Wikipedia articles on Apostacy, Shunning and Excommunication

Excommunication

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 An imaginative depiction of Pope Gregory VII excommunicating Emperor Henry IV.


 Details of the excommunication penalty at the foundling wheel. Venice, Italy.
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular reception of the sacraments. Some Protestants use the term disfellowship instead.
The word excommunication means putting a specific individual or group out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Excommunication may involve banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community. The grave act is often revoked in response to sincere penance, which may be manifested through public recantation, sometimes through the Sacrament of Confession, piety, and/or through mortification of the flesh.


Contents  [hide]
1 Christianity 1.1 Catholic Church 1.1.1 Latin Church
1.1.2 Eastern Catholic Churches
1.2 Eastern Orthodox churches
1.3 Lutheranism
1.4 Anglican Communion 1.4.1 Church of England
1.4.2 Episcopal Church of the United States of America
1.5 Reformed view
1.6 Anabaptist tradition 1.6.1 Amish
1.6.2 Mennonites
1.6.3 Hutterites
1.7 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1.8 Jehovah's Witnesses
1.9 Christadelphians
1.10 Society of Friends (Quakers)
2 Buddhism
3 Hinduism
4 Islam
5 Judaism
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links


Christianity[edit]
In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus says that an offended person should first draw the offender's fault to the offender's attention privately; then, if the offender refuses to listen, bring one or two others, that there may be more than a single witness to the charge; next, if the offender still refuses to listen, bring the matter before the church, and if the offender refuses to listen to the church, treat the offender as "a Gentile and a tax collector".
1 Corinthians 5:1-8 directs the church at Corinth to excommunicate a man for sexual immorality (incest). In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, the man, having repented and suffered the "punishment by the majority" is restored to the church. Fornication is not the only ground for excommunication, according to the apostle: in 5:11, Paul says, "I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler - not even to eat with such a one."
In Romans 16:17, Paul writes to "mark those who cause divisions contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them." Also, in 2 John 1:10-11, the writer advises believers that "whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house [οἰκίαν, residence or abode, or "inmates of the house" (family)], neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
Catholic Church[edit]
See also: List of people excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church
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 Former German Catholic priest Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1520.


