View source for Apostasy

{{Short description|Formal disaffiliation of a religious belief}}
{{Redirect|Apostate}}
{{distinguish|Apostle|Blasphemy}}
{{Conversion}}

'''Apostasy''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|.|ˈ|p|ɒ|s|.|t|ə|.|s|i}}, {{respell|ə|POSS|tə|see}}; {{langx|grc|ἀποστασία|apostasía|[[defection]], [[revolt]]}}) is the formal [[religious disaffiliation|disaffiliation]] from, abandonment of, or [[renunciation]] of a [[religion]] by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious [[belief]]s.<ref name="umich">{{cite journal|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;rgn=main;view=text;idno=did2222.0002.748 |title=Mallet, Edme-François, and François-Vincent Toussaint. "Apostasy". The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Rachel LaFortune. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2012. Web. 1 April 2015. Trans. of "Apostasie", ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'', vol. 1. Paris, 1751.|journal=Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert – Collaborative Translation Project|date=15 September 2012|publisher=quod.lib.umich.edu|access-date=2015-08-16|last1=Mallet (Biography)|first1=Edme-François}}</ref> One who undertakes apostasy is known as an '''apostate'''. Undertaking apostasy is called '''apostatizing''' (or '''apostasizing''' – also spelled '''apostacizing'''). The term ''apostasy'' is used by [[Sociology|sociologists]] to mean the renunciation ''and'' criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense, with no pejorative [[connotation]].

Occasionally, the term is also used [[metaphor]]ically to refer to the renunciation of a non-religious belief or cause, such as a [[political party]], [[social movement]], or [[sports team]]. The term has also been used in the [[Catholic Church]] to refer to abandonment of the [[Clergy|clerical]] or [[Christian monasticism|monastic state]], without leaving the religion itself.

Apostasy is generally not a self-definition: few former believers call themselves apostates due to the term's negative connotation.

Many religious groups and some states punish apostates; this may be the official policy of a particular religious group or it may simply be the voluntary action of its members. Such [[punishment]]s may include [[shunning]], [[excommunication]], [[verbal abuse]], physical violence, or even [[Religion and capital punishment|execution]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Browne |first=Anthony |date=2005-02-05 |title=Muslim apostates cast out and at risk from faith and family |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2-1470584_1%2C00.html |website=TimesOnline.co.UK |publisher=The Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116103512/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2-1470584_1%2C00.html |archive-date=2006-01-16}}</ref>

==Sociological definitions==
The American sociologist [[Lewis A. Coser]] (following the German philosopher and sociologist [[Max Scheler]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Marginality and Apostasy in the Baha'i Community|url=https://www.momen.org/relstud/apostasy.html|website=www.momen.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>) defines an apostate as 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."<ref>[[Lewis A. Coser]] ''The Age of the Informer'' Dissent: 1249–1254, 1954</ref><ref name="bromley1998">{{cite book |editor-link=David G. Bromley |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements |location=CT |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=1998 |isbn=0-275-95508-7|title-link=The Politics of Religious Apostasy }}</ref>

The American sociologist [[David G. Bromley]] defined the apostate role as follows and distinguished it from the [[defection|defector]] and [[whistleblower]] roles.<ref name="bromley1998" />
* ''Apostate role'': defined as one that occurs in a highly polarized situation in which an organization member undertakes a total change of loyalties by allying with one or more elements of an oppositional coalition without the consent or control of the organization. The narrative documents the quintessentially evil essence of the apostate's former organization chronicled through the apostate's personal experience of capture and ultimate escape/rescue.
* ''Defector role'': an organizational participant negotiates exit primarily with organizational authorities, who grant permission for role relinquishment, control the exit process and facilitate role transmission. The jointly constructed narrative assigns primary moral responsibility for role performance problems to the departing member and interprets organizational permission as commitment to extraordinary moral standards and preservation of public trust.
* ''Whistle-blower role'': defined here as when an organization member forms an alliance with an external regulatory agency through personal testimony concerning specific, contested organizational practices that the external unit uses to sanction the organization. The narrative constructed jointly by the whistle blower and regulatory agency depicts the whistle-blower as motivated by personal conscience, and the organization by defense of the public interest.

[[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 claims-making activities to attack his or her former group."<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Stuart, A. |chapter=Exploring Factors that Shape the Apostate Role |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=The Politics of Religious Apostasy |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom_484/page/n117 109] |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=1998 |isbn=0-275-95508-7|title-link=The Politics of Religious Apostasy }}</ref>

==Human rights==
{{See also|Religious conversion}}
The [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]], considers the recanting of a person's religion a [[human rights|human right]] legally protected by the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]:
{{Blockquote|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&nbsp;... Article 18.2<ref>{{ws | [[s: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights#Article 18|Article 18.2]] of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights}}</ref> 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.<ref name="umn">{{cite web|url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom22.htm |title=University of Minnesota Human Rights Library &#124; CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. 22., 1993 |publisher=umn.edu|access-date=2015-08-16}}</ref>}}

== History ==
As early as the 3rd century AD, apostasy against the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian faith]] in the [[Sasanian Empire]] was criminalized. The high priest, Kidir, instigated [[pogroms]] against Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and others in an effort to solidify the hold of the state religion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Urubshurow |first=Victoria |title=Introducing World Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tBhrg3kYU-cC |page=78|isbn=978-0-9801633-0-8 |year=2008 |publisher=JBE Online Books }}</ref>

As the [[Roman Empire]] adopted Christianity as its state religion, apostasy became formally criminalized in the [[Theodosian Code]], followed by the [[Corpus Juris Civilis]] (the Justinian Code).<ref>{{cite book |last=Oropeza |first=B. J. |title=Paul and Apostasy: Eschatology, Perseverance, and Falling Away in the Corinthian Congregation |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajbJhXCZApcC |isbn=978-3-16-147307-4 |page=10|publisher=Mohr Siebeck }}</ref> The Justinian Code went on to form the basis of law in most of Western Europe during the Middle Ages and so apostasy was similarly persecuted to varying degrees in Europe throughout this period and into the early modern period. Eastern Europe similarly inherited many of its legal traditions regarding apostasy from the Romans, but not from the Justinian Code.{{Citation needed|reason=no citation|date=December 2016}} Medieval sects deemed heretical such as the [[Waldensians]] were considered apostates by the Church.<ref name="Maxwell-Stuart 2011 p. 95">{{cite book | last=Maxwell-Stuart | first=P.G. | title=Witch Beliefs and Witch Trials in the Middle Ages: Documents and Readings | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-4411-2805-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dinwK3qZUJ0C&pg=PA95 | access-date=2023-03-23 | page=95}}</ref>

==Atrocity story==
The term '''atrocity story''', also referred to as an '''atrocity tale''', as it is defined by the American [[sociology|sociologists]] [[David G. Bromley]] and [[Anson Shupe|Anson D. Shupe]] refers to the symbolic presentation of action or events (real or imaginary) in such a context that they are made flagrantly to violate the (presumably) shared premises upon which a given set of social relationships should be conducted. The recounting of such tales is intended as a means of reaffirming normative boundaries. By sharing the reporter's disapproval or horror, an audience reasserts normative prescription and clearly locates the violator beyond the limits of [[public morality]]. The term was coined in 1979 by Bromley, Shupe, and [[Joseph Ventimiglia]].<ref>Bromley, David G., Shupe, Anson D., Ventimiglia, G.C.: "Atrocity Tales, the Unification Church, and the Social Construction of Evil", Journal of Communication, Summer 1979, pp. 42–53.</ref>

Bromley and others define an atrocity as an event that is perceived as a flagrant violation of a fundamental value. It contains the following three elements:
# moral outrage or indignation;
# authorization of punitive measures;
# mobilization of control efforts against the apparent perpetrators.

The term "atrocity story" is controversial as it relates to the differing views amongst scholars about the credibility of the accounts of former members.

