Apostasy

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For other uses, see Apostasy (disambiguation).

Apostasy (pronounced /əˈpɒstəsi/; from Greek ἀποστασία (apostasia), a defection or revolt, from ἀπό, apo, "away, apart", στάσις, stasis, "stand", "standing") is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy apostatizes and is an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday use. The term is used by sociologists to mean renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense and without pejorative connotation. The term is sometimes also used by extension to refer to renunciation of a non-religious belief or cause, such as a political party, brain trust, or, facetiously, a sports team.

Apostasy is generally not a self-definition: very few former believers call themselves apostates because of the pejorative implications of the term. Many religious movements consider it a vice (sin), a corruption of the virtue of piety, in the sense that when piety fails apostasy is the result[citation needed].

Many religious groups and some states punish apostates. Apostates may be shunned by the members of their former religious group[1] or subjected to formal or informal punishment. This may be the official policy of the religious group or may be the action of its members. A Christian church may in certain circumstances excommunicate the apostate, while some Abrahamic scriptures (Judaism: Deuteronomy 13:6–10) and Islam: al-Bukhari, Diyat, bab 6)[citation needed] demand the death penalty for apostates. The death penalty is still applied by some Muslim states (such as Iran[2]), but not in Christianity or Judaism.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Sociological definitions

The American sociologist Lewis A. Coser (following the German philosopher and sociologist Max Scheler[citation needed]) defines an apostate to be not just a person who experienced a dramatic change in conviction but “a man who, even in his new state of belief, is spiritually living not primarily in the content of that faith, in the pursuit of goals appropriate to it, but only in the struggle against the old faith and for the sake of its negation."[3][4]

The American sociologist David G. Bromley defined the apostate role as follows and distinguished it from the defector and whistleblower roles.[4]

Stuart A. Wright, an American sociologist and author, asserts that apostasy is a unique phenomenon and a distinct type of religious defection, in which the apostate is a defector "who is aligned with an oppositional coalition in an effort to broaden the dispute, and embraces public claimsmaking activities to attack his or her former group."[5]

[edit] Law

[edit] International law

See also: Religious conversion

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, considers the recanting of a person's religion a human right legally protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

The Committee observes that the freedom to 'have or to adopt' a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views [...] Article 18.2[6] bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert.[7]

[edit] Countries

Wiki letter w cropped.svg This section requires expansion.

Apostasy in itself is not considered a crime and is not prohibited or penalised anywhere, but in many countries apostasy from the religion supported by the state is forbidden and punishable. This is largely the case in some states where Islam is the state religion; conversion to Islam is encouraged, conversion from Islam penalised.

[edit] Religions

[edit] Baha'i

Main article: Freedom of religion in Iran

Muslims often regard adherents of the Bahá'í faith as apostates from Islam, and they may be harassed and persecuted.[11]

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Apostasy in Christianity
See also: Apostata capiendo and Backslide

The Christian understanding of apostasy is "a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christian truth. Apostasy is the rejection of Christ by one who has been a Christian...."[12] "Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."[13] The Greek noun apostasia (rebellion, abandonment, state of apostasy, defection)[14] is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).[15] However, "the concept of apostasy is found throughout Scripture."[16] The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery states that "There are at least four distinct images in Scripture of the concept of apostasy. All connote an intentional defection from the faith."[17] These images are: Rebellion; Turning Away; Falling Away; Adultery.[18]

Michael Fink writes:

Apostasy is certainly a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated.[22] The debate has centered on the issue of apostasy and salvation. Based on the concept of Gods sovereign grace, some hold that, though true believers may stray, they will never totally fall away. Others affirm that any who fall away were never really saved. Though they may have "believed" for a while, they never experienced regeneration. Still others argue that the biblical warnings against apostasy are real and that believers maintain the freedom, at least potentially, to reject God's salvation.[23]

[edit] Islam

Main articles: Apostasy in Islam and Takfir
See also: Mutaween

In Islam, apostasy is called "ridda" ("turning back") and is considered to be a profound insult to God. A person born of Muslim parents who rejects Islam is called a "murtad fitri" (natural apostate), and a person who converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "murtad milli" (apostate from the community).[24][unreliable source?]