 Plaque on exterior of the Chiesa della Pietà in Venice, the church of the orphanage. This is where the foundling wheel once stood. The inscription declares, citing a 12 November 1548 papal bull of Pope Paul III, that God inflicts "maledictions and excommunications" on all who abandon a child of theirs whom they have the means to rear, and that they cannot be absolved unless they first refund all expenses incurred.
Within the Catholic Church, there are differences between the discipline of the majority Latin Church regarding excommunication and that of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Latin Church[edit]
In Catholic canon law, excommunication is a rarely applied[1] censure and thus a "medicinal penalty" intended to invite the person to change behaviour or attitude, repent, and return to full communion.[2] It is not an "expiatory penalty" designed to make satisfaction for the wrong done, much less a "vindictive penalty" designed solely to punish: "excommunication, which is the gravest penalty of all and the most frequent, is always medicinal",[3] and is "not at all vindictive".[4]
Excommunication can be either latae sententiae (automatic, incurred at the moment of committing the offense for which canon law imposes that penalty) or ferendae sententiae (incurred only when imposed by a legitimate superior or declared as the sentence of an ecclesiastical court).[5]
The Code of Canon Law of 1917 stated that excommunication excluded a person from the communion of the faithful.[6] The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law removed this statement from the account of the effects of excommunication in the Catholic Church.[7] Excommunicated persons are "cut off from the Church", barred from receiving the Eucharist and from taking an active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.), but they remain Catholics.[8] They are urged to retain a relationship with the Church, as the goal is to encourage them to repent and return to active participation in its life.
All excommunicated persons are barred from participating in the liturgy in a ministerial capacity (e.g., as a reader if a layperson or as a deacon or priest if a clergyman) and from receiving the Eucharist or other sacraments, but they are not barred from attending these (e.g., an excommunicated person may not receive the Eucharist but is not barred from attending Mass). They are also forbidden to exercise any ecclesiastical office or the like.[9]
These are the only effects for those who have incurred a latae sententiae excommunication. For instance, a priest may not refuse Communion publicly to those who are under an automatic excommunication, as long as it has not been officially declared to have been incurred by them, even if the priest knows that they have incurred it.[10] On the other hand, if the priest knows that excommunication has been imposed on someone or that an automatic excommunication has been declared (and is no longer merely an undeclared automatic excommunication), he is forbidden to administer Holy Communion to that person.[11] (see canon 915).
Other effects of an excommunication that has been imposed or declared are:
1.an obligation on others to prevent the excommunicated person from acting in a ministerial capacity in the liturgy or, if this proves impossible, to suspend the liturgical service;
2.invalidity of acts of ecclesiastical governance by the excommunicated person.[12]
In the Catholic Church, excommunication is normally resolved by a declaration of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy), or renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act) by the excommunicated person and the lifting of the censure (absolution) by a priest or bishop empowered to do this. "The absolution can be in the internal (private) forum only, or also in the external (public) forum, depending on whether scandal would be given if a person were privately absolved and yet publicly considered unrepentant."[13] Since excommunication excludes from reception of the sacraments, absolution from excommunication is required before absolution can be given from the sin that led to the censure. In many cases, the whole process takes place on a single occasion in the privacy of the confessional. For some more serious wrongdoings, absolution from excommunication is reserved to a bishop, another ordinary, or even the Pope. These can delegate a priest to act on their behalf.
Before the 1983 Code of Canon Law, there were two degrees of excommunication: The excommunicate was either a vitandus (shunned, literally "to be avoided" by other Catholics), or a toleratus (tolerated, allowing Catholics to continue to have business and social relationships with the excommunicated person). This distinction no longer applies.
In the Middle Ages, formal acts of public excommunication were sometimes accompanied by a ceremony wherein a bell was tolled (as for the dead), the Book of the Gospels was closed, and a candle snuffed out — hence the idiom "to condemn with bell, book, and candle." Such ceremonies are not held today.
Interdict is a censure similar to excommunication. It too excludes from ministerial functions in public worship and from reception of the sacraments, but not from the exercise of governance.[14]
Eastern Catholic Churches[edit]
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, excommunications is imposed only by decree, never incurred automatically by latae sententiae excommunication.
A distinction is made between minor and major excommunication.
Those on whom minor excommunication has been imposed are excluded from receiving the Eucharist and can also be excluded from participating in the Divine Liturgy. They can even be excluded from entering a church when divine worship is being celebrated there. The decree of excommunication must indicate the precise effect of the excommunication and, if required, its duration.[15]
Those under major excommunication are in addition forbidden to receive not only the Eucharist but also the other sacraments, to administer sacraments or sacramentals, to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions whatsoever, and any such exercise by them is null and void. They are to be removed from participation in the Divine Liturgy and any public celebrations of divine worship. They are forbidden to make use of any privileges granted to them and cannot be given any dignity, office, ministry, or function in the Church, they cannot receive any pension or emoluments associated with these dignities etc., and they are deprived of the right to vote or to be elected.[16]
Eastern Orthodox churches[edit]
In the Eastern Orthodox churches, excommunication is the exclusion of a member from the Eucharist. It is not expulsion from the churches. This can happen for such reasons as not having confessed within that year; excommunication can also be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of restoring the member to full communion. Before an excommunication of significant duration is imposed, the bishop is usually consulted. The Orthodox churches do have a means of expulsion, by pronouncing anathema, but this is reserved only for acts of serious and unrepentant heresy. As an example of this, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, in its eleventh capitula, declared: "If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinarius Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their heretical books, and also all other heretics who have already been condemned and anathematized by the holy, catholic and apostolic church and by the four holy synods which have already been mentioned, and also all those who have thought or now think in the same way as the aforesaid heretics and who persist in their error even to death: let him be anathema."[17]
Lutheranism[edit]
Although Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, some denominations and congregations do not use it. The Lutheran definition, in its earliest and most technical form, would be found in Martin Luther's Small Catechism, defined beginning at Questions No. 277-283, in "The Office of Keys." Luther endeavored to follow the process that Jesus laid out in the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. According to Luther, excommunication requires:
1. The confrontation between the subject and the individual against whom he has sinned.2. If this fails, the confrontation between the subject, the harmed individual, and two or three witnesses to such acts of sin.3. The informing of the pastor of the subject's congregation.4. A confrontation between the pastor and the subject.
Beyond this, there is little agreement. Many Lutheran denominations operate under the premise that the entire congregation (as opposed to the pastor alone) must take appropriate steps for excommunication, and there are not always precise rules, to the point where individual congregations often set out rules for excommunicating laymen (as opposed to clergy). For example, churches may sometimes require that a vote must be taken at Sunday services; some congregations require that this vote be unanimous.[18]
The Lutheran process, though rarely used, has created unusual situations in recent years due to its somewhat democratic excommunication process. One example was an effort to get serial killer Dennis Rader excommunicated from his denomination (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) by individuals who tried to "lobby" Rader's fellow church members into voting for his excommunication.[19]
Anglican Communion[edit]
Church of England[edit]
The Church of England does not have any specific canons regarding how or why a member can be excommunicated, although it has a canon according to which ecclesiastical burial may be refused to someone "declared excommunicate for some grievous and notorious crime and no man to testify to his repentance".[20]
Episcopal Church of the United States of America[edit]
The ECUSA is in the Anglican Communion, and shares many canons with the Church of England which would determine its policy on excommunication.
Reformed view[edit]
In the Reformed churches, excommunication has generally been seen as the culmination of church discipline, which is one of the three marks of the Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith sees it as the third step after "admonition" and "suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for a season."[21] Yet, John Calvin argues in his Institutes of the Christian Religion that church censures do not "consign those who are excommunicated to perpetual ruin and damnation," but are designed to induce repentance, reconciliation and restoration to communion. Calvin notes, "though ecclesiastical discipline does not allow us to be on familiar and intimate terms with excommunicated persons, still we ought to strive by all possible means to bring them to a better mind, and recover them to the fellowship and unity of the Church."[22]
At least one modern Reformed theologian argues that excommunication is not the final step in the disciplinary process. Jay E. Adams argues that in excommunication, the offender is still seen as a brother, but in the final step they become "as the heathen and tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Adams writes, "Nowhere in the Bible is excommunication (removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table, according to Adams) equated with what happens in step 5; rather, step 5 is called "removing from the midst, handing over to Satan," and the like."[23]
Former Yale president and theologian, Jonathan Edwards, addresses the notion of excommunication as "removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table" in his treatise entitled "The Nature and End of Excommunication". Edwards argues that "Particularly, we are forbidden such a degree of associating ourselves with (excommunicants), as there is in making them our guests at our tables, or in being their guests at their tables; as is manifest in the text, where we are commanded to have no company with them, no not to eat". Edwards insists, "That this respects not eating with them at the Lord’s supper, but a common eating, is evident by the words, that the eating here forbidden, is one of the lowest degrees of keeping company, which are forbidden. Keep no company with such a one, saith the apostle, no not to eat — as much as to say, no not in so low a degree as to eat with him. But eating with him at the Lord’s supper, is the very highest degree of visible Christian communion. Who can suppose that the apostle meant this: Take heed and have no company with a man, no not so much as in the highest degree of communion that you can have? Besides, the apostle mentions this eating as a way of keeping company which, however, they might hold with the heathen. He tells them, not to keep company with fornicators. Then he informs them, he means not with fornicators of this world, that is, the heathens; but, saith he, “if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, etc. with such a one keep no company, no not to eat.” This makes it most apparent, that the apostle doth not mean eating at the Lord’s table; for so, they might not keep company with the heathens, any more than with an excommunicated person."
Anabaptist tradition[edit]
When believers were baptized and taken into membership of the church by Anabaptists, it was not only done as symbol of cleansing of sin but was also done as a public commitment to identify with Jesus Christ and to conform one's life to the teaching and example of Jesus as understood by the church. Practically, that meant membership in the church entailed a commitment to try to live according to norms of Christian behavior widely held by the Anabaptist tradition.
In the ideal, discipline in the Anabaptist tradition requires the church to confront a notoriously erring and unrepentant church member, first directly in a very small circle and, if no resolution is forthcoming, expanding the circle in steps eventually to include the entire church congregation. If the errant member persists without repentance and rejects even the admonition of the congregation, that person is excommunicated or excluded from church membership. Exclusion from the church is recognition by the congregation that this person has separated himself or herself from the church by way of his or her visible and unrepentant sin. This is done ostensibly as a final resort to protect the integrity of the church. When this occurs, the church is expected to continue to pray for the excluded member and to seek to restore him or her to its fellowship. There was originally no inherent expectation to shun (completely sever all ties with) an excluded member, however differences regarding this very issue led to early schisms between different Anabaptist leaders and those who followed them.
Amish[edit]
Jakob Ammann, founder of the Amish sect, believed that the shunning of those under the ban should be systematically practiced among the Swiss Anabaptists as it was in the north and as was outlined in the Dordrecht Confession. Ammann's uncompromising zeal regarding this practice was one of the main disputes that led to the schism between the Anabaptist groups that became the Amish and those that eventually would be called Mennonite. Recently more moderate Amish groups have become less strict in their application of excommunication as a discipline. This has led to splits in several communities, an example of which is the Swartzetruber Amish who split from the main body of Old Order Amish because of the latter's practice of lifting the ban from members who later join other churches. In general, the Amish will excommunicate baptized members for failure to abide by their Ordnung (church rules) as it is interpreted by the local Bishop if certain repeat violations of the Ordnung occur.
Excommunication among the Old Order Amish results in shunning or the Meidung, the severity of which depends on many factors, such as the family, the local community as well as the type of Amish. Some Amish communities cease shunning after one year if the person joins another church later on, especially if it is another Mennonite church. At the most severe, other members of the congregation are prohibited almost all contact with an excommunicated member including social and business ties between the excommunicant and the congregation, sometimes even marital contact between the excommunicant and spouse remaining in the congregation or family contact between adult children and parents.
Mennonites[edit]
In the Mennonite Church excommunication is rare and is carried out only after many attempts at reconciliation and on someone who is flagrantly and repeatedly violating standards of behavior that the church expects. Occasionally excommunication is also carried against those who repeatedly question the church's behavior and/or who genuinely differ with the church's theology as well, although in almost all cases the dissenter will leave the church before any discipline need be invoked. In either case, the church will attempt reconciliation with the member in private, first one on one and then with a few church leaders. Only if the church's reconciliation attempts are unsuccessful, the congregation formally revokes church membership. Members of the church generally pray for the excluded member.
Some regional conferences (the Mennonite counterpart to dioceses of other denominations) of the Mennonite Church have acted to expel member congregations that have openly welcomed non-celibate homosexuals as members. This internal conflict regarding homosexuality has also been an issue for other moderate denominations, such as the American Baptists and Methodists.
The practice among Old Order Mennonite congregations is more along the lines of Amish, but perhaps less severe typically. An Old Order member who disobeys the Ordnung (church regulations) must meet with the leaders of the church. If a church regulation is broken a second time there is a confession in the church. Those who refuse to confess are excommunicated. However upon later confession, the church member will be reinstated. An excommunicated member is placed under the ban. This person is not banned from eating with their own family. Excommunicated persons can still have business dealings with church members and can maintain marital relations with a marriage partner, who remains a church member.
Hutterites[edit]
The separatist, communal, and self-contained Hutterites also use excommunication and shunning as form of church discipline. Since Hutterites have communal ownership of goods, the effects of excommunication could impose a hardship upon the excluded member and family leaving them without employment income and material assets such as a home. However, often arrangements are made to provide material benefits to the family leaving the colony such as an automobile and some transition funds for rent, etc. One Hutterite colony in Manitoba (Canada) had a protracted dispute when leaders attempted to force the departure of a group that had been excommunicated but would not leave. About a dozen lawsuits in both Canada and the United States were filed between the various Hutterite factions and colonies concerning excommunication, shunning, the legitimacy of leadership, communal property rights, and fair division of communal property when factions have separated.[citation needed]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[edit]
Main article: Disciplinary council
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) practices excommunication as penalty for those who commit serious sins, i.e., actions that significantly impair the name or moral influence of the church or pose a threat to other people. According to the church leadership Handbook, the purposes of church discipline are (1) to save the souls of transgressors, (2) to protect the innocent, and (3) to safeguard the purity, integrity, and good name of the church.
The LDS Church also practices the lesser sanctions of private counsel and caution, informal probation, formal probation, and disfellowshipment.
Disfellowshipped is used for serious sins that do not rise to the level of excommunication. Disfellowshipment denies some privileges but does not include a loss of church membership. Once disfellowshipped, persons may not take the sacrament or enter church temples, nor may they offer public prayers or sermons. Disfellowshipped persons may continue to attend most church functions and are permitted to wear temple garments, pay tithes and offerings, and participate in church classes if their conduct is orderly. Disfellowshipment typically lasts for one year, after which one may be reinstated as a member in good standing.
In the more grievous or recalcitrant cases, excommunication becomes a disciplinary option. Excommunication is generally reserved for what are seen as the most serious sins, including committing serious crimes such as murder, child abuse, and incest; committing adultery; involvement in or teaching of polygamy; involvement in homosexual conduct; apostasy; participation in an abortion; teaching false doctrine; or openly criticizing church leaders. A 2006 revision to the Handbook states that formally joining another church constitutes apostasy and is an excommunicable offense; however, merely attending another church does not constitute apostasy.
An excommunication can occur only after a formal disciplinary council.[24] Formerly called a "church court," the councils were renamed to avoid focusing on guilt and instead to emphasize the availability of repentance.
The decision to excommunicate a Melchizedek priesthood holder is generally the province of the leadership of a stake. In such a disciplinary council, the stake presidency and stake high council attend. The twelve members of the high council are split in half: one group represents the member in question and is charged with "prevent[ing] insult or injustice"; the other group represents the church as a whole. The member under scrutiny is invited to attend the disciplinary proceedings, but the council can go forward without him. In making a decision, the leaders of the high council consult with the stake presidency, but the decision about which discipline is necessary is the stake president's alone. It is possible to appeal a decision of a stake disciplinary council to the church's First Presidency.
For females and for male members not initiated into the Melchizedek priesthood, a ward disciplinary council is held. In such cases, a bishop determines whether excommunication or a lesser sanction is warranted. He does this in consultation with his two counselors, with the bishop making the final determination after prayer. The decision of a ward disciplinary council can be appealed to the stake president.
The following list of variables serves as a general set of guidelines for when excommunication or lesser action may be warranted, beginning with those more likely to result in severe sanction:[citation needed]
1.Violation of covenants: Covenants are made in conjunction with specific ordinances in the LDS Church. Violated covenants that might result in excommunication are usually those surrounding marriage covenants, temple covenants, and priesthood covenants.
2.Position of trust or authority: The person's position in the church hierarchy factors into the decision. It is considered more serious when a sin is committed by an area seventy; a stake, mission, or temple president; a bishop; a patriarch; or a full-time missionary.
3.Repetition: Repetition of a sin is more serious than a single instance.
4.Magnitude: How often, how many individuals were impacted, and who is aware of the sin factor into the decision.
5.Age, maturity, and experience: Those who are young in age, or immature in their understanding, are typically afforded leniency.
6.Interests of the innocent: How the discipline will impact innocent family members may be considered.
7.Time between transgression and confession: If the sin was committed in the distant past, and there has not been repetition, leniency may be considered.
8.Voluntary confession: If a person voluntarily confesses the sin, leniency is suggested.
9.Evidence of repentance: Sorrow for sin, and demonstrated commitment to repentance, as well as faith in Jesus Christ all play a role in determining the severity of discipline.
Notices of excommunication may be made public, especially in cases of apostasy, where members could be misled; however, the specific reasons for individual excommunications are typically kept confidential and are seldom made public by church leadership.
Those who are excommunicated lose their church membership and the right to partake of the sacrament. Such persons are usually allowed to attend church meetings but participation is limited: they cannot offer public prayers or preach sermons and cannot enter temples. Excommunicated members are also barred from wearing or purchasing temple garments and from paying tithes. Excommunicated members may be re-baptized after a waiting period and sincere repentance, as judged by a series of interviews with church leaders.[25]
Some critics have charged that LDS Church leaders have used the threat of excommunication to silence or punish church members and researchers who disagree with established policy and doctrine, who study or discuss controversial subjects, or who may be involved in disputes with local, stake leaders or general authorities; see, e.g., Brian Evenson, a former BYU professor and writer whose fiction came under criticism from BYU officials and LDS Leadership.[26][27][28] Another notable case of excommunication from the LDS Church was the "September Six," a group of intellectuals and professors, five of whom were excommunicated and the sixth disfellowshipped.
However, church policy dictates that local leaders are responsible for excommunication, without influence from church headquarters. The church thus argues that this policy is evidence against any systematic persecution of scholars.
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of excommunication, using the term "disfellowshipping", in cases where a member is believed to have unrepentantly committed one or more of several documented "serious sins".[29] The practice is based on their interpretation of 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 ("quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man....remove the wicked man from your midst") and 2 John 10 ("never receive him in your home or say a greeting to him"). They interpret these verses to mean that any baptized believer who engages in "gross sins" is to be expelled from the congregation and shunned.
When a member confesses to, or is accused of, a serious sin, a judicial committee of at least three elders is formed. This committee investigates the case and determines the magnitude of the sin committed. If the person is deemed guilty of a disfellowshipping offense, the committee then decides, on the basis of the person's attitude and "works befitting repentance" (Acts 26:20), whether the person is to be considered repentant. The "works" may include trying to correct the wrong, making apologies to any offended individuals, and compliance with earlier counsel. If deemed guilty but repentant, the person is not disfellowshipped but is formally reproved and has restrictions imposed, which preclude the individual from various activities such as presenting talks, offering public prayers or making comments at religious meetings. If the person is deemed guilty and unrepentant, he or she will be disfellowshipped. Unless an appeal is made within seven days, the disfellowshipping is made formal by an announcement at the congregation's next Service Meeting. Appeals are granted to determine if procedural errors are felt to have occurred that may have affected the outcome.
Disfellowshipping is a severing of friendly relationships between all Jehovah's Witnesses and the disfellowshipped person. Interaction with extended family is typically restricted to a minimum, such as presence at the reading of wills and providing essential care for the elderly. Within a household, typical family contact may continue, but without spiritual fellowship such as family Bible study and religious discussions. Parents of disfellowshipped minors living in the family home may continue to attempt to convince the child about the religion's teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that this form of discipline encourages the disfellowshipped individual to conform to biblical standards and prevents the person from influencing other members of the congregation.[30]
Along with breaches of the Witnesses' moral code, openly disagreeing with the teachings Jehovah's Witnesses is considered grounds for shunning.[30] These persons are labeled as "apostates",[31] and are described in Watch Tower Society literature as "mentally diseased".[31][32] Descriptions of "apostates" appearing in the Witnesses literature have been the subject of investigation in the UK to determine if they violate religious hatred laws.[33] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings, remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[34] Shunning employs what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause trauma to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.[34][need quotation to verify]
Disassociation is a form of shunning where a member expresses verbally or in writing that they do not wish to be associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, rather than for having committed any specific 'sin'.[35] Elders may also decide that an individual has disassociated, without any formal statement by the individual, by actions such as accepting a blood transfusion,[36] or for joining another religion[37] or military organization.[38] Individuals who are deemed by the elders to have disassociated are given no right of appeal.[39][40]
Each year, congregation elders are instructed to consider meeting with disfellowshipped individuals to determine changed circumstances and encourage them to pursue reinstatement.[41] Reinstatement is not automatic after a certain time period, nor is there a minimum duration; disfellowshipped persons may talk to elders at any time but must apply in writing to be considered for reinstatement into the congregation.[42][43] Elders consider each case individually, and are instructed to ensure "that sufficient time has passed for the disfellowshipped person to prove that his profession of repentance is genuine."[44] A judicial committee meets with the individual to determine their repentance, and if this is established, the person is reinstated into the congregation and may participate with the congregation in their formal ministry (such as house-to-house preaching),[45] but is prohibited from commenting at meetings or holding any privileges for a period set by the judicial committee. If possible, the same judicial committee members who disfellowshipped the individual are selected for the reinstatement hearing. If the applicant is in a different area, the person will meet with a local judicial committee that will communicate with either the original judicial committee if available or a new one in the original congregation.
A Witness who has been formally reproved or reinstated cannot be appointed to any special privilege of service for at least one year. Serious sins involving child sex abuse permanently disqualify the sinner from appointment to any congregational privilege of service, regardless of whether the sinner was convicted of any secular crime.[46]
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
Christadelphians[edit]