[[Bryan R. Wilson]], Reader Emeritus of Sociology of the University of Oxford, says apostates of new religious movements are generally in need of self-justification, seeking to reconstruct their past and to excuse their former affiliations, while blaming those who were formerly their closest associates. Wilson, thus, challenges the reliability of the apostate's testimony by saying that the apostate

{{cquote|must always be seen as one whose personal history predisposes him to bias with respect to both his previous religious commitment and affiliations
}}

and

{{cquote|the suspicion must arise that he acts from a personal motivation to vindicate himself and to regain his self-esteem, by showing himself to have been first a victim but subsequently to have become a redeemed crusader.
}}

Wilson also asserts that some apostates or defectors from religious organisations rehearse atrocity stories to explain how, by manipulation, coercion or deceit, they were recruited to groups that they now condemn.<ref>Wilson, Bryan R. ''Apostates and New Religious Movements'' (1994) [http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Wilson/ (Available online)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212124854/http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Wilson/ |date=December 12, 2006 }}</ref>

[[Jean Duhaime]] of the [[Université de Montréal]] writes, referring to Wilson, based on his analysis of three books by apostates of new religious movements, that stories of apostates cannot be dismissed only because they are subjective.<ref>Duhaime, Jean ([[Université de Montréal]]) ''Les Témoigagnes de Convertis et d'ex-Adeptes'' (English: ''The testimonies of converts and former followers'', article that appeared in the otherwise English language book ''New Religions in a Postmodern World'' edited by [[Mikael Rothstein]] and [[Reender Kranenborg]] RENNER Studies in New religions [[Aarhus University]] press, {{ISBN|87-7288-748-6}}</ref>

[[Danny Jorgensen]], Professor at the Department of Religious Studies of the [[University of Florida]], in his book ''The Social Construction and Interpretation of Deviance: Jonestown and the Mass Media'' argues that the role of the [[mass media|media]] in constructing and reflecting reality is particularly apparent in its coverage of cults. He asserts that this complicity exists partly because apostates with an atrocity story to tell make themselves readily available to reporters and partly because new religious movements have learned to be suspicious of the media and, therefore, have not been open to investigative reporters writing stories on their movement from an insider's perspective. Besides this lack of information about the experiences of people within new religious movements, the media is attracted to [[sensationalism|sensational]] stories featuring accusations of food and sleep deprivation, sexual and physical abuse, and excesses of spiritual and emotional authority by the charismatic leader.<ref>Jorgensen, Danny. ''The Social Construction and Interpretation of Deviance: Jonestown and the Mass Media'' as cited in McCormick Maaga, Mary, ''Hearing the Voices of Jonestown'' 1st ed. (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1998) pp. 39, {{ISBN|0-8156-0515-3}}</ref>

[[Michael Langone]] argues that some will accept uncritically the positive reports of current members without calling such reports, for example, "benevolence tales" or "personal growth tales". He asserts that only the critical reports of ex-members are called "tales", which he considers to be a term that clearly implies falsehood or fiction. He states that it wasn't until 1996 that a researcher conducted a study<ref name="Zab1996" /> to assess the extent to which so called "atrocity tales" might be based on fact.<ref name="Zab1996">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.</ref><ref>Langone, Michael, ''The Two "Camps" of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue'', ''Cults and Society'', Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001 {{cite web|url=http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_articles/langone_michael_full.htm |title=^ Langone, Michael Ph.D.: "Camps of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue" |access-date=2007-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023611/http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_articles/langone_michael_full.htm |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref><ref>[[Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi|Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin]] ''Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research'', 1997, [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c59.htm]{{dead link|date=October 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

==Apostasy and contemporary criminal law==
[[File:Apostasy laws world map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Apostasy laws of various countries.]]
{{Further|Application of sharia law by country|Use of capital punishment by nation|Apostasy in Islam|Freedom of religion}}
Apostasy is a criminal offence in the following countries:
* [[Afghanistan]] – criminalized under Article 1 of the Afghan Penal Code, may be punishable by death.<ref>Eli Sugarman, et al., [https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Intro-to-Crim-Law-of-Afg-2d-Ed.pdf An Introduction to the Criminal Law of Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707121016/https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Intro-to-Crim-Law-of-Afg-2d-Ed.pdf |date=2021-07-07 }}, 2nd ed. Stanford, CA: Stanford Law School, Afghanistan Legal Education Project [ALEP], 2012.</ref>
* [[Brunei]] – criminalized under Section 112(1) of the Bruneian Syariah Penal Code, punishable by death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agc.gov.bn/AGC%20Images/LAWS/Gazette_PDF/2013/EN/s069.PDF|title=Brunei Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=22 May 2019|title=Brunei's Pernicious New Penal Code|work=Human Rights Watch|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/22/bruneis-pernicious-new-penal-code|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> However, Brunei has a moratorium on the death penalty.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mahtani |first=Shibani |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Brunei backs away from death penalty under Islamic law |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/brunei-backs-away-from-death-by-stoning-under-islamic-law/2019/05/06/e7019460-6fcc-11e9-b5ca-3d72a9fa8ff1_story.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001031517/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/brunei-backs-away-from-death-by-stoning-under-islamic-law/2019/05/06/e7019460-6fcc-11e9-b5ca-3d72a9fa8ff1_story.html |archive-date=1 October 2022 |access-date=August 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>
* [[Iran]] – while there are no provisions that criminalize apostasy in Iran, apostasy may be punishable by death under Iranian Sharia law, in accordance with Article 167 of the Iranian Constitution.<ref>[https://iranhrdc.org/apostasy-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/ Apostasy in the Islamic Republic of Iran] (2014). Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. Retrieved 18 February 2021.</ref>
* [[Malaysia]] – while not criminalized on a federal level, apostasy is criminalized in six out of thirteen states: [[Kelantan]], [[Malacca]], [[Pahang]], [[Penang]], [[Sabah]] and [[Terengganu]]. In Kelantan and Terengganu, apostasy is punishable by death, but this is unenforceable due to restriction in federal law.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Choong|first=Jerry|date=16 January 2020|title=G25: Apostasy a major sin, but Constitution provides freedom of worship for Muslims too|work=Malay Mail|url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/01/16/g25-apostasy-a-major-sin-but-constitution-provides-freedom-of-worship-for-m/1828698|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>
* [[Maldives]] – criminalized under Section 1205 of the Maldivian Penal Code, may be punishable by death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/4203-maldives-penal-code-2014|title=Maldives LAW NO 6/2014|access-date=2021-02-18|archive-date=2016-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026190552/https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/4203-maldives-penal-code-2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kamali|first=Mohammed Hashim|title=Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: A Fresh Interpretation|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=978-0-19-091064-8|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190910648.001.0001}}</ref>
* [[Mauritania]] – criminalized under Article 306 of the Mauritanian Penal Code, punishable by death. When discovered, secret apostasy requires capital punishment, irrespective of repentance.<ref name=":1">[https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020%20Blasphemy%20Enforcement%20Report%20_final_0.pdf Violating Rights: Enforcing the World's Blasphemy Laws] (2020). United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Retrieved 18 February 2021.</ref>
* [[Qatar]] – criminalized under Article 1 of the Qatari Penal Code, may be punishable by death.<ref name=":1" />
* [[Saudi Arabia]] – while there is no penal code in Saudi Arabia, apostasy may be punishable by death under Saudi Sharia law.<ref name=":1" />
* [[United Arab Emirates]] – criminalized under Article 158 of the Emirati Penal Code, may be punishable by death.<ref>Butti Sultan Butti Ali Al-Muhairi (1996), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3381546?seq=1 The Islamisation of Laws in the UAE: The Case of the Penal Code], Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 4 (1996), pp. 350–371</ref>
* [[Yemen]] – criminalized under Article 259 of the Yemeni Penal Code, punishable by death.<ref name=":1" />

From 1985 to 2006, the [[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]] listed a total of four cases of execution for apostasy in the Muslim world: one in Sudan (1985), two in Iran (1989, 1998), and one in Saudi Arabia (1992).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Elliott|first=Andrea|date=26 March 2003|title=In Kabul, a Test for Shariah|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/26elliott.html|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122105506/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/in-kabul-a-test-for-shariah.html|archive-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>

== Baháʼí Faith ==
{{See also|Covenant-breaker|Freedom of religion in Iran|List of former Baháʼís}}
Both marginal and apostate Baháʼís have existed in the [[Baháʼí Faith]] community<ref>{{cite journal |last=Momen |first=Moojan |title=Marginality and apostasy in the Baháʼí community |journal=Religion |date=1 September 2007 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=187–209 |doi=10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008|s2cid=55630282 }}</ref> who are known as ''nāqeżīn''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Afshar |first=Iraj |date=August 18, 2011 |title=ĀYATĪ, ʿABD-AL-ḤOSAYN |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayati-abd-al-hosayn-b}}</ref>

