Whatever the Church teaching on all this might be, there is a phenomenon that may shed light on the matter to some extent. This is the phenomenon of NDE, or Near Death Experience. The work done on this potentially transformative experience (it was radically so for me) has revealed a point of great interest relevant to the thread question.
A world wide study of NDE’s has revealed that all such experiences include form one to seven clearly distinguishable phases. It would seem important in terms of religious beliefs that these phases were identical in form with no regard for age, gender, language, IQ, status, location, culture or religion or lack of it.
One of the phases is called the “life review” or by some the “judgment” phase. In this the subject dispassionately views some or all of their life significant life experiences in terms of two questions: “Did you Love?” and “What did you learn?” Again, interestingly enough, there is no reference made to the subject’s religion or practice thereof in formal terms, eg, did they fulfill the requirements of their religion as to dogmatic beliefs, participation in rituals, missionaryism, etc, except in the context of was it done in love and what was learned. the participation itself was incidental and not of consequence, only the state of heart/mind.
It is my opinion, from having had an NDE, that that the universality of this experience ought rightfully to be considered as a factor in the efficacy of any religious practice. What I mean is; what is the actual significance of participating in Church rituals and adhering to dogma, if the actual judgment of one’s soul is based on two universally foundational questions that have no reference to the subject’s religious practice? Would it not be far more useful in terms, then, of judgment, to have an affective education in the way of the Golden Rule? And also employment of the age old dictum to “Know thyself” so that one is familiar with the shenanigans the the brain uses to construct and project our experience as humans? Can you imagine what it might feel like to witness your own actions relative to Loving and Knowing contrasted to all the time spent in faith questions that don’t bear on the issues?
For a brilliant exposition of what these experiences are like and what they are about, I might suggest Danion Brinkley’s
Saved by the Light as well as his later works after a second experience, or go to
near-death.com/index.html for resources pertinent to experiences and studies.