Quran specifically describes three types of punishment for apostates via these verses;

“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;” [Surah Al-Maidah 5:33]."

According to some scholars, if a Muslim consciously and without coercion declares their rejection of Islam and does not change their mind after the time allocated by a judge for research, then the penalty for male apostates is death, and for women life imprisonment. However, this view has been rejected by modern Muslim scholars (e.g. Hasan al-Turabi), who argue that the hadith in question should be taken to apply only to political betrayal of the Muslim community, rather than to apostasy in general.[25] These scholars regard apostasy as a serious crime, but argue for the freedom to convert to and from Islam without legal penalty, and consider the aforementioned Hadith quote as insufficient justification for capital punishment. Today apostasy is illegal in most Muslim countries, and subject in some to the death penalty. Executions for apostasy are rare, but allowed in many Muslim countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Apostasy is legal in secular Muslim countries such as Turkey.[26]

The hadith is quoted both by supporters of the death penalty and critics of Islam. Some Islamic scholars[who?] point out it is important to understand the hadith in its proper historical context: it was written when the nascent Muslim community in Medina was fighting for its existence, and the enemies of Islam encouraged rebellion and discord within the community.[27] At that time any defection would have had serious consequences for the Muslims, and the hadith may well be about treason, rather than just apostasy. Under the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah any Muslim who returned to Mecca was not to be returned, terms which the Prophet accepted. Despite this historical point, Islamic law as currently practiced does not allow freedom of religion.

The Qur'an says:

Let there be no compulsion in the religion: Clearly the Right Path (i.e. Islam) is distinct from the crooked path.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 2:256]
A section of the 'People of the Book' (Jews and Christians) says: "Believe in the morning what is revealed to the believers (Muslims), but reject it at the end of the day; perchance they may (themselves) turn back (from Islam).
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 3:72]
But those who reject faith after they accepted it, and then go on adding to their defiance of faith, never will their repentance be accepted; for they are those who have (of set purpose) gone astray.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 3:90]
Those who blasphemed and back away from the ways of Allah and die as blasphemers, Allah shall not forgive them.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 4:48]
Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief, – Allah will not forgive them nor guide them on the way.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 4:137]
O ye who believe! If any from among you turn back from his faith, soon will Allah produce a people whom He (Allah) will love as they will love Him lowly with the believers, Mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the reproachers of such as find fault. That is the Grace of Allah which He will bestow on whom He (Allah) pleases. And Allah encompasses all, and He knows all things.
—Qur'an, [Qur'an 5:54]

The Hadith (a collection of sayings attributed to Muhammad and his companions) includes statements taken as supporting the death penalty for apostasy, such as:

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Islamic scholar, writes that punishment for apostasy was part of Divine punishment for only those who denied the truth even after clarification in its ultimate form by Muhammad (he uses term Itmam al-hujjah), hence, he considers this command for a particular time and no longer punishable.[28]

In 2006 Abdul Rahman, an Afghan convert from Islam to Christianity, attracted worldwide attention about where Islam stood on religious freedom. Prosecutors asked for the death penalty for him. However, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the Afghan government claimed he was mentally unfit to stand trial and released him.

Islam Online, a website,[citation needed] contains a fatwa dated 21 March 2004 and ascribed to 'IOL Shariah Researchers' says:

It should be noted that the website Islam Online has an article by Jamal Badawi arguing against legal punishment of apostasy:

[edit] Judaism

Main article: Jews in apostasy
See also: yetzia bish'eila

The term apostasy is also derived from Greek ἀποστάτης, meaning "political rebel," as applied to rebellion against God, its law and the faith of Israel (in Hebrew מרד) in the Hebrew Bible.