Muslims often regard adherents of the Baháʼí Faith as apostates from Islam, and there have been cases in some Muslim countries where Baháʼís have been harassed and [[Persecution of Baháʼís|persecuted]].<ref name="weeklystandard">{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/059fpgrn.asp|title=Apostates from Islam|publisher=[[The Weekly Standard]]|access-date=2014-10-10|archive-date=2010-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121053112/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/059fpgrn.asp}}</ref>

== Christianity ==
[[File:Giotto-KissofJudas.jpg|280px|right|thumb|Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. [[Judas Iscariot]], one of the Twelve Disciples, became an apostate.<ref name="Barnett">Paul W. Barnett, ''Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments,'' "Apostasy," 73.</ref>]]
{{Main|Apostasy in Christianity}}
{{See also|Apostata capiendo|Backsliding}}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&nbsp;...", but the [[Reformed Church]]es teach that, in contrast to the [[Conditional preservation of the saints|conditional salvation]] of [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], [[Methodism|Methodist]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]], and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] theology, salvation cannot be lost once accepted ([[perseverance of the saints]]).<ref>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&nbsp;..." ("Apostasy," Walter A. Elwell and Philip W. Comfort, editors, 95).</ref><ref name="Koons2020">{{cite book |last1=Koons |first1=Robert C. |title=A Lutheran's Case for Roman Catholicism: Finding a Lost Path Home |date=23 September 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-7252-5751-1 |language=English |quote=Since Lutherans agree with Catholics that we can lose our salvation (by losing our saving faith), the assurance of salvation that Lutheranism provides is a highly qualified one.}}</ref><ref name="Lipscomb1915">{{cite book |last1=Lipscomb |first1=Thomas Herber |title=The Things Methodists Believe |date=1915 |publisher=Publishing House M.E. Church, South, Smith & Lamar, agents |page=13 |language=English|quote=Methodists  hold further, as distinct from Baptists, that, having once entered into a state of grace, it is possible to fall therefrom.}}</ref>

"Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."<ref>Paul W. Barnett, ''Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments,'' "Apostasy," 73. [[Scot 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).</ref> [[B. J. Oropeza]] states that apostasy is a "phenomenon that occurs when a religious follower or group of followers turn away from or otherwise repudiate the central beliefs and practices they once embraced in a respective religious community."<ref>B. J. Oropeza, ''In the Footsteps of Judas and Other Defectors'' :Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, vol. 1 (Eugene: Cascade, 2011), p. 1; idem, ''Jews, Gentiles, and the Opponents of Paul'': Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, vol. 2 (2012), p. 1; idem, ''Churches under Siege of Persecution and Assimilation'': Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, vol.3 (2012), p. 1.</ref> The [[Ancient Greek]] noun ἀποστασία ''apostasia'' ("rebellion, abandonment, state of apostasy, defection")<ref>Walter Bauder, "Fall, Fall Away," ''The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology'' (''NIDNTT''), 3:606.</ref> is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).<ref>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&nbsp;... [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).</ref> However, "the concept of apostasy is found throughout Scripture."<ref>Pratt, ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', 1:192.</ref> ''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."<ref>"Apostasy," 39.</ref> These images are: Rebellion; Turning Away; Falling Away; Adultery.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Dictionary of Biblical Imagery'', 39.</ref>
* Rebellion: "In classical literature apostasia was used to denote a coup or defection. By extension the Septuagint always uses it to portray a rebellion against God (Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19)."<ref name="ReferenceA" />
* Turning away: "Apostasy is also pictured as the heart turning away from God (Jeremiah 17:5–6) and righteousness (Ezekiel 3:20). In the OT it centers on Israel's breaking [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] relationship with God through disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods (Judges 2:19) and practicing their immorality (Daniel 9:9–11)&nbsp;... Following the Lord or journeying with him is one of the chief images of faithfulness in the Scriptures&nbsp;... The&nbsp;... Hebrew root (''swr'') is used to picture those who have turned away and ceased to follow God ('I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me,' 1 Samuel 15:11)&nbsp;... The image of turning away from the Lord, who is the rightful leader, and following behind false gods is the dominant image for apostasy in the OT."<ref name="ReferenceA" />
* Falling away: "The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament&nbsp;... In his [Christ's] parable of the wise and foolish builder, in which the house built on sand falls with a crash in the midst of a storm (Matthew 7:24–27)&nbsp;... he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."<ref>''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).</ref>
* Adultery: One of the most common images for apostasy in the Old Testament is adultery.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> "Apostasy is symbolized as Israel the faithless spouse turning away from Yahweh her marriage partner to pursue the advances of other gods (Jeremiah 2:1–3; Ezekiel 16)&nbsp;... 'Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes' (Jeremiah 5:7, NIV). Adultery is used most often to describe the horror of the betrayal and covenant breaking involved in idolatry. Like literal adultery it does include the idea of someone blinded by infatuation, in this case for an idol: 'How I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts&nbsp;... which have lusted after their idols' (Ezekiel 6:9)."<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Speaking with specific regard to apostasy in [[Christianity]], Michael Fink writes:

<blockquote>
Apostasy is certainly a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated.<ref>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.</ref> The debate has centered on the issue of apostasy and salvation. Based on the concept of God's sovereign grace, some hold that, though true believers may stray, they 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.<ref>''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', "Apostasy," 87.</ref>
</blockquote>

In the recent past, in the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] the word was also applied to the renunciation of [[Religious vows|monastic vows]] (''apostasis a monachatu''), and to the abandonment of the [[clergy|clerical profession]] for the life of the world (''apostasis a clericatu'') without necessarily amounting to a rejection of Christianity.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

=== Penalties ===
Apostasy was one of the sins for which the early church imposed perpetual penance and excommunication. Christianity rejected the removal of heretics and apostates by force, leaving the final punishment to God.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Angenendt |first=Arnold |title=Toleranz und Gewalt: das Christentum zwischen Bibel und Schwert |date=2018 |publisher=Aschendorff Verlag |isbn=978-3-402-00215-5 |edition=Nachdruck der fünften, aktualisierten Auflage 2009, 22.-24.Tausend |location=Münster}}</ref> As a result, the first millennium saw only one single official execution of a heretic, the [[Priscillian]] case. Classical [[canon law]] viewed apostasy as distinct from heresy and schism. Apostasy ''a fide'', defined as total repudiation of the Christian faith, was considered as different from a theological standpoint and from heresy, but subject to the same penalty of death by fire by [[decretist]] jurists.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGUSDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|page=46|title=Contesting Orthodoxy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft|author1=Louise Nyholm Kallestrup|author-link1=Louise Nyholm Kallestrup|author2=Raisa Maria Toivo|publisher=Springer|year=2017|isbn=978-3-319-32385-5}}</ref> The influential 13th-century theologian [[Henry of Segusio|Hostiensis]] recognized three types of apostasy. The first was conversion to another faith, which was considered traitorous and could bring confiscation of property or even the death penalty. The second and third, which was punishable by expulsion from home and imprisonment, consisted of breaking major commandments and breaking the vows of religious orders, respectively.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AAInCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT112|page=112|title=The Middle Ages Unlocked: A Guide to Life in Medieval England, 1050–1300 |author=Gillian Polack |author2=Katrin Kania |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4456-4589-6}}</ref>

A [[decretal]] by [[Boniface VIII]] (pope between 1294-1303) classified apostates together with heretics with respect to the penalties incurred{{which |date= September 2025}}. Although it mentioned only apostate Jews explicitly, it was applied to all apostates, and the [[Spanish Inquisition]] used it to persecute{{how |date= September 2025}} both the [[Marranos|Marrano]] Jews, who had been converted to Christianity by force, and to the [[Moriscos]] who had professed to convert to Christianity from Islam under pressure.<ref name="apostasy1907">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Van Hove, A.|year=1907|title=Apostasy|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia|publisher=New York: Robert Appleton Company|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01624b.htm}}</ref>

Temporal penalties for Christian apostates have fallen into disuse in the modern era.<ref name="apostasy1907" />

=== Jehovah's Witnesses ===
{{Main|Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs#Apostasy}}
[[Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witness]] publications define ''apostasy'' as the abandonment of the worship and service of God, constituting rebellion against God, or rejecting "Jehovah's organization".<ref>''Reasoning From the Scriptures'', Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, pp. 34–35.</ref> They apply the term to a range of conduct, including open dissent with the denomination's doctrines, celebration of "false religious holidays" (including Christmas and Easter), and participation in activities and worship of other religions.<ref>''Shepherd the Flock of God'', Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania,  2010, pp. 65–66.</ref> A member of the denomination who is accused of apostasy is typically required to appear before a committee of elders that decides whether the individual is to be shunned by all congregants including immediate family members not living in the same home.<ref>{{cite book |last=Holden |first=Andrew |title=Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement |url=https://archive.org/details/jehovahswitnesse00andr |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-415-26610-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jehovahswitnesse00andr/page/32 32], 78–79}}</ref> Baptized individuals who leave the organization because they disagree with the denomination's teachings are also regarded as apostates and are shunned.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |pages=21–25 |date=January 15, 2006|url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2006046#h=17|title=Do Not Allow Place for the Devil}}</ref>