Isabelo de los Reyes, founder of the Aglipayan Church was excommunicated by Pope Leo XIII in 1903 as a schismatic apostate.
Similarly to many groups having their origins in the 1830s Restoration Movement,[47] Christadelphians call their form of excommunication "disfellowshipping", though they do not practice "shunning". Disfellowshipping can occur for moral reasons, changing beliefs, or (in some ecclesias) for not attending communion (referred to as "the emblems" or "the breaking of bread").[48]
In such cases, the person involved is usually required to discuss the issues.[49] If they do not conform, the church ('meeting' or 'ecclesia') is recommended by the management committee ("Arranging Brethren") to vote on disfellowshipping the person. These procedures were formulated 1863 onwards by early Christadelphians,[citation needed] and then in 1883 codified by Robert Roberts in A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (colloquially "The Ecclesial Guide").[50] However Christadelphians justify and apply their practice not only from this document but also from passages such as the exclusion in 1Co.5 and recovery in 2Co.2.[51]
Christadelphians typically avoid the term "excommunication" which many associate with the Catholic Church; and may feel the word carries implications they do not agree with, such as undue condemnation and punishment, as well as failing to recognise the remedial intention of the measure.[52]
Behavioural cases. Many cases regarding moral issues tend to involve relational matters such as marriage outside the faith, divorce and remarriage (which is considered adultery in some circumstances by some ecclesias), or homosexuality.[53] Reinstatement for moral issues is determined by the ecclesia's assessment of whether the individual has "turned away" from (ceased) the course of action considered immoral by the church. This can be complex when dealing with cases of divorce and subsequent remarriage, with different positions adopted by different ecclesias, but generally within the main "Central" grouping, such cases can be accommodated.[54] Some minority "fellowships" do not accommodate this under any circumstances.[citation needed]
Doctrinal cases. Changes of belief on what Christadelphians call "first principle" doctrines are difficult to accommodate unless the individual agrees to not teach or spread them, since the body has a documented Statement of Faith which informally serves as a basis of ecclesial membership and interecclesial fellowship. Those who are disfellowshipped for reasons of differing belief rarely return, because they are expected to conform to an understanding with which they do not agree. Holding differing beliefs on fundamental matters is considered as error and apostasy, which can limit a person's salvation. However in practice disfellowship for doctrinal reasons is now unusual.[55]
In the case of adultery and divorce, the passage of time usually means a member can be restored if he or she wants to be. In the case of ongoing behaviour, cohabitation, homosexual activity, then the terms of the suspension have not been met.
The mechanics of "refellowship" follow the reverse of the original process; the individual makes an application to the "ecclesia", and the "Arranging Brethren" give a recommendation to the members who vote.[56] If the "Arranging Brethren" judge that a vote may divide the ecclesia, or personally upset some members, they may seek to find a third party ecclesia which is willing to "refellowship" the member instead. According to the Ecclesial Guide a third party ecclesia may also take the initiative to "refellowship" another meeting's member. However this cannot be done unilaterally, as this would constitute heteronomy over the autonomy of the original ecclesia's members.[57]
Society of Friends (Quakers)[edit]
Among many of the Society of Friends groups (Quakers) one is read out of meeting for behaviour inconsistent with the sense of the meeting.[58] However it is the responsibility of each meeting, quarterly meeting, and yearly meeting, to act with respect to their own members. For example, during the Vietnam War many Friends were concerned about Friend Richard Nixon's position on war which seemed at odds with their beliefs; however, it was the responsibility of Nixon's own meeting, the East Whittier Meeting of Whittier, California, to act if indeed that meeting felt the leaning.[59] They did not.[60]
In the 17th century, before the founding of abolitionist societies, Friends who too forcefully tried to convince their coreligionists of the evils of slavery were read out of meeting. Benjamin Lay was read out of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for this.[59] During the American Revolution over 400 Friends were read out of meeting for their military participation or support.[60]
Buddhism[edit]
There is no direct equivalent to excommunication in Buddhism. However, in the Theravadan monastic community monks can be expelled from monasteries for heresy and/or other acts. In addition, the monks have four vows, called the four defeats, which are abstaining from sexual intercourse, stealing, murder, and refraining from lying about spiritual gains (e.g., having special power or ability to perform miracles). If even one is broken, the monk is automatically a layman again and can never become a monk in his or her current life.
Most Japanese Buddhist sects hold ecclesiastical authority over its followers and have their own rules for expelling members of the sangha, lay or bishopric.[citation needed] The lay Japanese Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai was expelled from the Nichiren Shoshu sect in 1991 (1997).
Hinduism[edit]
Hinduism has been too diverse to be seen as a monolithic religion, and with a conspicuous absence of any listed dogma or ecclesia (organised church), has no concept of excommunication and hence no Hindu may be ousted from the Hindu religion, although a person may easily lose caste status for a very wide variety of infringements of caste prohibitions. This may or may not be recoverable. However, some of the modern organized sects within Hinduism may practice something equivalent to excommunication today, by ousting a person from their own sect.
In medieval and early-modern times (and sometimes even now) in South Asia, excommunication from one's caste (jati or varna) used to be practiced (by the caste-councils) and was often with serious consequences, such as abasement of the person's caste status and even throwing him into the sphere of the untouchables or bhangi. In the 19th century, a Hindu faced excommunication for going abroad, since it was presumed he would be forced to break caste restrictions and, as a result, become polluted.[61]
After excommunication, it would depend upon the caste-council whether they would accept any form of repentance (ritual or otherwise) or not. Such current examples of excommunication in Hinduism are often more political or social rather than religious, for example the excommunication of lower castes for refusing to work as scavengers in Tamil Nadu.[62]
An earlier example of excommunication in Hinduism is that of Shastri Yagnapurushdas, who voluntarily left and was later expelled from the Vadtal Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday by the then Vadtal acharya in 1906. He went on to form his own institution, Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha or BSS (now BAPS) claiming Gunatitanand Swami was the rightful spiritual successor to Swaminarayan.[63][64]
Islam[edit]
Main article: Takfir
Excommunication as it exists in Christian faiths does not exist in Islam. The nearest approximation is takfir, a declaration that an individual or group is kafir (or kuffar in plural), a non-believer. This does not prevent an individual from taking part in any Islamic rite or ritual, and since the matter of whether a person is kafir is a rather subjective matter, a declaration of takfir is generally considered null and void if the target refutes it or if the Islamic community in which he or she lives refuses to accept it.
Takfir has usually been practiced through the courts.[citation needed] More recently,[when?] cases have taken place where individuals have been considered kuffar.[citation needed] These decisions followed lawsuits against individuals, mainly in response to their writings that some have viewed as anti-Islamic. The most famous cases are of Salman Rushdie, Nasr Abu Zayd, and Nawal El-Saadawi.[citation needed] The repercussions of such cases have included divorce, since under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men.
However, takfir remains a highly contentious issue in Islam, primarily because there is no universally accepted authority in Islamic law. Indeed, according to classical commentators, the reverse seems to hold true, in that Muhammad reportedly equated the act of declaring someone a kafir itself to blasphemy if the accused individual maintained that he was a Muslim.
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Herem (censure)
Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in Judaism. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. Except for cases in the Charedi community, cherem stopped existing after The Enlightenment, when local Jewish communities lost their political autonomy, and Jews were integrated into the gentile nations in which they lived.[citation needed] A siruv order, equivalent to a contempt of court, issued by a Rabbinical court may also limit religious participation.
See also[edit]
Excommunication of actors by the Catholic Church
Banishment in the Bible
Disconnection
Interdict
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Campbell, Francis (2013-07-12). "Father Alexander Lucie-Smith, "Getting excommunicated is much harder than you think" in ''Catholic Herald'' (12 July 2013)". Catholicherald.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
2.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1312". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
3.Jump up ^ Karl Rahner (editor), Encyclopedia of Theology (A&C Black 1975 ISBN 978-0-86012006-3), p. 413
4.Jump up ^ Edward Peters, Excommunication and the Catholic Church (Ascension Press 2014)
5.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1314". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
6.Jump up ^ "1917 Code of Canon Law, canon 2257 §1". Intratext.com. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
7.Jump up ^ "1<983 Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
8.Jump up ^ "Even those who have joined another religion, have become atheists or agnostics, or have been excommunicated remain Catholics. Excommunicates lose rights, such as the right to the sacraments, but they are still bound to the obligations of the law; their rights are restored when they are reconciled through the remission of the penalty." New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, ed. by John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green, Paulist Press, 2000, p. 63 (commentary on canon 11).
9.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
10.Jump up ^ "Edward McNamara, "Denying Communion to Someone"". Zenit.org. 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
11.Jump up ^ "1983 Code of Canon Law, canon 915". Intratext.com. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
12.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §2". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
13.Jump up ^ "John Hardon, ''Modern Catholic Dictionary'' "Absolution from censure"". Catholicreference.net. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
14.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1332". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
15.Jump up ^ Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 1431
16.Jump up ^ Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 1434
17.Jump up ^ "NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
18.Jump up ^ "Risen Savior Lutheran Church, Orlando, FL — Constitution". Lutheransonline.com. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
19.Jump up ^ http://www.dakotavoice.com/200508/20050816_5.asp
20.Jump up ^ "Canon B 38" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
21.Jump up ^ Westminster Confession of Faith, xxx.4.
22.Jump up ^ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV.12.10.
23.Jump up ^ Jay E. Adams, Handbook of Church Discipline (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 74.
24.Jump up ^ The procedure followed by a church disciplinary council is described in church handbooks and the Doctrine and Covenants 102:9-18
25.Jump up ^ Burton, Theodore M. (May 1983). "To Forgive is Divine". Ensign: 70.
26.Jump up ^ "BYU Professor Under Fire for Violent Book", Sunstone, August 1995.
27.Jump up ^ Evenson wrote: "I had a strong defense for my position [in writing fiction], but as I met with administrators, including [BYU] President Rex Lee and Provost (now General Authority) Bruce Hafen, it became clear that they weren't interested in hearing why I was writing; they were interested in getting me to stop writing." Evenson, Brian. "When Religion Encourages Abuse: Writing Father of Lies." First published in The Event, 8 October 1998, p. 5., accessed 15 November 2012
28.Jump up ^ "Report: Academic Freedom and Tenure: Brigham Young University", Academe, September–October 1997
29.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower (Watch Tower Society): 26. 15 April 1988.
30.^ Jump up to: a b "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3–4. August 2002.
31.^ Jump up to: a b The Watchtower: 21–25. January 15, 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
32.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 7/11
33.Jump up ^ Hart, Benjamin (28 September 2011). "Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'". Huffington Post.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
35.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. January 15, 1982. "It would be best if he did this in a brief letter to the elders, but even if he unequivocally states orally that he is renouncing his standing as a Witness, the elders can deal with the matter."
36.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses drop transfusion ban". "transfusions have been relegated to 'non-disfellowshipping events' ... If a member has a transfusion, they will, by their actions disassociate themselves from the religion."
37.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. October 15, 1986. ""the person no longer wants to have anything to do with Jehovah's people and is determined to remain in a false religion? They would then simply announce to the congregation that such one has disassociated himself and thus is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses."
38.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 31 title=Questions From Readers. January 15, 1982. "The second situation involves a person who renounces his standing in the congregation by joining a secular organization whose purpose is contrary to counsel such as that found at Isaiah 2:4, … neither will they learn war anymore." Missing or empty |title= (help)
39.Jump up ^ "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3. August 2002.
40.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower: 27. April 15, 1988.
41.Jump up ^ "A Step on the Way Back". The Watchtower: 31. August 15, 1992.
42.Jump up ^ "Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline". The Watchtower: 27–28. November 15, 2006.
43.Jump up ^ "Imitate God’s Mercy Today". The Watchtower: 21. April 15, 1991.
44.Jump up ^ Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock. Watch Tower Society. p. 129.
45.Jump up ^ "Question Box". Our Kingdom Ministry (Watch Tower Society). December 1974.
46.Jump up ^ "Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked". The Watchtower: 29. January 1, 1997. "For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation."
47.Jump up ^ In fact, the earliest use of the term in their literature refers to the disfellowship of their founder, John Thomas, by Alexander Campbell: The Christadelphian 10:103 (January 1873). 32.
48.Jump up ^ A distinction can be detected between these three reasons in that which of the three applies is usually made clear in the notice which the ecclesia will post in the Ecclesial News section of The Christadelphian. This is since one purpose is to make other ecclesias aware lest the member try to circumvent the suspension by simply going to another ecclesia. See "Christadelphians, fellowship" in Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society, University of California, 1961
49.Jump up ^ The expected practice is to discuss first with 2 or 3 witnesses, as per Matt.18:15-20. See Wilson, op.cit.
50.Jump up ^ Roberts, Robert (1883). "A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias". Birmingham.
51.Jump up ^ See discussion of 1Co.5 in Ashton, M. The challenge of Corinthians, Birmingham, 2006; previously serialised in The Christadelphian 2002-2003
52.Jump up ^ The term "withdraw from" is frequently found as a synonym for "disfellowship" in older Christadelphian ecclesial news entries, but this usage is less common today since it is now more widely realised that the term "withdraw from" in 2Th.3:6, 1Tim.6:5 is not describing the full "turn over to Satan" 1Co5:5,1Tim.1:20. See Booker G. 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Nicholls A.H.Letters to Timothy and Titus, Birmingham
53.Jump up ^ Generally Christadelphians do not consider remarriage as adultery, but adultery is often at the root of a marriage breakup. See Reflections on Marriage and Divorce, The Christadelphian, Birmingham.
54.Jump up ^ Carter, J. Marriage and Divorce, CMPA Birmingham 1955
55.Jump up ^ e.g. News from the Ecclesias, in The Christadelphian, in a typical year (Jan.-Dec. 2006) contained only two suspensions for doctrinal reasons in the UK, both indicating that the member had already left of his/her own choice.
56.Jump up ^ Christadelphians interpret the "epitimia of the majority" 2Co.2:6 in different ways; some consider it the majority of all members, some the majority of elders. See Whittaker H.A., Second Corinthians, Biblia
57.Jump up ^ An exception noted in Roberts' Ecclesial Guide is where the original meeting is known for having a position out of step with other ecclesias. In practice however such cases are extremely unusual and the attempt to refellowship another ecclesia's member when the original ecclesia considers that they have not "mended their ways" may cause an interecclesial breach. The original ecclesia may notify the Christadelphian Magazine that the third party ecclesia is interfering in their own discipline of their own member, and news of refellowship will be blocked from News From the Ecclesias, and consequently the community as a whole will not recognise the refellowship. See Booker, G. Biblical Fellowship Biblia, Perry, A. Fellowship Matters Willow Books.
58.Jump up ^ "Free Quaker Meeting House". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Independence Hall Association.
59.^ Jump up to: a b Blood-Paterson, Peter (1998). "Holy Obedience: Corporate Discipline and Individual Leading". New York Yearly Meeting.
60.^ Jump up to: a b Mayer, Milton Sanford (1975). The Nature of the Beast. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 310–315. ISBN 978-0-87023-176-6.
61.Jump up ^ Outcaste, Encyclopædia Britannica
62.Jump up ^ "Imprisoned for life", The Hindu (Chennai, India), 9 January 2011
63.Jump up ^ The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. 2004. p. 172. ISBN 0-691-12048-X.
64.Jump up ^ Raymond Brady Williams (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65422-X. Retrieved 26 March 2011. Page 54
References[edit]
Encyclopedia of American Religions, by J. Gordon Melton ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
Ludlow, Daniel H. ed, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Macmillan Publishing, 1992.
Esau, Alvin J., "The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes", Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.
Gruter, Margaret, and Masters Roger, Ostracism: A Social and Biological Phenomenon, (Amish) Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights, Gruter Institute, 1984.
Beck, Martha N., Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, Crown, 2005.
Stammer, Larry B., "Mormon Author Says He's Facing Excommunication", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA.: 9 December 2004. pg. A.34.
D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Address Abuse", Herizons, 3/1/93.
Anonymous, "Atlanta Mennonite congregation penalized over gays", The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA: 2 January 1999. pg. F.01.
Garrett, Ottie, Garrett Irene, True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated, Shunned, Horse Cave KY: Nue Leben, Inc., 1998.
Garret, Ruth, Farrant Rick, Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Hostetler, John A. (1993), Amish Society, The Johns Hopkins University Pres: Baltimore.
MacMaster, Richard K. (1985), Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America 1683-1790, Herald Press: Kitchener & Scottdale.
Scott, Stephen (1996), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
Juhnke, James, Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite Identity and Organization in America, 1890–1930, (The Mennonite Experience in America #3), Scottdale, PA, Herald Press, Pp 393, 1989.
External links[edit]
Excommunication, the Ban, Church Discipline and Avoidance (from Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online)
Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights (Amish)
Catholic Encyclopaedia on excommunication
The two sides of excommunication
Episcopal Church of America excommunication
Jehovah's Witnesses press release regarding expulsion of child molesters
  