Other expressions for apostate as used by rabbinical scholars are "mumar" (מומר, literally "the one that is changed") and "poshea yisrael" (פושע ישראל, literally, "transgressor of Israel"), or simply "kofer" (כופר, literally "denier" and heretic).

The Torah states:

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; [Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
—Deuteronomy 13:6–10[31]

The prophetic writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah provide many examples of defections of faith found among the Israelites (e.g., Isaiah 1:2–4 or Jeremiah 2:19), as do the writings of the prophet Ezekiel (e.g., Ezekiel 16 or 18). Israelite kings were often guilty of apostasy, examples including Ahab (I Kings 16:30–33), Ahaziah (I Kings 22:51–53), Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:6,10), Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1–4), or Amon (2 Chronicles 33:21–23) among others. (Amon's father Manasseh was also apostate for many years of his long reign, although towards the end of his life he renounced his apostasy. Cf. 2 Chronicles 33:1–19)

In the Talmud, Elisha Ben Abuyah (known as Aḥer) is singled out as an apostate and epicurean by the Pharisees.

During the Spanish inquisition, a systematic conversion of Jews to Christianity took place, some of which under threats and force. These cases of apostasy provoked the indignation of the Jewish communities in Spain.

Several notorious Inquisitors, such as Tomás de Torquemada, and Don Francisco the archbishop of Coria, were descendants of apostate Jews. Other apostates who made their mark in history by attempting the conversion of other Jews in the 14th century include Juan de Valladolid and Astruc Remoch.

Abraham Isaac Kook,[32][33] first Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in then Palestine, held that atheists were not actually denying God: rather, they were denying one of man's many images of God. Since any man-made image of God can be considered an idol, Kook held that, in practice, one could consider atheists as helping true religion burn away false images of god, thus in the end serving the purpose of true monotheism.

In practice there is no punishment today for leaving Judaism.

[edit] Other religious movements

Controversies over new religious movements (NRMs) have often involved apostates, some of whom join organizations or web sites opposed to their former religions. A number of scholars have debated the reliability of apostates and their stories, often called "apostate narratives".

One camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes David G. Bromley,[34][35] Daniel Carson Johnson,[36] Dr. Lonnie D. Kliever (1932–2004),[37] Gordon Melton,[38] and Bryan R. Wilson.[39] An opposing camp less critical of apostate narratives as a group includes Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi,[40] Dr. Phillip Charles Lucas,[41][42][43] Jean Duhaime,[44] Mark Dunlop,[45][46] Michael Langone,[47] and Benjamin Zablocki.[48]

Some scholars have attempted to classify apostates of NRMs. James T. Richardson proposes a theory related to a logical relationship between apostates and whistleblowers, using Bromley's definitions,[49] in which the former predates the latter. A person becomes an apostate and then seeks the role of whistleblower, which is then rewarded for playing that role by groups that are in conflict with the original group of membership such as anti-cult organizations. These organizations further cultivate the apostate, seeking to turn him or her into a whistleblower. He also describes how in this context, apostates' accusations of "brainwashing" are designed to attract perceptions of threats against the well being of young adults on the part of their families to further establish their new found role as whistleblowers.[50] Armand L. Mauss, define true apostates as those exiters that have access to oppositional organizations which sponsor their careers as such, and which validate the retrospective accounts of their past and their outrageous experiences in new religions, making a distinction between these and whistleblowers or defectors in this context.[51] Donald Richter, a current member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) writes that this can explain the writings of Carolyn Jessop and Flora Jessop, former members of the FLDS church who consistently sided with authorities when children of the YFZ ranch were removed over charges of child abuse.[52] However, Donald Richter remains a member in good standing and loyal to the leadership of the fundamentalist sect from which the former members fled and has no apparent training or expertise in psychology or behavioral sciences. Richter has been criticized for his biased and propaganda-style writing.[53]

Massimo Introvigne in his Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates[54] defines three types of narratives constructed by apostates of new religious movements:

Introvigne argues that apostates professing Type II narratives prevail among exiting members of controversial groups or organizations, while apostates that profess Type III narratives are a vociferous minority.