[[Watch Tower Society]] literature describes apostates as "mentally diseased" individuals who can "infect others with their disloyal teachings".<ref>Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p.&nbsp;42–43</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Jerome |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/war-of-words-breaks-out-among-jehovahs-witnesses-2361448.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220508/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/war-of-words-breaks-out-among-jehovahs-witnesses-2361448.html |archive-date=2022-05-08 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=War of words breaks out among Jehovah's Witnesses |date=26 September 2011 |work=The Independent |access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref> Former members who are defined as apostates are said to have become part of the [[antichrist]] and are regarded as more reprehensible than non-Witnesses.<ref name="wtantich">"Questions From Readers", ''The Watchtower'', July 15, 1985, p. 31, "Such ones willfully abandoning the Christian congregation thereby become part of the 'antichrist.' A person who had willfully and formally disassociated himself from the congregation would have matched that description. By deliberately repudiating God's congregation and by renouncing the Christian way, he would have made himself an apostate. A loyal Christian would not have wanted to fellowship with an apostate ... Scripturally, a person who repudiated God's congregation became more reprehensible than those in the world."</ref>

=== Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) ===

Members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) are considered by church leadership to engage in apostasy when they publicly teach or espouse opinions and doctrines contrary to the teachings of the church, or act in clear and deliberate public opposition to the LDS Church, its doctrines and policies, or its leaders. This includes advocating for or practicing doctrines like those followed in apostate sects, such as plural marriage, more commonly known as [[polygamy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number30 |website=32. Repentance and Church Membership Councils |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=26 March 2020}}</ref> In such circumstances the church will frequently subject the non-conforming member to a [[church membership council]] which may result in membership restrictions (a temporary loss of church participation privileges) or membership withdrawal (a loss of church membership).

== Hinduism ==
Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a [[creed]]",<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to Hinduism|last=Flood|first=Gavin D|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-521-43878-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/6 6]|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/6}}</ref> but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India. In general Hinduism is more tolerant to apostasy than other faiths based on a scripture or commandments with a lower emphasis on orthodoxy and has a more open view on how a person chooses their faith.<ref>K. J. Ratnam, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dWypDQAAQBAJ&dq=apostate+hinduism+tolerance&pg=PT68 Intellectuals, Creativity and Intolerance]</ref>

The [[Vashistha Dharmasutra|Vashistha Dharmasastra]], the [[Apastamba Dharmasutra]] and [[Yajnavalkya]] state that a son of an apostate is also considered an apostate.{{sfn|Banerji|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&pg=PA196 196]}} Smr̥ticandrikā lists apostates as one group of people upon touching whom, one should take a bath.{{sfn|Banerji|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&pg=PA185 185]}} [[Kātyāyana]] condemns a Brahmin who has apostatised to banishment while a Vaishya or a Shudra to serve the king as a slave.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Narada Smriti 5.35, Vishnu Smriti 5.152}}</ref>{{sfn|Banerji|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&pg=PA226 226]}} [[Nāradasmṛti]] and Parasara-samhita states that a wife can remarry if her husband becomes an apostate.{{sfn|Banerji|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&dq=stripumsa+prakarana&pg=PA82 82]}} The saint [[Parashara]] commented that religious rites are disturbed if an apostate witnesses them.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aUwqAAAAYAAJ&q=parashara+apostate Stories of the Hindus: an introduction through texts and interpretation]: 182, Macmillan</ref> He also comments that those who forgo the [[Rig Veda]], [[Samaveda]] and [[Yajurveda]] are "nagna" (naked) or an apostate.<ref>T.A. Gopinath Rao, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC&dq=nagna+apostate&pg=PA217 Elements of Hindu Iconography, Volume 1, Part 1]: 217, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers</ref>

== Buddhism ==
{{See also|Tirthika}}
Apostasy is generally not acknowledged in orthodox{{definition needed|date=December 2020}} [[Buddhism]]. People are free to leave Buddhism and renounce the religion without any consequence enacted by the Buddhist community.<ref>Bhante Shravasti Dhammika, [http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=24 Guide to Buddhism A-Z] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102436/http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=24 |date=2018-03-28 }}, accessed 23 June 2018</ref>

Despite this marked tolerance, some Buddhist circles hold to a notion of heresy (外道, [[pinyin]]: ''Wàidào''; [[romaji]]: ''gedō''; lit. "outside path") and teach that one who renounces the Buddha's teachings has the potential of inflicting suffering on themselves.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu |title=Dangers on the Voyage |website=[[YouTube]] |date=14 April 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sagan3V2vI8 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/Sagan3V2vI8| archive-date=2021-11-03 | url-status=live|access-date=2019-08-31 |time=21:45 |quote=In some religions, they kill you. They hunt you down and kill you...But in Buddhism, if you leave, we don't have to do anything. There's no punishment for apostasy, because non-Buddhists can be very good people. But, if you go contrary to the Buddha's teaching--it's like God. If God tells you you have to do "this" or "that" and you don't do it, [and] you do the opposite, [then] God punishes you. Well, in Buddhism...he doesn't punish you, because the Buddha's teaching is based on wisdom. There's no need to punish anyone. If you don't do the things the Buddha said, you won't be free from suffering. If you do the things the Buddha told you not to do, you can be assured of suffering.}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{dubious inline|date=December 2025}}

Many Buddhists take the view that there is no absolute basis for anything. The ideas from some of the [[Tathāgata]] schools has been referred to as "hypostasising an absolute",<ref>{{cite book|title=The Buddha Within, Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga|publisher=SUNY Press|author=S. K. Hookham|date=1991|isbn=0791403572}}</ref> meaning specifically not apostasy (losing belief); hypostasy in that context means "falling into belief".

== Islam ==
{{Main|Apostasy in Islam|Takfir}}
[[File:Rechtsgutachten betr Apostasie im Islam.jpg|thumb|300 px|A 1978 [[fatwa]] (nonbinding legal opinion) issued by the Fatawa Council at [[Al-Azhar]], the chief centre of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world.<ref name="Britannica article">[https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic6851/al-Azhar-University Al-Azhar], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> The fatwa was issued in response to a query about an Egyptian Muslim man marrying a German Christian woman and then converting to Christianity. The council ruled that the man committed the crime of apostasy, and should be given a chance to repent and return to Islam. If he refuses, he is to be killed. The same conclusion was given for his children once they reach the age of [[puberty]].]]

In Islamic literature, apostasy is called ''irtidād'' or ''ridda''; an apostate is called ''murtadd'', which literally means 'one who turns back' from [[Islam]].<ref>Heffening, W. (2012), "Murtadd." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs; Brill</ref> Someone born to a Muslim parent, or who has previously converted to Islam, becomes a ''murtadd'' if he or she verbally denies any principle of belief prescribed by the [[Quran]] or a [[Hadith]], deviates from approved Islamic belief (''ilhad''), or if he or she commits an action such as treating a copy of the Qurʾan with disrespect.<ref>Watt, W. M. (1964). Conditions of membership of the Islamic Community, Studia Islamica, (21), pp.&nbsp;5–12</ref><ref>Burki, S. K. (2011). Haram or Halal? Islamists' Use of Suicide Attacks as Jihad. Terrorism and Political Violence, 23(4), pp.&nbsp;582–601</ref><ref>Rahman, S. A. (2006). Punishment of apostasy in Islam, Institute of Islamic Culture, IBT Books; {{ISBN|983-9541-49-8}}</ref> A person born to a Muslim parent who later rejects Islam is called a ''murtad fitri'', and a person who converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a ''murtad milli''.<ref>Mousavian, S. A. A. (2005). "A Discussion on the Apostate's Repentance in Shi'a Jurisprudence". ''Modarres Human Sciences'', 8, TOME 37, pp.&nbsp;187–210, Mofid University (Iran).</ref><ref>[http://slovar-vocab.com/english/islamic-vocab/fitri-murtad-8925398.html Advanced Islamic English dictionary] Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Fitri Murtad</ref><ref>[http://slovar-vocab.com/english/islamic-vocab/milli-murtadd-8925677.html Advanced Islamic English dictionary] Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Milli Murtad</ref>

