La doctrina de las indulgencias es un concepto de la teología católica estrechamente ligado a los conceptos de pecado, penitencia, remisión y purgatorio. En su formulación actual consiste en que ciertas consecuencias del pecado, como la pena temporal del mismo, puedan ser objeto de una remisión o indulgencia (del latín indulgentia: 'bondad, benevolencia, gracia, remisión, favor') concedida por determinados representantes de la Iglesia y bajo ciertas condiciones. Esta institución se remonta al cristianismo antiguo y tanto su práctica como su formulación han evolucionado a lo largo del tiempo. La doctrina protestante no la acepta por considerar que carece de fundamento bíblico. Por tal razón, a partir de la Reforma, solo fue objeto de desarrollo en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica. En la doctrina católica, la indulgencia, a diferencia del sacramento de la penitencia o reconciliación, no perdona el pecado en sí mismo, sino que exime de las penas de carácter temporal que de otro modo los fieles deberían purgar, sea durante su vida terrenal, sea luego de la muerte en el purgatorio. La indulgencia no es un sacramento como la penitencia. Puede ser concedida por el papa, los obispos y los cardenales, a quienes, por ejemplo, recen determinada oración, visiten determinado santuario, utilicen ciertos objetos de culto, realicen ciertos peregrinajes, o cumplan con otros rituales específicos. Aunque se trata de un concepto teológico secundario, las indulgencias jugaron en su momento un rol central en la historia del cristianismo. En el siglo XVI, los abusos y el tráfico económico al que dieron lugar constituyeron el motivo principal que indujo a Martín Lutero a enfrentarse con la Iglesia Católica.

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In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". It may reduce either the penance required after a sin has been forgiven or the temporal punishment after death, in the state or process of purification called Purgatory. This temporal punishment would not be considered "time", as Purgatory, like Heaven and Hell, is said to exist "outside of time". The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints". The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying (once, or many times) of a specified prayer, but may also include the visiting of a particular place, or the performance of specific good works. Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the early Church and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith. They draw on the Treasury of Merit accumulated by Christ's superabundantly meritorious sacrifice on the cross and the virtues and penances of the saints. They are granted for specific good works and prayers in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or prayers recited. By the late Middle Ages, the abuse of indulgences, mainly through commercialization, had become a serious problem which the Church recognized but was unable to restrain effectively. Indulgences were from the beginning of the Protestant Reformation a target of attacks by Martin Luther and all other Protestant theologians. Eventually the Catholic Counter-Reformation curbed the excesses, but indulgences continue to play a role in modern Catholic religious life. Reforms in the 20th century largely abolished the quantification of indulgences, which had been expressed in terms of days or years. These days or years were meant to represent the equivalent of time spent in penance, although it was widely taken to mean time spent in Purgatory. The reforms also greatly reduced the number of indulgences granted for visiting particular churches and other locations.

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