Categories: Excommunication
Apostasy
Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
Buddhist practices
Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
Catholic theology and doctrine
Christian behaviour and experience
Christian terminology
Disengagement from religion
Eastern Orthodoxy
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Excommunication

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 An imaginative depiction of Pope Gregory VII excommunicating Emperor Henry IV.


 Details of the excommunication penalty at the foundling wheel. Venice, Italy.
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular reception of the sacraments. Some Protestants use the term disfellowship instead.
The word excommunication means putting a specific individual or group out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Excommunication may involve banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community. The grave act is often revoked in response to sincere penance, which may be manifested through public recantation, sometimes through the Sacrament of Confession, piety, and/or through mortification of the flesh.


Contents  [hide]
1 Christianity 1.1 Catholic Church 1.1.1 Latin Church
1.1.2 Eastern Catholic Churches
1.2 Eastern Orthodox churches
1.3 Lutheranism
1.4 Anglican Communion 1.4.1 Church of England
1.4.2 Episcopal Church of the United States of America
1.5 Reformed view
1.6 Anabaptist tradition 1.6.1 Amish
1.6.2 Mennonites
1.6.3 Hutterites
1.7 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1.8 Jehovah's Witnesses
1.9 Christadelphians
1.10 Society of Friends (Quakers)
2 Buddhism
3 Hinduism
4 Islam
5 Judaism
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links


Christianity[edit]
In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus says that an offended person should first draw the offender's fault to the offender's attention privately; then, if the offender refuses to listen, bring one or two others, that there may be more than a single witness to the charge; next, if the offender still refuses to listen, bring the matter before the church, and if the offender refuses to listen to the church, treat the offender as "a Gentile and a tax collector".
1 Corinthians 5:1-8 directs the church at Corinth to excommunicate a man for sexual immorality (incest). In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, the man, having repented and suffered the "punishment by the majority" is restored to the church. Fornication is not the only ground for excommunication, according to the apostle: in 5:11, Paul says, "I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler - not even to eat with such a one."
In Romans 16:17, Paul writes to "mark those who cause divisions contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them." Also, in 2 John 1:10-11, the writer advises believers that "whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house [οἰκίαν, residence or abode, or "inmates of the house" (family)], neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
Catholic Church[edit]
See also: List of people excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church
Scale of justice, canon law.svg
This article is part of the series:
Legislation and Legal System of the Catholic Church


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 Former German Catholic priest Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1520.