=== Origin ===
There are multiple verses in the Quran that condemn apostasy.<ref>See chapters 3, 9 and 16 of Quran; e.g. {{qref|3|90|b=y}} * {{qref|9|66}} * {{qref|16|88}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2021}} In addition, there are multiple verses in the [[Hadith]] that condemn apostasy.<ref>See Sahih al-Bukhari, {{Hadith-usc|Bukhari|usc=yes|4|52|260}} * {{Hadith-usc|Bukhari|usc=yes|9|83|17}} * {{Hadith-usc|Bukhari|usc=yes|9|89|271}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2021}} Example quote from the Quran: 

{{blockquote|text=
They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allāh. But if they turn away [i.e., refuse], then seize them and kill them [for their betrayal] wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper
|title=''[[An-Nisa 4:89]]''
|source=<ref>{{cite web|url = https://quran.com/4/89?translations=17,18,19,20|title=An-Nisa 4:89| author = An-Nisa 4:89 | date = | website = | publisher = | access-date = | quote = They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allāh. But if they turn away [i.e., refuse], then seize them and kill them [for their betrayal] wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper}}</ref>
}}

The concept and punishment of Apostasy has been extensively covered in Islamic literature since the 7th century.<ref name="saeed2004">Saeed, A., & Saeed, H. (Eds.). (2004). Freedom of religion, apostasy and Islam. Ashgate Publishing; {{ISBN|0-7546-3083-8}}</ref> A person is considered apostate if he or she converts from Islam to another religion.<ref>Paul Marshall and Nina Shea (2011), ''Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-981228-8}}</ref> A person is an apostate even if he or she believes in most of Islam, but denies one or more of its principles or precepts, both verbally or in writing. 

Sunan an-Nasa'i »The Book of Fighting [The Prohibition of Bloodshed] – كتاب تحريم الدم (14) Chapter: The Ruling on Apostates (14)باب الْحُكْمِ فِي الْمُرْتَدِّ Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him.'"Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)	Reference	: Sunan an-Nasa'i 4059 In-book reference	 : Book 37, Hadith 94 English translation	 Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 4064.

Muslim historians recognize 632&nbsp;AD as the year when the first regional apostasy from Islam emerged, immediately after the death of Muhammed.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/503033/riddah|title=riddah – Islamic history|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2015-03-17}}</ref> The civil wars that followed are now called the [[Ridda wars|Riddah wars]] (Wars of Islamic Apostasy).

Doubting the existence of [[Allah]], making offerings to and worshipping an idol, a stupa or any other image of God, confessing a belief in the rebirth or incarnation of God, disrespecting the Quran or Islam's Prophets are all considered sufficient evidence of apostasy.<ref>Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-4381-2696-8}}; see pp. 48, 108–109, 118</ref><ref>Peters, R., & De Vries, G. J. (1976). Apostasy in Islam. Die Welt des Islams, 1–25.</ref><ref>Warraq, I. (Ed.). (2003). ''Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out''. Prometheus Books; {{ISBN|1-59102-068-9}}</ref>

According to some scholars{{Like whom?|date=April 2022}}, 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 apostasy is; for males, death, and for females, life imprisonment.<ref>Ibn Warraq (2003), ''Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out'', {{ISBN|978-1-59102-068-4}}, pp. 1–27</ref><ref>Schneider, I. (1995), Imprisonment in Pre-classical and Classical Islamic Law, ''Islamic Law and Society'', 2(2): 157–173</ref> However, a Federal Sharia court judge in Pakistan stated "...persecuting any citizen of an Islamic State{{snd}}whether he is a Muslim, or a dhimmi**{{snd}}is construed as waging a war against Allah and His Messenger."<ref name="truthbook" />

=== Public opinion ===
According to the [[Ahmadiyya]] Muslim sect, there is no punishment for apostasy, neither in the Quran nor as it was taught{{Clarify|date=April 2022}} by [[Muhammad]].<ref name="truthbook">{{Cite book| url=https://www.alislam.org/library/books/Apostasy-in-Islam.pdf | title=The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam| publisher=Islam International Publications |isbn=1-85372-850-0|access-date=2014-03-31| year=2005}}</ref> The Ahmadiyya Muslim sect's position is not widely accepted by clerics in other sects of Islam, and the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam acknowledges that major sects have a different interpretation and definition of apostasy in Islam.<ref name="truthbook" />{{rp|18–25}} Ulama of major sects of Islam consider the Ahmadi Muslim sect as ''[[kafir]]s'' (infidels)<ref name="truthbook" />{{rp|8}} and apostates.<ref>Khan, A. M. (2003), Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan: An Analysis Under International Law and International Relations, Harvard Human Rights Journal, 16, 217</ref><ref>Andrew March (2011), ''Apostasy: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-980596-9}}</ref>

=== Apostasy laws ===
Apostasy is subject to the death penalty in some countries, such as [[Iran]] and [[Saudi Arabia]], although executions for apostasy are rare. Apostasy is legal in secular Muslim countries such as [[Turkey]].<ref name="apost">{{cite book |last=Badawi M.A. |first=Zaki |chapter=Islam |title=Encyclopedia of religious freedom |editor=Cookson, Catharine |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre0000unse/page/204 204–208] |isbn=0-415-94181-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0PrjC1Ar7gC&pg=PA206 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre0000unse/page/204 }}</ref> In numerous Islamic majority countries, many individuals have been arrested and punished for the crime of apostasy without any associated capital crimes.<ref name="Pew2011">{{cite web|date=21 November 2012|title=Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread|url=http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Laws-Penalizing-Blasphemy,-Apostasy-and-Defamation-of-Religion-are-Widespread.aspx|access-date=2015-03-17|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|archive-date=2013-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508110838/http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Laws-Penalizing-Blasphemy,-Apostasy-and-Defamation-of-Religion-are-Widespread.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/13/saudi-arabia-writer-faces-apostasy-trial|title=Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial – Human Rights Watch|date=13 February 2012|access-date=2015-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Fate of Infidels and Apostates under Islam|url=http://iheu.org/content/fate-infidels-and-apostates-under-islam-0|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103045423/http://iheu.org/content/fate-infidels-and-apostates-under-islam-0|archive-date=3 November 2013|date=21 June 2005}}</ref><ref>''Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam'' by Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (Mar 30, 2004), {{ISBN|978-0-7546-3083-8}}</ref>

In an effort to circumvent the United Nations Commission on Human Rights's ruling on an individual's right to conversion from and denunciation of a religion, some offenders of the ruling have argued that their "obligations to Islam are irreconcilable with international law."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Garces|first=Nicholas|date=2010|title=Islam, Till Death Do You Part: Rethinking Apostasy Laws under Islamic Law and International Legal Obligations|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/sjlta16&i=231|journal=Southwestern Journal of International Law|volume=16|pages=229–264|via=Hein Online}}</ref> United Nations Special Rapporteur [[Heiner Bielefeldt]] recommended to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the issues of freedom of religion or belief that "States should repeal any criminal law provisions that penalize apostasy, [[blasphemy]] and [[proselytism]] as they may prevent persons belonging to religious or belief minorities from fully enjoying their freedom of religion or belief."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Religion/A.HRC.22.51_English.pdf|title=Report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, A/HRC/22/51|last=Bielefeldt|first=Heiner|year=2012}}</ref>

Many Muslims consider the Islamic law on apostasy and the punishment for it to be one of the immutable laws under Islam.<ref>Arzt, Donna (1995). "Heroes or heretics: Religious dissidents under Islamic law", ''Wis. Int'l Law Journal'', 14, 349–445</ref> It is a ''[[hudud]]'' crime,<ref>Mansour, A. A. (1982). [https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=87487 Hudud Crimes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203707/https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=87487 |date=2018-11-21 }} (From Islamic Criminal Justice System, p.&nbsp;195–201, 1982, M Cherif Bassiouni, ed. See NCJ-87479).</ref><ref>Lippman, M. (1989). Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure: Religious Fundamentalism v. Modern Law. BC Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 12, pp. 29, 263–269</ref> which means it is a crime against God,<ref>Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', Infobase Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-4381-2696-8}}; see p. 174</ref> and the punishment has been fixed by God. The punishment for apostasy includes<ref>Tamadonfar, M. (2001). Islam, law, and political control in contemporary Iran, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(2), 205–220.</ref> state enforced annulment of his or her marriage, seizure of the person's children and property with automatic assignment to guardians and heirs, and death for the apostate.<ref name="saeed2004" /><ref>El-Awa, M. S. (1981), Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Pub; pp.&nbsp;49–68</ref><ref>Forte, D. F. (1994). Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan. Conn. J. Int'l L., 10, 27.</ref>