[edit] Notable examples

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This is a list of some notable persons who have been reportedly labeled as apostates in reliable published sources.

[edit] Christianity

[edit] Islam

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Muslim apostates cast out and at risk from faith and family, The Times, February 05, 2005
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Lewis A. Coser The Age of the Informer Dissent:1249–54, 1954
  4. ^ a b Bromley, David G. (Ed.) The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements CT, Praeger Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-275-95508-7
  5. ^ Wright, Stuart, A., Exploring Factors that Shape the Apostate Role, in Bromley, David G., The Politics of Religious Apostasy, pp. 109, Praeger Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-275-95508-7
  6. ^ Wikisource-logo.svg Article 18.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
  7. ^ CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. 22., 1993
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ [3]
  10. ^ http://www.crosswalk.com/1166011/
  11. ^ http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/059fpgrn.asp
  12. ^ Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Greek and Latin Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology, 41. The Tyndale Bible Dictionary defines apostasy as a “Turning against God, as evidenced by abandonment and repudiation of former beliefs. The term generally refers to a deliberate renouncing of the faith by a once sincere believer . . .” ("Apostasy," Walter A. Elwell and Philip W. Comfort, editors, 95).
  13. ^ Paul W. Barnett, Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments, "Apostasy," 73. Scott McKnight says, "Apostasy is a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ" (Dictionary of Theological Interpretation of the Bible, "Apostasy," 58).
  14. ^ Walter Bauder, "Fall, Fall Away," The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), 3:606.
  15. ^ Michael Fink, "Apostasy," in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 87. In Acts 21:21, "Paul was falsely accused of teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses . . . [and] he predicted the great apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Matt. 24:10-12), which would precede 'the Day of the Lord' (2 Thess. 2:2f.)" (D. M. Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "Apostasy," 1:192). Some pre-tribulation adherents in Protestantism believe that the apostasy mentioned in 2 Thess. 2:3 can be interpreted as the pre-tribulation Rapture of all Christians. This is because apostasy means departure (translated so in the first seven English translations) (Dr. Thomas Ice, Pre-Trib Perspective, March 2004, Vol.8, No.11).
  16. ^ Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
  17. ^ "Apostasy," 39.
  18. ^ a b c d Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 39.
  19. ^ LXX = the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
  20. ^ Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 39. Paul Barnett says, "Jesus foresaw the fact of apostasy and warned both those who would fall into sin as well as those who would cause others to fall (see, e.g., Mark 9:42-49)." (Dictionary of the Later NT, 73).
  21. ^ Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 39
  22. ^ McKnight adds: "Because apostasy is disputed among Christian theologians, it must be recognized that ones overall hermeneutic and theology (including ones general philosophical orientation) shapes how one reads texts dealing with apostasy." Dictionary of Theological Interpretation of the Bible, 59.
  23. ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Apostasy," 87.
  24. ^ [4] from "Leaving Islam : Apostates speak out" by Ibn Warraq
  25. ^ Islam & Pluralism: A Contemporary Approach from IslamOnline.net
  26. ^ Zaki Badawi, M.A. (2003). "Islam". In Cookson, Catharine. Encyclopedia of religious freedom. New York: Routledge. pp. 204–8. ISBN 0-415-94181-4. http://books.google.com/?id=R0PrjC1Ar7gC&pg=PA206. 
  27. ^ Is Killing An Apostate in the Islamic Law? from irfi.org
  28. ^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, The Punishment for Apostasy, Renaissance – Monthly Islamic Journal, Al-Mawrid, 6(11), November, 1996
  29. ^ Islam Online
  30. ^ Jamal Badawi's article
  31. ^ Deuteronomy 13:6–10