 Plaque on exterior of the Chiesa della Pietà in Venice, the church of the orphanage. This is where the foundling wheel once stood. The inscription declares, citing a 12 November 1548 papal bull of Pope Paul III, that God inflicts "maledictions and excommunications" on all who abandon a child of theirs whom they have the means to rear, and that they cannot be absolved unless they first refund all expenses incurred.
Within the Catholic Church, there are differences between the discipline of the majority Latin Church regarding excommunication and that of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Latin Church[edit]
In Catholic canon law, excommunication is a rarely applied[1] censure and thus a "medicinal penalty" intended to invite the person to change behaviour or attitude, repent, and return to full communion.[2] It is not an "expiatory penalty" designed to make satisfaction for the wrong done, much less a "vindictive penalty" designed solely to punish: "excommunication, which is the gravest penalty of all and the most frequent, is always medicinal",[3] and is "not at all vindictive".[4]
Excommunication can be either latae sententiae (automatic, incurred at the moment of committing the offense for which canon law imposes that penalty) or ferendae sententiae (incurred only when imposed by a legitimate superior or declared as the sentence of an ecclesiastical court).[5]
The Code of Canon Law of 1917 stated that excommunication excluded a person from the communion of the faithful.[6] The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law removed this statement from the account of the effects of excommunication in the Catholic Church.[7] Excommunicated persons are "cut off from the Church", barred from receiving the Eucharist and from taking an active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.), but they remain Catholics.[8] They are urged to retain a relationship with the Church, as the goal is to encourage them to repent and return to active participation in its life.
All excommunicated persons are barred from participating in the liturgy in a ministerial capacity (e.g., as a reader if a layperson or as a deacon or priest if a clergyman) and from receiving the Eucharist or other sacraments, but they are not barred from attending these (e.g., an excommunicated person may not receive the Eucharist but is not barred from attending Mass). They are also forbidden to exercise any ecclesiastical office or the like.[9]
These are the only effects for those who have incurred a latae sententiae excommunication. For instance, a priest may not refuse Communion publicly to those who are under an automatic excommunication, as long as it has not been officially declared to have been incurred by them, even if the priest knows that they have incurred it.[10] On the other hand, if the priest knows that excommunication has been imposed on someone or that an automatic excommunication has been declared (and is no longer merely an undeclared automatic excommunication), he is forbidden to administer Holy Communion to that person.[11] (see canon 915).
Other effects of an excommunication that has been imposed or declared are:
1.an obligation on others to prevent the excommunicated person from acting in a ministerial capacity in the liturgy or, if this proves impossible, to suspend the liturgical service;
2.invalidity of acts of ecclesiastical governance by the excommunicated person.[12]
In the Catholic Church, excommunication is normally resolved by a declaration of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy), or renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act) by the excommunicated person and the lifting of the censure (absolution) by a priest or bishop empowered to do this. "The absolution can be in the internal (private) forum only, or also in the external (public) forum, depending on whether scandal would be given if a person were privately absolved and yet publicly considered unrepentant."[13] Since excommunication excludes from reception of the sacraments, absolution from excommunication is required before absolution can be given from the sin that led to the censure. In many cases, the whole process takes place on a single occasion in the privacy of the confessional. For some more serious wrongdoings, absolution from excommunication is reserved to a bishop, another ordinary, or even the Pope. These can delegate a priest to act on their behalf.
Before the 1983 Code of Canon Law, there were two degrees of excommunication: The excommunicate was either a vitandus (shunned, literally "to be avoided" by other Catholics), or a toleratus (tolerated, allowing Catholics to continue to have business and social relationships with the excommunicated person). This distinction no longer applies.
In the Middle Ages, formal acts of public excommunication were sometimes accompanied by a ceremony wherein a bell was tolled (as for the dead), the Book of the Gospels was closed, and a candle snuffed out — hence the idiom "to condemn with bell, book, and candle." Such ceremonies are not held today.
Interdict is a censure similar to excommunication. It too excludes from ministerial functions in public worship and from reception of the sacraments, but not from the exercise of governance.[14]
Eastern Catholic Churches[edit]
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, excommunications is imposed only by decree, never incurred automatically by latae sententiae excommunication.
A distinction is made between minor and major excommunication.
Those on whom minor excommunication has been imposed are excluded from receiving the Eucharist and can also be excluded from participating in the Divine Liturgy. They can even be excluded from entering a church when divine worship is being celebrated there. The decree of excommunication must indicate the precise effect of the excommunication and, if required, its duration.[15]
Those under major excommunication are in addition forbidden to receive not only the Eucharist but also the other sacraments, to administer sacraments or sacramentals, to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions whatsoever, and any such exercise by them is null and void. They are to be removed from participation in the Divine Liturgy and any public celebrations of divine worship. They are forbidden to make use of any privileges granted to them and cannot be given any dignity, office, ministry, or function in the Church, they cannot receive any pension or emoluments associated with these dignities etc., and they are deprived of the right to vote or to be elected.[16]
Eastern Orthodox churches[edit]
In the Eastern Orthodox churches, excommunication is the exclusion of a member from the Eucharist. It is not expulsion from the churches. This can happen for such reasons as not having confessed within that year; excommunication can also be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of restoring the member to full communion. Before an excommunication of significant duration is imposed, the bishop is usually consulted. The Orthodox churches do have a means of expulsion, by pronouncing anathema, but this is reserved only for acts of serious and unrepentant heresy. As an example of this, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, in its eleventh capitula, declared: "If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinarius Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their heretical books, and also all other heretics who have already been condemned and anathematized by the holy, catholic and apostolic church and by the four holy synods which have already been mentioned, and also all those who have thought or now think in the same way as the aforesaid heretics and who persist in their error even to death: let him be anathema."[17]
Lutheranism[edit]
Although Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, some denominations and congregations do not use it. The Lutheran definition, in its earliest and most technical form, would be found in Martin Luther's Small Catechism, defined beginning at Questions No. 277-283, in "The Office of Keys." Luther endeavored to follow the process that Jesus laid out in the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. According to Luther, excommunication requires:
1. The confrontation between the subject and the individual against whom he has sinned.2. If this fails, the confrontation between the subject, the harmed individual, and two or three witnesses to such acts of sin.3. The informing of the pastor of the subject's congregation.4. A confrontation between the pastor and the subject.
Beyond this, there is little agreement. Many Lutheran denominations operate under the premise that the entire congregation (as opposed to the pastor alone) must take appropriate steps for excommunication, and there are not always precise rules, to the point where individual congregations often set out rules for excommunicating laymen (as opposed to clergy). For example, churches may sometimes require that a vote must be taken at Sunday services; some congregations require that this vote be unanimous.[18]
The Lutheran process, though rarely used, has created unusual situations in recent years due to its somewhat democratic excommunication process. One example was an effort to get serial killer Dennis Rader excommunicated from his denomination (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) by individuals who tried to "lobby" Rader's fellow church members into voting for his excommunication.[19]
Anglican Communion[edit]
Church of England[edit]
The Church of England does not have any specific canons regarding how or why a member can be excommunicated, although it has a canon according to which ecclesiastical burial may be refused to someone "declared excommunicate for some grievous and notorious crime and no man to testify to his repentance".[20]
Episcopal Church of the United States of America[edit]
The ECUSA is in the Anglican Communion, and shares many canons with the Church of England which would determine its policy on excommunication.
Reformed view[edit]
In the Reformed churches, excommunication has generally been seen as the culmination of church discipline, which is one of the three marks of the Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith sees it as the third step after "admonition" and "suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for a season."[21] Yet, John Calvin argues in his Institutes of the Christian Religion that church censures do not "consign those who are excommunicated to perpetual ruin and damnation," but are designed to induce repentance, reconciliation and restoration to communion. Calvin notes, "though ecclesiastical discipline does not allow us to be on familiar and intimate terms with excommunicated persons, still we ought to strive by all possible means to bring them to a better mind, and recover them to the fellowship and unity of the Church."[22]
At least one modern Reformed theologian argues that excommunication is not the final step in the disciplinary process. Jay E. Adams argues that in excommunication, the offender is still seen as a brother, but in the final step they become "as the heathen and tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Adams writes, "Nowhere in the Bible is excommunication (removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table, according to Adams) equated with what happens in step 5; rather, step 5 is called "removing from the midst, handing over to Satan," and the like."[23]
Former Yale president and theologian, Jonathan Edwards, addresses the notion of excommunication as "removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table" in his treatise entitled "The Nature and End of Excommunication". Edwards argues that "Particularly, we are forbidden such a degree of associating ourselves with (excommunicants), as there is in making them our guests at our tables, or in being their guests at their tables; as is manifest in the text, where we are commanded to have no company with them, no not to eat". Edwards insists, "That this respects not eating with them at the Lord’s supper, but a common eating, is evident by the words, that the eating here forbidden, is one of the lowest degrees of keeping company, which are forbidden. Keep no company with such a one, saith the apostle, no not to eat — as much as to say, no not in so low a degree as to eat with him. But eating with him at the Lord’s supper, is the very highest degree of visible Christian communion. Who can suppose that the apostle meant this: Take heed and have no company with a man, no not so much as in the highest degree of communion that you can have? Besides, the apostle mentions this eating as a way of keeping company which, however, they might hold with the heathen. He tells them, not to keep company with fornicators. Then he informs them, he means not with fornicators of this world, that is, the heathens; but, saith he, “if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, etc. with such a one keep no company, no not to eat.” This makes it most apparent, that the apostle doth not mean eating at the Lord’s table; for so, they might not keep company with the heathens, any more than with an excommunicated person."
Anabaptist tradition[edit]
When believers were baptized and taken into membership of the church by Anabaptists, it was not only done as symbol of cleansing of sin but was also done as a public commitment to identify with Jesus Christ and to conform one's life to the teaching and example of Jesus as understood by the church. Practically, that meant membership in the church entailed a commitment to try to live according to norms of Christian behavior widely held by the Anabaptist tradition.
In the ideal, discipline in the Anabaptist tradition requires the church to confront a notoriously erring and unrepentant church member, first directly in a very small circle and, if no resolution is forthcoming, expanding the circle in steps eventually to include the entire church congregation. If the errant member persists without repentance and rejects even the admonition of the congregation, that person is excommunicated or excluded from church membership. Exclusion from the church is recognition by the congregation that this person has separated himself or herself from the church by way of his or her visible and unrepentant sin. This is done ostensibly as a final resort to protect the integrity of the church. When this occurs, the church is expected to continue to pray for the excluded member and to seek to restore him or her to its fellowship. There was originally no inherent expectation to shun (completely sever all ties with) an excluded member, however differences regarding this very issue led to early schisms between different Anabaptist leaders and those who followed them.
Amish[edit]
Jakob Ammann, founder of the Amish sect, believed that the shunning of those under the ban should be systematically practiced among the Swiss Anabaptists as it was in the north and as was outlined in the Dordrecht Confession. Ammann's uncompromising zeal regarding this practice was one of the main disputes that led to the schism between the Anabaptist groups that became the Amish and those that eventually would be called Mennonite. Recently more moderate Amish groups have become less strict in their application of excommunication as a discipline. This has led to splits in several communities, an example of which is the Swartzetruber Amish who split from the main body of Old Order Amish because of the latter's practice of lifting the ban from members who later join other churches. In general, the Amish will excommunicate baptized members for failure to abide by their Ordnung (church rules) as it is interpreted by the local Bishop if certain repeat violations of the Ordnung occur.