=== Public opinion ===
According to a Pew Research study up to 15% of Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, Kosovo, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan were in favor of a death penalty for converts, 15–30% in Turkey, Thailand, Tajikistan, and Tunisia, 30–50% in Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Iraq, and 50–86% in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Wormald |first=Benjamin |date=2013-04-30 |title=Chapter 1: Beliefs About Sharia |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref> The study included percentages only for Muslims in favor of sharia law and did not include Azerbaijan because it had a small sample size.<ref name=":3" /> A similar survey of the Muslim population in the United Kingdom, in 2007, found nearly a third of 16 to 24-year-old faithful believed that Muslims who convert to another religion should be executed, while less than a fifth of those over 55 believed the same.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bates |first=Stephen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jan/29/thinktanks.religion |title=More young Muslims back sharia, says poll |work=The Guardian |date=29 January 2007 |access-date=2015-03-17}}</ref> There is disagreement among contemporary Islamic scholars about whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for apostasy in the 21st century.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Saeed|first=Abdullah|date=2017-03-02|title=Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam|doi=10.4324/9781315255002|isbn=978-1-315-25500-2}}</ref> A belief among more liberal Islamic scholars is that the apostasy laws were created and are still implemented as a means to consolidate "religio-political" power.<ref name=":2" />

== Judaism ==
{{Main|Apostasy in Judaism}}
{{See also|Off the derech}}
[[File:141.Mattathias and the Apostate.jpg|thumb|[[Mattathias]] killing a Jewish apostate]]
The term apostasy is derived from [[Ancient Greek]] ἀποστασία from ἀποστάτης, meaning "political rebel", as applied to rebellion against God, its law and the faith of [[Israelites|Israel]] (in [[Hebrew language|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:
{{Blockquote|If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|13:6–10|NKJV}}</ref>}}

In [[Books of Kings|1 Kings]], [[Solomon|King Solomon]] is warned in a dream which "darkly portray[s] the ruin that would be caused by departure from God":<ref>[[Alexander Maclaren|Alexander MacLaren]], [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/1_kings/9.htm MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture on 1 Kings 9], accessed 7 October 2017</ref>

{{Blockquote|If you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Kings|9:6–7|NKJV}}</ref>}}

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]] is singled out as an apostate and ''[[Epikoros]]'' (Epicurean) by the [[Pharisees]].

During the [[Spanish Inquisition]], a systematic conversion of Jews to Christianity took place to avoid expulsion from the [[Crown of Castile|crowns of Castille]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] as had been the case previously elsewhere in [[History of the Jews in Europe|medieval Europe]]. Although the vast majority of ''[[converso]]s'' simply assimilated into the Catholic dominant culture, a minority continued to practice Judaism in secret, gradually migrated throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire, mainly to areas where Sephardic communities were already present as a result of the [[Alhambra Decree]]. Tens of thousands of Jews were baptised in the three months before the deadline for expulsion, some 40,000 if one accepts the totals given by Kamen, most of these undoubtedly to avoid expulsion,<ref>{{cite book |last=Kamen |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Kamen |year=1998 |title=The Spanish Inquisition: a Historical Revision |url=https://archive.org/details/spanishinquisiti00henr |url-access=registration |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-07522-9 |pages=29–31}}</ref> rather than as a sincere change of faith. These ''conversos'' were the principal concern of the Inquisition; being suspected of continuing to practice Judaism put them at risk of denunciation and trial.

Several notorious Inquisitors, such as [[Tomás de Torquemada]], and Don Francisco the archbishop of [[Coria, Cáceres|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]],<ref>[http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk16-kook.htm template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #16: "Kefira" in our Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209080656/http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk16-kook.htm |date=2006-02-09 }} from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)</ref><ref>[http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk17-kook.htm template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #17: Heresy V] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219094255/http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/rk17-kook.htm |date=2006-02-19 }} from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)</ref> first Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in 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.

Medieval Judaism was more lenient toward apostasy than the other monotheistic religions. According to [[Maimonides]], converts to other faiths were to be regarded as sinners, but still Jewish. Forced converts were subject to special prayers and [[Rashi]] admonished those who rebuked or humiliated them.<ref name="auto"/>

There is no punishment today for leaving Judaism, other than being excluded from participating in the rituals of the Jewish community – including leading worship, Jewish marriage or divorce, being called to the Torah and being buried in a Jewish cemetery.

== Sikhism ==
{{main article|Patit}}
Patit is a term in [[Sikhism]] for a [[Sikh]] who violates the Sikh Code of Conduct. The term is sometimes translated as apostate.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sikhism Today|author=Jhutti-Johal, J.|date=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=9781847062727|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=37i7uAYe6QEC|page=99|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref> Persecution of apostates is prohibited in Sikhism. An apostate can re-initiate into Sikhism by being ''tankhata'' (chastised) followed by re-going through the process of [[Amrit Sanskar]]. 

In Section Six of the [[Sikh Rehat Maryada]] (Code of Conduct), it states the four transgressions (''kurahit'') which lead to a Sikh becoming a ''patit''.
* Dishonouring, shaving, cutting or trimming the [[Kesh (Sikhism)|hair]];
* Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered by the [[Kutha meat|Kutha]] method;
* Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse;
* Using intoxicants (such as smoking, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs or tobacco)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sikh diet |date=21 October 2021 |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-nihangs-all-you-need-to-know-about-them/398285}}</ref>

These four transgressions which lead to apostasy were first listed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]], the final human [[Sikh gurus|guru]] of Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Singh|editor1-first=Kharak|title=Apostasy among Sikh youth: causes and cures|date=1997|publisher=Institute of Sikh Studies|isbn=8185815054|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ApostesyAmongSikhYouthItsCausesAndCures/page/n4 1]-3, 6|url=https://archive.org/details/ApostesyAmongSikhYouthItsCausesAndCures}}</ref>

== Other religious movements ==
Controversies over [[new religious movement]]s (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".

The role of former members, or "apostates", has been widely studied by social scientists. At times, these individuals become outspoken public critics of the groups they leave. Their motivations, the roles they play in the [[anti-cult movement]], the validity of their testimony, and the kinds of narratives they construct, are controversial. Some scholars like [[David G. Bromley]], [[Anson Shupe]], and [[Brian R. Wilson]] have challenged the validity of the testimonies presented by critical former members. Wilson discusses the use of the [[atrocity story]] that is rehearsed by the apostate to explain how, by manipulation, [[coercion]], or [[Deception|deceit]], he was recruited to a group that he now condemns.<ref>Wilson, Bryan R. ''Apostates and New Religious Movements'', Oxford, England, 1994</ref>

Sociologist [[Stuart A. Wright]] explores the distinction between the apostate narrative and the role of the apostate, asserting that the former follows a predictable pattern, in which the apostate uses a "[[captivity narrative]]" that emphasizes manipulation, entrapment and being victims of "sinister cult practices". These narratives provide a rationale for a "hostage-rescue" motif, in which cults are likened to POW camps and [[deprogramming]] as heroic hostage rescue efforts. He also makes a distinction between "leavetakers" and "apostates", asserting that despite the popular literature and lurid media accounts of stories of "rescued or recovering 'ex-cultists'", empirical studies of defectors from NRMs "generally indicate favorable, sympathetic or at the very least mixed responses toward their former group".<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Stuart, A. |chapter=Exploring Factors that Shape the Apostate Role |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=The Politics of Religious Apostasy |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom/page/n103 95]–114 |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=1998 |isbn=0-275-95508-7|title-link=The Politics of Religious Apostasy }}</ref>

One camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes [[David G. Bromley]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Bromley |first=David G. |author-link=David G. Bromley |display-authors=etal |chapter=The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |display-editors=etal |title=Brainwashing Deprogramming Controversy: Sociological, Psychological, Legal, and Historical Perspectives (Studies in religion and society) |page=156 |year=1984 |publisher=E. Mellen Press |isbn=0-88946-868-0}}</ref> Daniel Carson Johnson,<ref name="isbn0-275-95508-7-C">{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James T. |chapter=Apostates Who Never Were: The Social Construction of Absque Facto Apostate Narratives |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom_484 |url-access=limited |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |year=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom_484/page/n142 134]–135 |isbn=0-275-95508-7}}</ref>
Dr. [[Lonnie D. Kliever]] (1932–2004),<ref>Kliever 1995 Kliever. Lonnie D, Ph.D. [http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Kliever/start.htm ''The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205203045/http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Kliever/start.htm |date=2007-12-05 }}, 1995.</ref> [[Gordon Melton]],<ref>"Melton 1999"[[Gordon J. Melton|Melton, Gordon J.]], [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm ''Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory''], 1999.</ref> and [[Bryan R. Wilson]].<ref name="Wilson 1981">[[Brian R. Wilson|Wilson, Bryan R.]] (Ed.) ''The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism'', Rose of Sharon Press, 1981.</ref> An opposing camp less critical of apostate narratives as a group includes [[Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi]],<ref>[[Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi]] [https://www.apologeticsindex.org/c59.html ''Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research''], 1997.</ref> Dr. Phillip Charles Lucas,<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://archive.today/20040131153210/http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_profiles/indiv/lucas_phillip.htm |archive-date=2004-01-31 |url=http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_profiles/indiv/lucas_phillip.htm |title=Lucas, Phillip Charles Ph.D. – Profile }}</ref><ref name="title">{{cite web| url= http://www.holyorderofmans.org| title= Holy Order of MANS| access-date= 2008-01-04| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080111063359/http://www.holyorderofmans.org/| archive-date= 2008-01-11}}</ref><ref>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</ref> Jean Duhaime,<ref name="Duhaime 2003">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}}</ref> Mark Dunlop,<ref name="ex-cult">{{cite web|url=http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/CofC.htm#advantages|title=The Culture of Cults|publisher=ex-cult.org|access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref><ref>Dunlop 2001 [http://www.fwbo-files.com/CofC.htm The Culture of Cults] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212103655/http://www.fwbo-files.com/CofC.htm |date=2007-12-12 }}</ref> [[Michael Langone]],<ref>[http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_articles/langone_michael_full.htm ''The Two "Camps" of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023611/http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_articles/langone_michael_full.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }} Langone, Michael, ''Cults and Society'', Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001</ref> and [[Benjamin Zablocki]].<ref>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.</ref>

Some scholars have attempted to classify apostates of NRMs. [[James T. Richardson]] proposes a theory related to a logical relationship between apostates and [[whistleblower]]s, using Bromley's definitions,<ref>{{cite book  |last=Richardson |first=James T.|chapter=Apostates, Whistleblowers, Law, and Social Control |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom |url-access=limited |isbn=0-275-95508-7  |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom/page/n179 171] |quote=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. }}</ref> 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 newfound role as whistleblowers.<ref name="isbn0-275-95508-7">{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James T.|chapter=Apostates, Whistleblowers, Law, and Social Control  |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G.|title=in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements  |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom_484 |url-access=limited |location=New York |publisher=Praeger |year=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom_484/page/n193 185]–186 |isbn=0-275-95508-7 }}</ref> [[Armand L. Mauss]], defines true apostates as those exiters that have access to oppositional organizations that sponsor their careers as such, and validate the retrospective accounts of their past and their outrageous experiences in new religions{{snd}}making a distinction between these and whistleblowers or defectors in this context.<ref name="isbn0-275-95508-7-B">{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James T. |chapter=Apostasy and the Management of Spoiled Identity |editor-last=Bromley |editor-first=David G. |title=in The politics of religious apostasy: the role of apostates in the transformation of religious movements  |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom |url-access=limited |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |year=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsreligiou00brom/page/n193 185]–186 |isbn=0-275-95508-7}}</ref> 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.<!--
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.truthwillprevail.org/index.php?parentid=1&index=102|title=Warning of the Lord Jesus Christ to All Nations – FLDS|access-date=2015-03-17}}</ref>
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Ronald Burks, a psychology assistant at the [[Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center]], in a study comparing Group Psychological Abuse Scale (GPA) and Neurological Impairment Scale (NIS) scores in 132 former members of cults and cultic relationships, found a positive correlation between intensity of reform environment as measured by the GPA and cognitive impairment as measured by the NIS. Additional findings were a reduced earning potential in view of the education level that corroborates earlier studies of cult critics (Martin 1993; Singer & Ofshe, 1990; West & Martin, 1994) and significant levels of depression and dissociation agreeing with Conway & Siegelman, (1982), Lewis & Bromley, (1987) and Martin, et al. (1992).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rb267689/#_Toc2952976 |last=Burks |first=Ronald |title=Cognitive Impairment in Thought Reform Environments |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514131432/http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rb267689/ |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }}</ref> 
Sociologists Bromley and Hadden note a lack of empirical support for claimed consequences of having been a member of a "cult" or "sect", and substantial empirical evidence against it. These include the fact that the overwhelming proportion of people who get involved in NRMs leave, most short of two years; the overwhelming proportion of people who leave do so of their own volition; and that two-thirds (67%) felt "wiser for the experience".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Hadden |editor-first=J |editor2-last=Bromley |editor2-first=D |year=1993 |title=The Handbook of Cults and Sects in America |location=Greenwich, CT |publisher=JAI Press, Inc |pages=75–97}}</ref>

According to F. Derks and psychologist of religion [[Jan van der Lans]], there is no uniform [[Emotional trauma|post-cult trauma]]. While psychological and social problems upon resignation are not uncommon, their character and intensity are greatly dependent on the personal history and on the traits of the ex-member, and on the reasons for and way of resignation.<ref>F. Derks and the professor of [[psychology of religion]] [[Jan van der Lans]] ''The post-cult syndrome: Fact or Fiction?'', paper presented at conference of Psychologists of Religion, [[Radboud University Nijmegen|Catholic University Nijmegen]], 1981, also appeared in Dutch language as ''Post-cult-syndroom; feit of fictie?'', published in the magazine ''Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland/Religious movements in the Netherlands'' nr. 6 pp. 58–75 published by the [[Vrije Universiteit|Free university Amsterdam]] (1983)</ref>

==Examples==
===Historical persons===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2015}}
* [[Julian the Apostate]] (331/332{{snd}}363 CE), the [[Roman emperor]], given a Christian education by those who assassinated his family, rejected his upbringing and declared his belief in [[Neoplatonism]] once it was safe to do so.
* [[Mindaugas]], the first and only Christian king of [[Kingdom of Lithuania|Lithuania]], accepted Christianity in 1251 but rejected it in 1261 to return to [[Lithuanian mythology|his pagan ways]]. It is believed that accepting Christianity was a political move on his part and thus after the victory at the [[battle of Durbe]], the king's nephew [[Treniota]] convinced him to reject Christianity.
* [[Sir Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford]] was declared 'The Great Apostate' by Parliament in 1628 for changing his political support from Parliament to [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], thus shifting his religious support from [[Calvinism]] to [[Arminianism]].
* [[Abraham ben Abraham]], ([[Count]] Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki), a [[Szlachta|Polish nobleman]] of the [[Potocki]] family who is claimed to have [[Conversion to Judaism|converted to Judaism]] and was [[Execution by burning|burned at the stake]] in 1749 because he had renounced [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and had become an [[613 mitzvot|observant]] [[Jew]].
* [[Maria Monk]] (1816–1849), sometimes considered an apostate of the [[Roman Catholic church|Catholic Church]], though there is little evidence that she ever was a [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]].
* [[Lord George Gordon]], initially a zealous Protestant and instigator of the [[Gordon riots]] of 1780, finally renounced Christianity and converted to [[Judaism]], for which he was ostracized.

=== Recent times ===
[[File:Apostasialogo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Logo of ''The Campaign for Collective Apostasy'' in Spain, calling for [[Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church|defection from the Catholic Church]]]]
* In 2011, [[Youcef Nadarkhani]], an Iranian pastor who converted from Islam to Christianity at the age of 19, was convicted for apostasy and was sentenced to death, but later acquitted.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's potential execution rallies U.S. Christians |first=Adelle M. |last=Banks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/on-faith/us-christians-rally-around-iranian-pastor/2011/09/28/gIQA11YJ5K_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502051126/https://www.washingtonpost.com/on-faith/us-christians-rally-around-iranian-pastor/2011/09/28/gIQA11YJ5K_story.html |archive-date=2019-05-02 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2011-09-28 |access-date=2011-10-05 |quote=Religious freedom advocates rallied Wednesday (Sept. 28) around an Iranian pastor who was facing execution because he had refused to recant his Christian faith in the overwhelmingly Muslim country. }}</ref>
* In 2013, [[Raif Badawi]], a Saudi Arabian blogger, was found guilty of apostasy by the high court, which has a penalty of death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/25/world/meast/saudi-blogger-death-sentence/ |location=NYC |work=CNN |title=Wife: Saudi blogger sentenced to death for apostasy |first=Salma |last=Abdelaziz |date=2013-12-25}}</ref> However he was not executed, but was imprisoned and punished by 600 lashes instead.
* In 2014, [[Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag]] (a.k.a. Adraf Al-Hadi Mohammed Abdullah), a pregnant Sudanese woman, was convicted of apostasy for converting to Christianity from Islam. The government ruled that her father was Muslim, a female child takes the father's religion under Sudan's Islamic law.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/africa/sudan-christian-woman-apostasy Sudanese woman convicted] CNN (May 2014)</ref> By converting to Christianity, she had committed apostasy, a crime punishable by death. Mrs Ibrahim Ishag was sentenced to death. She was also convicted of adultery on the grounds that her marriage to a Christian man from South Sudan was void under Sudan's version of Islamic law, which says Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslims.<ref name="bbc20140515">{{cite news|date=15 May 2014|title=Sudan woman faces death for apostasy|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27424064|access-date=2014-05-16}}</ref> The death sentence was not carried out, and she left Sudan in secret.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/26/meriam-ibrahim-new-hampshire_n_5621721.html|title=Meriam Ibrahim, Woman Freed From Sudan, Announces Plans To Settle In New Hampshire|last=Service|first=Religion News|date=2014-07-26|work=Huffington Post|access-date=2017-05-17|language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Ashraf Fayadh]] (born 1980), a Saudi Arabian poet, was imprisoned and lashed for apostasy.
* [[Tasleema Nasreen]] from Bangladesh, the author of ''[[Lajja (novel)|Lajja]]'', has been declared apostate – "an apostate appointed by imperialist forces to vilify Islam" – by several clerics and other Muslims in [[Dhaka]].<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20021118/tax/3 Taslima's Pilgrimage] Meredith Tax, from ''[[The Nation]]''</ref>
* By 2019, atrocities by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]] have driven many Muslim families in [[Syria]] to convert to [[Christianity in Syria|Christianity]], while others chose to become atheists and agnostics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-islamic-state-christians-idUSKCN1RS19N|title=Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State|last=Davidson|first=John|work=Reuters|date=2019-04-16|location=Kobanî|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421105125/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-islamic-state-christians/christianity-grows-in-syrian-town-once-besieged-by-islamic-state-idUKKCN1RS19F?rpc=401&|archive-date=2019-04-21}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Atheism]]
* [[Defection]]
* [[Faith deconstruction]]
* [[Forced conversion]]
* [[Heresy]]
* [[Infidel]]
* [[Kafir]]
* [[Lists of executed people for religious offenses]]
* [[Religious conversion]]
* [[Religious intolerance]]
* [[Religious offense]]
* [[Religious freedom]]
* [[Religious discrimination]]
* [[Religious trauma syndrome]]
* [[Schism]]
* [[Treason]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Banerji|first=Sures Chandra|title=A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC|year=1999|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-370-0}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Apostasy}}

==Further reading==
* Bromley, David G. 1988. ''Falling From the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy''. Beverly Hills: Sage.
* Dunlop, Mark, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212103655/http://www.fwbo-files.com/CofC.htm The culture of Cults]'', 2001
* [[Massimo Introvigne|Introvigne, Massimo]] (1997), [https://web.archive.org/web/20000903183732/http://www.cesnur.org/testi/Acropolis.htm ''Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates: A Quantitative Study of Former Members of New Acropolis in France''], Nova Religio 3 (1), 83–99
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906). The Kopelman Foundation.]
* Lucas, Phillip Charles, ''The Odyssey of a New Religion: [[The Holy Order of MANS]] from New Age to Orthodoxy'' Indiana University press;
* Lucas, Phillip Charles, ''Shifting Millennial Visions in New Religious Movements: The case of the Holy Order of MANS'' in ''The year 2000: Essays on the End'' edited by Charles B. Strozier, New York University Press 1997;
* Lucas, Phillip Charles, ''The Eleventh Commandment Fellowship: A New Religious Movement Confronts the Ecological Crisis'', [[Journal of Contemporary Religion]] 10:3, 1995:229–241;
* Lucas, Phillip Charles, ''Social factors in the Failure of New Religious Movements: A Case Study Using Stark's Success Model'' SYZYGY: Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture 1:1, Winter 1992:39–53
* Oropeza, B. J., ''Apostasy in the New Testament Communities'', 3 Volumes. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011-12.
* Wright, Stuart A. 1988. "Leaving New Religious Movements: Issues, Theory and Research", pp.&nbsp;143–165 in David G. Bromley (ed.), ''Falling From the Faith''. Beverly Hills: Sage.
* Wright, Stuart A. 1991. "Reconceptualizing Cult Coercion and Withdrawal: A Comparative Analysis of Divorce and Apostasy." ''Social Forces 70 (1):125–145''.
* Wright, Stuart A. and Helen R. Ebaugh. 1993. "Leaving New Religions", pp.&nbsp;117–138 in David G. Bromley and Jeffrey K. Hadden (eds.), ''Handbook of Cults and Sects in America''. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
* Zablocki, Benjamin et al., ''Research on NRMs in the Post-9/11 World'', in Lucas, Phillip Charles et al. (ed.), ''NRMs in the 21st Century: legal, political, and social challenges in global perspective'', 2004, {{ISBN|0-415-96577-2}}

;Testimonies, memoirs, and autobiographies
* Babinski, Edward (editor), ''Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists''. Prometheus Books, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-59102-217-6}}
* Dubreuil, J. P. 1994 ''L'Église de Scientology. Facile d'y entrer, difficile d'en sortir''. Sherbrooke: private edition (ex-[[Church of Scientology]])
* Huguenin, T. 1995 ''Le 54<sup>e</sup>'' Paris Fixot (ex-[[Order of the Solar Temple]], who would be the 54th victim)
* Kaufman, Robert, [[Inside Scientology: How I Joined Scientology and Became Superhuman]], 1972 and revised in 1995.
* Lavallée, G. 1994 ''L'alliance de la brebis. Rescapée de la secte de Moïse'', Montréal: Club Québec Loisirs (ex-[[Roch Thériault]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151029070220/http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/pignotti/ Pignotti, Monica (1989),'' My nine lives in Scientology'']
* [[Leah Remini|Remini, Leah]], ''[[Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology]]''. [[Ballantine Books]], 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-250-09693-7}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150721052044/http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/Web/People/dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/testimony.html Wakefield, Margery (1996), ''Testimony'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071213062553/http://www.xenutv.com/interviews/woodcrafts.htm Lawrence Woodcraft, Astra Woodcraft, Zoe Woodcraft, ''The Woodcraft Family'', Video Interviews]

;Writings by others
* Carter, Lewis, F. Lewis, ''Carriers of Tales: On Assessing Credibility of Apostate and Other Outsider Accounts of Religious Practices'' published in the book ''The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements'' edited by David G. Bromley Westport, CT, Praeger Publishers, 1998. {{ISBN|0-275-95508-7}}
* Elwell, Walter A. (Ed.) ''Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 1 A–I'', Baker Book House, 1988, pp.&nbsp;130–131, "Apostasy". {{ISBN|0-8010-3447-7}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050326043943/http://www.culticstudiesreview.com/csr_articles/malinoski_peter.htm Malinoski, Peter, ''Thoughts on Conducting Research with Former Cult Members '', Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001]
* [http://www.12tribes.org/controversies/apostatesandtheirrole.html Palmer, Susan J. ''Apostates and their Role in the Construction of Grievance Claims against the Northeast Kingdom/Messianic Communities''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023073919/http://www.12tribes.org/controversies/apostatesandtheirrole.html |date=2005-10-23 }}
* Wilson, S. G., ''Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity''. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-8006-3675-3}}
* Wright, Stuart. "Post-Involvement Attitudes of Voluntary Defectors from Controversial New Religious Movements". ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' 23 (1984):172–182.

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|apostasy}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/index.php Laws Criminalizing Apostasy], Library of Congress (overview of the apostasy laws of 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia)

{{Religion topics|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Apostasy| ]]
[[Category:Disengagement from religion]]
[[Category:Religious law]]