  32. ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #16: "Kefira" in our Day from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
  33. ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #17: Heresy V from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
  34. ^ Bromley David G. et al., The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil,
  35. ^ in Bromley, David G et al. (ed.), Brainwashing Deprogramming Controversy: Sociological, Psychological, Legal, and Historical Perspectives (Studies in religion and society) p. 156, 1984, ISBN 0-88946-868-0
  36. ^ Bromley, David G. (ed.); Richardson, James T. (1998). "Apostates Who Never Were: The Social Construction of Absque Facto Apostate Narratives". in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements. New York: Praeger. pp. 134–5. ISBN 0-275-95508-7. 
  37. ^ Kliever 1995 Kliever. Lonnie D, Ph.D. The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements, 1995.
  38. ^ "Melton 1999"Melton, Gordon J., Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory, 1999.
  39. ^ Wilson, Bryan R. (Ed.) The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism, Rose of Sharon Press, 1981.
  40. ^ Beit-Hallahmi 1997 Beith-Hallahmi, Benjamin Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research, 1997.
  41. ^ < Lucas, Phillip Charles Ph.D. – Profile
  42. ^ "Holy Order of MANS". http://www.holyorderofmans.org. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
  43. ^ Lucas 1995 Lucas, Phillip Charles, From Holy Order of MANS to Christ the Savior Brotherhood: The Radical Transformation of an Esoteric Christian Order in Timothy Miller (ed.), America's Alternative Religions State University of New York Press, 1995
  44. ^ Duhaime, Jean (Université de Montréal) Les Témoignages de convertis et d'ex-adeptes (English: The testimonies of converts and former followers, in Mikael Rothstein et al. (ed.), New Religions in a Postmodern World, 2003, ISBN 87-7288-748-6
  45. ^ http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/CofC.htm#advantages
  46. ^ Dunlop 2001 The Culture of Cults
  47. ^ The Two "Camps" of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue Langone, Michael, Cults and Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001
  48. ^ Zablocki 1996 Zablocki, Benjamin, Reliability and validity of apostate accounts in the study of religious communities. Paper presented at the Association for the Sociology of Religion in New York City, Saturday, August 17, 1996.
  49. ^ Bromley, David G. (ed.); Richardson, James T. (1998). "Apostates, Whistleblowers, Law, and Social Control". in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements. New York: Praeger. pp. 171. ISBN 0-275-95508-7. "Some of those who leave, whatever the method, become "apostates" and even develop into "whistleblowers", as those terms are defined in the first chapter of this volume." 
  50. ^ Bromley, David G. (ed.); Richardson, James T. (1998). "Apostates, Whistleblowers, Law, and Social Control". in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements. New York: Praeger. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-275-95508-7. 
  51. ^ Bromley, David G. (ed.); Richardson, James T. (1998). "Apostasy and the Management of Spoiled Identity". in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements. New York: Praeger. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-275-95508-7. 
  52. ^ The Unreliability of Apostate Narratives
  53. ^ Brooke Adams (01-14-09). "And now for the news ...". The Plural Life. http://166.70.44.68/blogs/plurallife/2009/01/and-now-for-the-news/. Retrieved 2010-03-23. [dead link]
  54. ^ Introvigne 1997
  55. ^ Open letter by Ayaan Hirsi Ali published on the website of the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting dated 3 November 2004
    English translation: "Theo's naivety was not that it could not happen here, but that it could not happen to him. He said, "I am the local fool; they won't harm me. But you should be careful. You are the apostate.""
    Dutch original "Theo's naïviteit was niet dat het hier niet kon gebeuren, maar dat het hem niet kon gebeuren. Hij zei: "Ik ben de dorpsgek, die doen ze niets. Wees jij voorzichtig, jij bent de afvallige vrouw." "
  56. ^ Taslima's Pilgrimage By Meredith Tax, from The Nation
  57. ^ McCarthy, Rory (2001-08-20). "Blasphemy doctor faces death". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/20/rorymccarthy. 

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