Excommunication among the Old Order Amish results in shunning or the Meidung, the severity of which depends on many factors, such as the family, the local community as well as the type of Amish. Some Amish communities cease shunning after one year if the person joins another church later on, especially if it is another Mennonite church. At the most severe, other members of the congregation are prohibited almost all contact with an excommunicated member including social and business ties between the excommunicant and the congregation, sometimes even marital contact between the excommunicant and spouse remaining in the congregation or family contact between adult children and parents.
Mennonites[edit]
In the Mennonite Church excommunication is rare and is carried out only after many attempts at reconciliation and on someone who is flagrantly and repeatedly violating standards of behavior that the church expects. Occasionally excommunication is also carried against those who repeatedly question the church's behavior and/or who genuinely differ with the church's theology as well, although in almost all cases the dissenter will leave the church before any discipline need be invoked. In either case, the church will attempt reconciliation with the member in private, first one on one and then with a few church leaders. Only if the church's reconciliation attempts are unsuccessful, the congregation formally revokes church membership. Members of the church generally pray for the excluded member.
Some regional conferences (the Mennonite counterpart to dioceses of other denominations) of the Mennonite Church have acted to expel member congregations that have openly welcomed non-celibate homosexuals as members. This internal conflict regarding homosexuality has also been an issue for other moderate denominations, such as the American Baptists and Methodists.
The practice among Old Order Mennonite congregations is more along the lines of Amish, but perhaps less severe typically. An Old Order member who disobeys the Ordnung (church regulations) must meet with the leaders of the church. If a church regulation is broken a second time there is a confession in the church. Those who refuse to confess are excommunicated. However upon later confession, the church member will be reinstated. An excommunicated member is placed under the ban. This person is not banned from eating with their own family. Excommunicated persons can still have business dealings with church members and can maintain marital relations with a marriage partner, who remains a church member.
Hutterites[edit]
The separatist, communal, and self-contained Hutterites also use excommunication and shunning as form of church discipline. Since Hutterites have communal ownership of goods, the effects of excommunication could impose a hardship upon the excluded member and family leaving them without employment income and material assets such as a home. However, often arrangements are made to provide material benefits to the family leaving the colony such as an automobile and some transition funds for rent, etc. One Hutterite colony in Manitoba (Canada) had a protracted dispute when leaders attempted to force the departure of a group that had been excommunicated but would not leave. About a dozen lawsuits in both Canada and the United States were filed between the various Hutterite factions and colonies concerning excommunication, shunning, the legitimacy of leadership, communal property rights, and fair division of communal property when factions have separated.[citation needed]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[edit]
Main article: Disciplinary council
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) practices excommunication as penalty for those who commit serious sins, i.e., actions that significantly impair the name or moral influence of the church or pose a threat to other people. According to the church leadership Handbook, the purposes of church discipline are (1) to save the souls of transgressors, (2) to protect the innocent, and (3) to safeguard the purity, integrity, and good name of the church.
The LDS Church also practices the lesser sanctions of private counsel and caution, informal probation, formal probation, and disfellowshipment.
Disfellowshipped is used for serious sins that do not rise to the level of excommunication. Disfellowshipment denies some privileges but does not include a loss of church membership. Once disfellowshipped, persons may not take the sacrament or enter church temples, nor may they offer public prayers or sermons. Disfellowshipped persons may continue to attend most church functions and are permitted to wear temple garments, pay tithes and offerings, and participate in church classes if their conduct is orderly. Disfellowshipment typically lasts for one year, after which one may be reinstated as a member in good standing.
In the more grievous or recalcitrant cases, excommunication becomes a disciplinary option. Excommunication is generally reserved for what are seen as the most serious sins, including committing serious crimes such as murder, child abuse, and incest; committing adultery; involvement in or teaching of polygamy; involvement in homosexual conduct; apostasy; participation in an abortion; teaching false doctrine; or openly criticizing church leaders. A 2006 revision to the Handbook states that formally joining another church constitutes apostasy and is an excommunicable offense; however, merely attending another church does not constitute apostasy.
An excommunication can occur only after a formal disciplinary council.[24] Formerly called a "church court," the councils were renamed to avoid focusing on guilt and instead to emphasize the availability of repentance.
The decision to excommunicate a Melchizedek priesthood holder is generally the province of the leadership of a stake. In such a disciplinary council, the stake presidency and stake high council attend. The twelve members of the high council are split in half: one group represents the member in question and is charged with "prevent[ing] insult or injustice"; the other group represents the church as a whole. The member under scrutiny is invited to attend the disciplinary proceedings, but the council can go forward without him. In making a decision, the leaders of the high council consult with the stake presidency, but the decision about which discipline is necessary is the stake president's alone. It is possible to appeal a decision of a stake disciplinary council to the church's First Presidency.
For females and for male members not initiated into the Melchizedek priesthood, a ward disciplinary council is held. In such cases, a bishop determines whether excommunication or a lesser sanction is warranted. He does this in consultation with his two counselors, with the bishop making the final determination after prayer. The decision of a ward disciplinary council can be appealed to the stake president.
The following list of variables serves as a general set of guidelines for when excommunication or lesser action may be warranted, beginning with those more likely to result in severe sanction:[citation needed]
1.Violation of covenants: Covenants are made in conjunction with specific ordinances in the LDS Church. Violated covenants that might result in excommunication are usually those surrounding marriage covenants, temple covenants, and priesthood covenants.
2.Position of trust or authority: The person's position in the church hierarchy factors into the decision. It is considered more serious when a sin is committed by an area seventy; a stake, mission, or temple president; a bishop; a patriarch; or a full-time missionary.
3.Repetition: Repetition of a sin is more serious than a single instance.
4.Magnitude: How often, how many individuals were impacted, and who is aware of the sin factor into the decision.
5.Age, maturity, and experience: Those who are young in age, or immature in their understanding, are typically afforded leniency.
6.Interests of the innocent: How the discipline will impact innocent family members may be considered.
7.Time between transgression and confession: If the sin was committed in the distant past, and there has not been repetition, leniency may be considered.
8.Voluntary confession: If a person voluntarily confesses the sin, leniency is suggested.
9.Evidence of repentance: Sorrow for sin, and demonstrated commitment to repentance, as well as faith in Jesus Christ all play a role in determining the severity of discipline.
Notices of excommunication may be made public, especially in cases of apostasy, where members could be misled; however, the specific reasons for individual excommunications are typically kept confidential and are seldom made public by church leadership.
Those who are excommunicated lose their church membership and the right to partake of the sacrament. Such persons are usually allowed to attend church meetings but participation is limited: they cannot offer public prayers or preach sermons and cannot enter temples. Excommunicated members are also barred from wearing or purchasing temple garments and from paying tithes. Excommunicated members may be re-baptized after a waiting period and sincere repentance, as judged by a series of interviews with church leaders.[25]
Some critics have charged that LDS Church leaders have used the threat of excommunication to silence or punish church members and researchers who disagree with established policy and doctrine, who study or discuss controversial subjects, or who may be involved in disputes with local, stake leaders or general authorities; see, e.g., Brian Evenson, a former BYU professor and writer whose fiction came under criticism from BYU officials and LDS Leadership.[26][27][28] Another notable case of excommunication from the LDS Church was the "September Six," a group of intellectuals and professors, five of whom were excommunicated and the sixth disfellowshipped.
However, church policy dictates that local leaders are responsible for excommunication, without influence from church headquarters. The church thus argues that this policy is evidence against any systematic persecution of scholars.
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of excommunication, using the term "disfellowshipping", in cases where a member is believed to have unrepentantly committed one or more of several documented "serious sins".[29] The practice is based on their interpretation of 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 ("quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man....remove the wicked man from your midst") and 2 John 10 ("never receive him in your home or say a greeting to him"). They interpret these verses to mean that any baptized believer who engages in "gross sins" is to be expelled from the congregation and shunned.
When a member confesses to, or is accused of, a serious sin, a judicial committee of at least three elders is formed. This committee investigates the case and determines the magnitude of the sin committed. If the person is deemed guilty of a disfellowshipping offense, the committee then decides, on the basis of the person's attitude and "works befitting repentance" (Acts 26:20), whether the person is to be considered repentant. The "works" may include trying to correct the wrong, making apologies to any offended individuals, and compliance with earlier counsel. If deemed guilty but repentant, the person is not disfellowshipped but is formally reproved and has restrictions imposed, which preclude the individual from various activities such as presenting talks, offering public prayers or making comments at religious meetings. If the person is deemed guilty and unrepentant, he or she will be disfellowshipped. Unless an appeal is made within seven days, the disfellowshipping is made formal by an announcement at the congregation's next Service Meeting. Appeals are granted to determine if procedural errors are felt to have occurred that may have affected the outcome.
Disfellowshipping is a severing of friendly relationships between all Jehovah's Witnesses and the disfellowshipped person. Interaction with extended family is typically restricted to a minimum, such as presence at the reading of wills and providing essential care for the elderly. Within a household, typical family contact may continue, but without spiritual fellowship such as family Bible study and religious discussions. Parents of disfellowshipped minors living in the family home may continue to attempt to convince the child about the religion's teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that this form of discipline encourages the disfellowshipped individual to conform to biblical standards and prevents the person from influencing other members of the congregation.[30]
Along with breaches of the Witnesses' moral code, openly disagreeing with the teachings Jehovah's Witnesses is considered grounds for shunning.[30] These persons are labeled as "apostates",[31] and are described in Watch Tower Society literature as "mentally diseased".[31][32] Descriptions of "apostates" appearing in the Witnesses literature have been the subject of investigation in the UK to determine if they violate religious hatred laws.[33] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings, remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[34] Shunning employs what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause trauma to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.[34][need quotation to verify]
Disassociation is a form of shunning where a member expresses verbally or in writing that they do not wish to be associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, rather than for having committed any specific 'sin'.[35] Elders may also decide that an individual has disassociated, without any formal statement by the individual, by actions such as accepting a blood transfusion,[36] or for joining another religion[37] or military organization.[38] Individuals who are deemed by the elders to have disassociated are given no right of appeal.[39][40]
Each year, congregation elders are instructed to consider meeting with disfellowshipped individuals to determine changed circumstances and encourage them to pursue reinstatement.[41] Reinstatement is not automatic after a certain time period, nor is there a minimum duration; disfellowshipped persons may talk to elders at any time but must apply in writing to be considered for reinstatement into the congregation.[42][43] Elders consider each case individually, and are instructed to ensure "that sufficient time has passed for the disfellowshipped person to prove that his profession of repentance is genuine."[44] A judicial committee meets with the individual to determine their repentance, and if this is established, the person is reinstated into the congregation and may participate with the congregation in their formal ministry (such as house-to-house preaching),[45] but is prohibited from commenting at meetings or holding any privileges for a period set by the judicial committee. If possible, the same judicial committee members who disfellowshipped the individual are selected for the reinstatement hearing. If the applicant is in a different area, the person will meet with a local judicial committee that will communicate with either the original judicial committee if available or a new one in the original congregation.
A Witness who has been formally reproved or reinstated cannot be appointed to any special privilege of service for at least one year. Serious sins involving child sex abuse permanently disqualify the sinner from appointment to any congregational privilege of service, regardless of whether the sinner was convicted of any secular crime.[46]
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
Christadelphians[edit]



