Annihilationism is belief that the final fate of the wicked is unconscious non-existence. It runs counter to the traditional Christian understanding of hell. In contrast to Traditionalism, which holds that the wicked will suffer in torment forever, and universalism, which holds that all humanity will eventually be saved, annhilationism concludes that, although God may use hell to exact some conscious punishment for sins, he will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked completely, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality.