❌ Against all euthanasia
Many Sikhs say that a person must never take a life, including their own, because only God decides when life ends.
Sikh Beliefs about Life and Death » Euthanasia and Relieving Suffering: Sikh Views
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 2.3 (Sikhism)
- Why most Sikhs are against euthanasia
- Why Sikhs see caring for the sick and dying as sewa
- Why Sikhs do not all agree, and the views of those who accept some choices
- How Sikhs reply to non-religious arguments about choice and quality of life
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Unlock This CourseWhy most Sikhs are against euthanasia
In Euthanasia, Assisted Dying and the Law you met euthanasia (ending a life to end suffering) and the non-religious arguments about choice. This lesson looks at what Sikhs believe about it.
Key terms:
- Life support: medical treatment, such as a machine, that keeps a very ill person's body alive.
- Quality of life (recap from The Sanctity of Life and Abortion): how good or bearable a person's life is from day to day, including pain and independence.
Most Sikhs are against euthanasia. They give three main reasons.
🌟 God decides the timing
Sikhs believe God gives life and that the time of birth and death belongs to God. As you saw in Sanctity of Life and Abortion: Sikh Views, life is a gift and each person carries the jot, the divine spark.
🔄 Death is within hukam
Sikhs teach that death happens within hukam, God's will or order. Choosing the moment of death means taking over something that belongs to God.
🙏 Rare human birth
A human life is a rare chance to get closer to God (see Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Sikhism). Ending it early takes that chance away.
Suffering as part of hukam and karma
Sikhs do not pretend that suffering is easy. In Evil and Suffering: Sikh Teachings you saw that suffering comes from karma, from hukam and from human wrongdoing. Sikhs therefore see pain as something to be faced with trust in God, not as a reason to end life. The aim is to stay in chardi kala, a spirit of rising optimism, even when life is hard.
Sikhs also look to the Gurus. Guru Tegh Bahadur faced great suffering at the hands of the emperor Aurangzeb and met it with courage and trust in God. Many Sikhs say this shows that a person can keep their faith in suffering. Sikhs do not say that dying people must simply endure pain, though. That is where care comes in.
Caring for the sick and dying as sewa
Sikhs have a duty of sewa, selfless service to others. Looking after the sick, the old and the dying is one of the clearest examples. Sikhs would say that the right response to someone who is suffering is care, not ending their life.
- Care: family, friends and the sangat (the community) can sit with a dying person, pray with them and read from the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Pain relief: Sikhs support good pain relief and hospice care. These ease suffering without aiming to end life, so they fit with compassion and the sanctity of life.
- Compassion: Sikhs teach that all people should be treated with kindness, and caring for the dying shows that every life still matters.
Different Sikh views
There is no single Sikh ruling on euthanasia and no one leader who decides for all Sikhs. So, although most Sikhs are against it, you will find different views.
🤝 Stopping treatment
Some Sikhs accept that life support or treatment that only prolongs dying may be stopped. They say this lets death happen in God's hukam and is not the same as causing death.
A few Sikhs go further and support a choice of assisted dying, out of compassion for someone in terrible pain that cannot be eased. They say Sikhism teaches kindness and that a loving God would not want people to suffer for no purpose. Most Sikhs would answer that care and pain relief are the better way to show compassion.
Sikh replies to non-religious arguments
Many non-religious people argue that a person should have the choice to die, and that a life with a very poor quality of life is not worth living. Sikhs reply in these ways.
⚖ On choice
Sikhs say life is a gift from God and not just a person's own property, so it is not for the person alone to decide. Through sewa and the sangat, they say a community should support a person so that they never feel like a burden.
💖 On quality of life
Sikhs say every life has the divine spark, however weak or ill the person is. A life is valuable because of God, not because of what a person can do.
Sikhs can agree with the non-religious on one thing: suffering matters, and it should be reduced. They would say the answer is better care and pain relief, together with the support of the sangat.
Common mistakes
- Saying all Sikhs have exactly the same view. There is no formal ruling, so some accept stopping treatment and a few support assisted dying.
- Writing "Sikhs are against euthanasia" with no reason. Always add God's gift, the timing of death in hukam, or the divine spark.
- Thinking Sikhs ignore suffering. They teach sewa and support pain relief and care.
- Mixing up stopping treatment that only prolongs dying with ending a life on purpose.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 (a) [3 marks, AO1]: Identify three Sikh beliefs or terms about euthanasia.
Model answer
1. Hukam (1) 2. Sewa (1) 3. Jot, the divine spark (1) (any other valid answer is accepted)
Paper 1 (b) [4 marks, AO1]: Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why this religion is against euthanasia.
Model answer
In Sikhism, life is a gift from God (1), so the time of death belongs to God and not to humans (1). Sikhs also believe death happens within hukam (1), so choosing to end a life interferes with God's will or order (1).
Paper 1 (c) [6 marks, AO1 and AO2]: Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to euthanasia in this religion.
Model answer
Most Sikhs are against euthanasia because they believe life is a gift from God, everyone has the divine spark and death happens within hukam. However, there is no formal Sikh ruling, so attitudes differ. Some Sikhs say a person must never take a life because only God decides when life ends. Others accept that life support or treatment that only prolongs dying may be stopped, because this lets death happen in God's hukam and is not causing it. A few Sikhs support assisted dying out of compassion, because Sikhism teaches kindness to those in terrible pain. These views differ because Sikhs agree that life and compassion matter, but disagree about whether stopping treatment or assisting death is a kind way to show compassion.
Paper 1 (d) [12 marks, AO1 and AO2]: "People should be allowed to choose when they die." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
Plan for (d)
For: non-religious people stress choice and a poor quality of life; some Sikhs accept stopping treatment that only prolongs dying; a few Sikhs support assisted dying out of compassion for pain that cannot be eased.
Against: most Sikhs say the timing of death belongs to God and happens within hukam; life has the divine spark whatever its quality; sewa and pain relief answer suffering without ending life; a caring community should support people so they never feel a burden.
Possible conclusion: choice matters, but for most Sikhs it is not the only thing that matters. "Allowed to choose" is too strong for them, apart from the choice to refuse treatment that only prolongs dying.
Exam tip
In a 12-mark answer, use Sikh teachings such as hukam and sewa to answer the non-religious point on choice, then reach a conclusion that picks a side.