Isabelo de los Reyes, founder of the Aglipayan Church was excommunicated by Pope Leo XIII in 1903 as a schismatic apostate.
Similarly to many groups having their origins in the 1830s Restoration Movement,[47] Christadelphians call their form of excommunication "disfellowshipping", though they do not practice "shunning". Disfellowshipping can occur for moral reasons, changing beliefs, or (in some ecclesias) for not attending communion (referred to as "the emblems" or "the breaking of bread").[48]
In such cases, the person involved is usually required to discuss the issues.[49] If they do not conform, the church ('meeting' or 'ecclesia') is recommended by the management committee ("Arranging Brethren") to vote on disfellowshipping the person. These procedures were formulated 1863 onwards by early Christadelphians,[citation needed] and then in 1883 codified by Robert Roberts in A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias (colloquially "The Ecclesial Guide").[50] However Christadelphians justify and apply their practice not only from this document but also from passages such as the exclusion in 1Co.5 and recovery in 2Co.2.[51]
Christadelphians typically avoid the term "excommunication" which many associate with the Catholic Church; and may feel the word carries implications they do not agree with, such as undue condemnation and punishment, as well as failing to recognise the remedial intention of the measure.[52]
Behavioural cases. Many cases regarding moral issues tend to involve relational matters such as marriage outside the faith, divorce and remarriage (which is considered adultery in some circumstances by some ecclesias), or homosexuality.[53] Reinstatement for moral issues is determined by the ecclesia's assessment of whether the individual has "turned away" from (ceased) the course of action considered immoral by the church. This can be complex when dealing with cases of divorce and subsequent remarriage, with different positions adopted by different ecclesias, but generally within the main "Central" grouping, such cases can be accommodated.[54] Some minority "fellowships" do not accommodate this under any circumstances.[citation needed]
Doctrinal cases. Changes of belief on what Christadelphians call "first principle" doctrines are difficult to accommodate unless the individual agrees to not teach or spread them, since the body has a documented Statement of Faith which informally serves as a basis of ecclesial membership and interecclesial fellowship. Those who are disfellowshipped for reasons of differing belief rarely return, because they are expected to conform to an understanding with which they do not agree. Holding differing beliefs on fundamental matters is considered as error and apostasy, which can limit a person's salvation. However in practice disfellowship for doctrinal reasons is now unusual.[55]
In the case of adultery and divorce, the passage of time usually means a member can be restored if he or she wants to be. In the case of ongoing behaviour, cohabitation, homosexual activity, then the terms of the suspension have not been met.
The mechanics of "refellowship" follow the reverse of the original process; the individual makes an application to the "ecclesia", and the "Arranging Brethren" give a recommendation to the members who vote.[56] If the "Arranging Brethren" judge that a vote may divide the ecclesia, or personally upset some members, they may seek to find a third party ecclesia which is willing to "refellowship" the member instead. According to the Ecclesial Guide a third party ecclesia may also take the initiative to "refellowship" another meeting's member. However this cannot be done unilaterally, as this would constitute heteronomy over the autonomy of the original ecclesia's members.[57]
Society of Friends (Quakers)[edit]
Among many of the Society of Friends groups (Quakers) one is read out of meeting for behaviour inconsistent with the sense of the meeting.[58] However it is the responsibility of each meeting, quarterly meeting, and yearly meeting, to act with respect to their own members. For example, during the Vietnam War many Friends were concerned about Friend Richard Nixon's position on war which seemed at odds with their beliefs; however, it was the responsibility of Nixon's own meeting, the East Whittier Meeting of Whittier, California, to act if indeed that meeting felt the leaning.[59] They did not.[60]
In the 17th century, before the founding of abolitionist societies, Friends who too forcefully tried to convince their coreligionists of the evils of slavery were read out of meeting. Benjamin Lay was read out of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for this.[59] During the American Revolution over 400 Friends were read out of meeting for their military participation or support.[60]
Buddhism[edit]
There is no direct equivalent to excommunication in Buddhism. However, in the Theravadan monastic community monks can be expelled from monasteries for heresy and/or other acts. In addition, the monks have four vows, called the four defeats, which are abstaining from sexual intercourse, stealing, murder, and refraining from lying about spiritual gains (e.g., having special power or ability to perform miracles). If even one is broken, the monk is automatically a layman again and can never become a monk in his or her current life.
Most Japanese Buddhist sects hold ecclesiastical authority over its followers and have their own rules for expelling members of the sangha, lay or bishopric.[citation needed] The lay Japanese Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai was expelled from the Nichiren Shoshu sect in 1991 (1997).
Hinduism[edit]
Hinduism has been too diverse to be seen as a monolithic religion, and with a conspicuous absence of any listed dogma or ecclesia (organised church), has no concept of excommunication and hence no Hindu may be ousted from the Hindu religion, although a person may easily lose caste status for a very wide variety of infringements of caste prohibitions. This may or may not be recoverable. However, some of the modern organized sects within Hinduism may practice something equivalent to excommunication today, by ousting a person from their own sect.
In medieval and early-modern times (and sometimes even now) in South Asia, excommunication from one's caste (jati or varna) used to be practiced (by the caste-councils) and was often with serious consequences, such as abasement of the person's caste status and even throwing him into the sphere of the untouchables or bhangi. In the 19th century, a Hindu faced excommunication for going abroad, since it was presumed he would be forced to break caste restrictions and, as a result, become polluted.[61]
After excommunication, it would depend upon the caste-council whether they would accept any form of repentance (ritual or otherwise) or not. Such current examples of excommunication in Hinduism are often more political or social rather than religious, for example the excommunication of lower castes for refusing to work as scavengers in Tamil Nadu.[62]
An earlier example of excommunication in Hinduism is that of Shastri Yagnapurushdas, who voluntarily left and was later expelled from the Vadtal Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday by the then Vadtal acharya in 1906. He went on to form his own institution, Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha or BSS (now BAPS) claiming Gunatitanand Swami was the rightful spiritual successor to Swaminarayan.[63][64]
Islam[edit]
Main article: Takfir
Excommunication as it exists in Christian faiths does not exist in Islam. The nearest approximation is takfir, a declaration that an individual or group is kafir (or kuffar in plural), a non-believer. This does not prevent an individual from taking part in any Islamic rite or ritual, and since the matter of whether a person is kafir is a rather subjective matter, a declaration of takfir is generally considered null and void if the target refutes it or if the Islamic community in which he or she lives refuses to accept it.
Takfir has usually been practiced through the courts.[citation needed] More recently,[when?] cases have taken place where individuals have been considered kuffar.[citation needed] These decisions followed lawsuits against individuals, mainly in response to their writings that some have viewed as anti-Islamic. The most famous cases are of Salman Rushdie, Nasr Abu Zayd, and Nawal El-Saadawi.[citation needed] The repercussions of such cases have included divorce, since under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men.
However, takfir remains a highly contentious issue in Islam, primarily because there is no universally accepted authority in Islamic law. Indeed, according to classical commentators, the reverse seems to hold true, in that Muhammad reportedly equated the act of declaring someone a kafir itself to blasphemy if the accused individual maintained that he was a Muslim.
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Herem (censure)
Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in Judaism. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. Except for cases in the Charedi community, cherem stopped existing after The Enlightenment, when local Jewish communities lost their political autonomy, and Jews were integrated into the gentile nations in which they lived.[citation needed] A siruv order, equivalent to a contempt of court, issued by a Rabbinical court may also limit religious participation.
See also[edit]
Excommunication of actors by the Catholic Church
Banishment in the Bible
Disconnection
Interdict
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Campbell, Francis (2013-07-12). "Father Alexander Lucie-Smith, "Getting excommunicated is much harder than you think" in ''Catholic Herald'' (12 July 2013)". Catholicherald.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
2.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1312". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
3.Jump up ^ Karl Rahner (editor), Encyclopedia of Theology (A&C Black 1975 ISBN 978-0-86012006-3), p. 413
4.Jump up ^ Edward Peters, Excommunication and the Catholic Church (Ascension Press 2014)
5.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1314". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
6.Jump up ^ "1917 Code of Canon Law, canon 2257 §1". Intratext.com. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
7.Jump up ^ "1<983 Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
8.Jump up ^ "Even those who have joined another religion, have become atheists or agnostics, or have been excommunicated remain Catholics. Excommunicates lose rights, such as the right to the sacraments, but they are still bound to the obligations of the law; their rights are restored when they are reconciled through the remission of the penalty." New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, ed. by John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green, Paulist Press, 2000, p. 63 (commentary on canon 11).
9.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
10.Jump up ^ "Edward McNamara, "Denying Communion to Someone"". Zenit.org. 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
11.Jump up ^ "1983 Code of Canon Law, canon 915". Intratext.com. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
12.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §2". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
13.Jump up ^ "John Hardon, ''Modern Catholic Dictionary'' "Absolution from censure"". Catholicreference.net. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
14.Jump up ^ "Code of Canon Law, canon 1332". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
15.Jump up ^ Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 1431
16.Jump up ^ Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 1434
17.Jump up ^ "NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
18.Jump up ^ "Risen Savior Lutheran Church, Orlando, FL — Constitution". Lutheransonline.com. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
19.Jump up ^ http://www.dakotavoice.com/200508/20050816_5.asp
20.Jump up ^ "Canon B 38" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
21.Jump up ^ Westminster Confession of Faith, xxx.4.
22.Jump up ^ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV.12.10.
23.Jump up ^ Jay E. Adams, Handbook of Church Discipline (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 74.
24.Jump up ^ The procedure followed by a church disciplinary council is described in church handbooks and the Doctrine and Covenants 102:9-18
25.Jump up ^ Burton, Theodore M. (May 1983). "To Forgive is Divine". Ensign: 70.
26.Jump up ^ "BYU Professor Under Fire for Violent Book", Sunstone, August 1995.
27.Jump up ^ Evenson wrote: "I had a strong defense for my position [in writing fiction], but as I met with administrators, including [BYU] President Rex Lee and Provost (now General Authority) Bruce Hafen, it became clear that they weren't interested in hearing why I was writing; they were interested in getting me to stop writing." Evenson, Brian. "When Religion Encourages Abuse: Writing Father of Lies." First published in The Event, 8 October 1998, p. 5., accessed 15 November 2012
28.Jump up ^ "Report: Academic Freedom and Tenure: Brigham Young University", Academe, September–October 1997
29.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower (Watch Tower Society): 26. 15 April 1988.
30.^ Jump up to: a b "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3–4. August 2002.
31.^ Jump up to: a b The Watchtower: 21–25. January 15, 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
32.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 7/11
33.Jump up ^ Hart, Benjamin (28 September 2011). "Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'". Huffington Post.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
35.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. January 15, 1982. "It would be best if he did this in a brief letter to the elders, but even if he unequivocally states orally that he is renouncing his standing as a Witness, the elders can deal with the matter."
36.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses drop transfusion ban". "transfusions have been relegated to 'non-disfellowshipping events' ... If a member has a transfusion, they will, by their actions disassociate themselves from the religion."
37.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. October 15, 1986. ""the person no longer wants to have anything to do with Jehovah's people and is determined to remain in a false religion? They would then simply announce to the congregation that such one has disassociated himself and thus is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses."
38.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 31 title=Questions From Readers. January 15, 1982. "The second situation involves a person who renounces his standing in the congregation by joining a secular organization whose purpose is contrary to counsel such as that found at Isaiah 2:4, … neither will they learn war anymore." Missing or empty |title= (help)
39.Jump up ^ "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped". Our Kingdom Ministry: 3. August 2002.
40.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower: 27. April 15, 1988.
41.Jump up ^ "A Step on the Way Back". The Watchtower: 31. August 15, 1992.
42.Jump up ^ "Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline". The Watchtower: 27–28. November 15, 2006.
43.Jump up ^ "Imitate God’s Mercy Today". The Watchtower: 21. April 15, 1991.
44.Jump up ^ Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock. Watch Tower Society. p. 129.
45.Jump up ^ "Question Box". Our Kingdom Ministry (Watch Tower Society). December 1974.
46.Jump up ^ "Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked". The Watchtower: 29. January 1, 1997. "For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation."
47.Jump up ^ In fact, the earliest use of the term in their literature refers to the disfellowship of their founder, John Thomas, by Alexander Campbell: The Christadelphian 10:103 (January 1873). 32.
48.Jump up ^ A distinction can be detected between these three reasons in that which of the three applies is usually made clear in the notice which the ecclesia will post in the Ecclesial News section of The Christadelphian. This is since one purpose is to make other ecclesias aware lest the member try to circumvent the suspension by simply going to another ecclesia. See "Christadelphians, fellowship" in Bryan R. Wilson, Sects and Society, University of California, 1961
49.Jump up ^ The expected practice is to discuss first with 2 or 3 witnesses, as per Matt.18:15-20. See Wilson, op.cit.
50.Jump up ^ Roberts, Robert (1883). "A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias". Birmingham.
51.Jump up ^ See discussion of 1Co.5 in Ashton, M. The challenge of Corinthians, Birmingham, 2006; previously serialised in The Christadelphian 2002-2003
52.Jump up ^ The term "withdraw from" is frequently found as a synonym for "disfellowship" in older Christadelphian ecclesial news entries, but this usage is less common today since it is now more widely realised that the term "withdraw from" in 2Th.3:6, 1Tim.6:5 is not describing the full "turn over to Satan" 1Co5:5,1Tim.1:20. See Booker G. 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Nicholls A.H.Letters to Timothy and Titus, Birmingham
53.Jump up ^ Generally Christadelphians do not consider remarriage as adultery, but adultery is often at the root of a marriage breakup. See Reflections on Marriage and Divorce, The Christadelphian, Birmingham.
54.Jump up ^ Carter, J. Marriage and Divorce, CMPA Birmingham 1955
55.Jump up ^ e.g. News from the Ecclesias, in The Christadelphian, in a typical year (Jan.-Dec. 2006) contained only two suspensions for doctrinal reasons in the UK, both indicating that the member had already left of his/her own choice.
56.Jump up ^ Christadelphians interpret the "epitimia of the majority" 2Co.2:6 in different ways; some consider it the majority of all members, some the majority of elders. See Whittaker H.A., Second Corinthians, Biblia
57.Jump up ^ An exception noted in Roberts' Ecclesial Guide is where the original meeting is known for having a position out of step with other ecclesias. In practice however such cases are extremely unusual and the attempt to refellowship another ecclesia's member when the original ecclesia considers that they have not "mended their ways" may cause an interecclesial breach. The original ecclesia may notify the Christadelphian Magazine that the third party ecclesia is interfering in their own discipline of their own member, and news of refellowship will be blocked from News From the Ecclesias, and consequently the community as a whole will not recognise the refellowship. See Booker, G. Biblical Fellowship Biblia, Perry, A. Fellowship Matters Willow Books.
58.Jump up ^ "Free Quaker Meeting House". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Independence Hall Association.
59.^ Jump up to: a b Blood-Paterson, Peter (1998). "Holy Obedience: Corporate Discipline and Individual Leading". New York Yearly Meeting.
60.^ Jump up to: a b Mayer, Milton Sanford (1975). The Nature of the Beast. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 310–315. ISBN 978-0-87023-176-6.
61.Jump up ^ Outcaste, Encyclopædia Britannica
62.Jump up ^ "Imprisoned for life", The Hindu (Chennai, India), 9 January 2011
63.Jump up ^ The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. 2004. p. 172. ISBN 0-691-12048-X.
64.Jump up ^ Raymond Brady Williams (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65422-X. Retrieved 26 March 2011. Page 54
References[edit]
Encyclopedia of American Religions, by J. Gordon Melton ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
Ludlow, Daniel H. ed, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Macmillan Publishing, 1992.
Esau, Alvin J., "The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes", Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.
Gruter, Margaret, and Masters Roger, Ostracism: A Social and Biological Phenomenon, (Amish) Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights, Gruter Institute, 1984.
Beck, Martha N., Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, Crown, 2005.
Stammer, Larry B., "Mormon Author Says He's Facing Excommunication", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA.: 9 December 2004. pg. A.34.
D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Address Abuse", Herizons, 3/1/93.
Anonymous, "Atlanta Mennonite congregation penalized over gays", The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA: 2 January 1999. pg. F.01.
Garrett, Ottie, Garrett Irene, True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated, Shunned, Horse Cave KY: Nue Leben, Inc., 1998.
Garret, Ruth, Farrant Rick, Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Hostetler, John A. (1993), Amish Society, The Johns Hopkins University Pres: Baltimore.
MacMaster, Richard K. (1985), Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America 1683-1790, Herald Press: Kitchener & Scottdale.
Scott, Stephen (1996), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
Juhnke, James, Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite Identity and Organization in America, 1890–1930, (The Mennonite Experience in America #3), Scottdale, PA, Herald Press, Pp 393, 1989.
External links[edit]
Excommunication, the Ban, Church Discipline and Avoidance (from Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online)
Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights (Amish)
Catholic Encyclopaedia on excommunication
The two sides of excommunication
Episcopal Church of America excommunication
Jehovah's Witnesses press release regarding expulsion of child molesters
  


