
Buddhism To end suffering and attain nirvana. In Mahayana, to become a Buddha for the sake of all beings.
Ancient Greek Eudaimonia, flourishing: "activity of soul in accordance with virtue" (Aristotle), or "becoming like god" (Plato).
Ancient Roman To live according to nature and reason, in virtue (Stoics), with pietas toward gods, family, and Rome.
Sikhism To overcome ego (haumai) and merge with Waheguru by remembering the Name (Naam).
Zoroastrianism To join Ahura Mazda's fight against evil through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
Bahá'í "Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee."
Confucianism To become a junzi (exemplary person) by cultivating ren (humaneness) in one's relationships.
Daoism To live in harmony with the Dao through simplicity and wu wei (effortless action).

Lenses

Each lens answers this question in full, starting from one tradition: first the differences inside that tradition, then its sister traditions, then entirely different worldviews.

  • Protestant lens: Protestant denominations, Messianic Jewish and BibleProject, then other branches of Christianity, then other religions and worldviews

Key Points of Divergence

  • God-centered or human-centered framing. Westminster puts God's glory first. Catholic and Orthodox teaching stress human participation in God's blessedness. LDS reverses the direction: God's glory is human exaltation (Moses 1:39). Most traditions insist the two are ultimately the same thing.
  • What the final union is. The beatific vision (Catholic), deification without absorption (Orthodox), exaltation and becoming like God (LDS), everlasting earthly paradise (JW), identity with Brahman (Advaita), loving service of God (Dvaita, bhakti), or extinction of craving (Buddhism).
  • Given or made. Theistic traditions and Aristotle hold that humans have a built-in telos. Atheist materialism and existentialism hold that purpose is created, not discovered. Buddhism and Daoism dissolve the question in different ways.
  • One life or many. In the Abrahamic religions, this one life decides the outcome. In the Indian traditions, life is one step in a cycle of rebirth to be escaped.
  • Individual or corporate. Messianic Jewish, Jewish, Confucian, and Bahá'í answers make the community or the nation central. Westminster and many Greek answers focus on the individual soul.
  • Contemplation or action. Aristotle, Aquinas, and Maimonides crown life with knowing or seeing God. Lutheran vocation, BibleProject's "partnership," Zoroastrian combat, and Confucian cultivation stress active work in the world.

Open Questions

  • Is "glorify God" and "enjoy God" one end or two? Compare Piper's Christian Hedonism with traditional Reformed readings and with Aquinas on beatitude.
  • How close are Orthodox theosis and LDS exaltation really, and where exactly do they differ?
  • Does a Lutheran "neighbor-centered" account of good works fit with Westminster's "glory of God" framing?
  • If materialism is true, can purpose be real or only felt? Compare Carroll's poetic naturalism with Camus and Sartre.
  • New catechism page candidate: What is salvation? Compare forensic justification, theosis, restored vocation, exaltation and liberation across traditions.
  • New catechism page candidate: Why did God create anything at all? Compare divine glory, overflowing love, sharing, emanation (Neoplatonism), lila (Hinduism's divine play), and no reason (materialism).
  • What does "ruling" in the new creation actually look like (Rev 22:5)? How does it fit with worship and the vision of God?
  • Which picture of the atonement should lead (courtroom, temple, ransom or victory), and why do the traditions rank them differently?

My Notes