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Apostasy
Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
Buddhist practices
Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
Catholic theology and doctrine
Christian behaviour and experience
Christian terminology
Disengagement from religion
Eastern Orthodoxy
Heresy in Judaism
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Shunning

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Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rules. It differs from, but may be associated with, excommunication.
Social rejection occurs when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all members of the group as a form of solidarity. It is a sanction against association, often associated with religious groups and other tightly knit organizations and communities. Targets of shunning can include persons who have been labeled as apostates, whistleblowers, dissidents, strikebreakers, or anyone the group perceives as a threat or source of conflict. Social rejection has been established to cause psychological damage and has been categorized as torture.[1] Mental rejection is a more individual action, where a person subconsciously or willfully ignores an idea, or a set of information related to a particular viewpoint. Some groups are made up of people who shun the same ideas.[2]
Social rejection was and is a punishment used by many customary legal systems. Such sanctions include the ostracism of ancient Athens and the still-used kasepekang in Balinese society.


Contents  [hide]
1 Overview 1.1 Stealth shunning
1.2 Effects
1.3 Civil rights implications
2 In religion 2.1 Christianity 2.1.1 Catholicism
2.1.2 Anabaptism
2.1.3 Jehovah's Witnesses
2.2 Judaism
2.3 Bahá'í faith
2.4 Church of Scientology
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

Overview[edit]


 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)
Shunning can be broken down into behaviours and practices that seek to accomplish either or both of two primary goals.
1.To modify the behaviour of a member. This approach seeks to influence, encourage, or coerce normative behaviours from members, and may seek to dissuade, provide disincentives for, or to compel avoidance of certain behaviours. Shunning may include disassociating from a member by other members of the community who are in good standing. It may include more antagonistic psychological behaviours (described below). This approach may be seen as either corrective or punitive (or both) by the group membership or leadership, and may also be intended as a deterrent.
2.To remove or limit the influence of a member (or former member) over other members in a community. This approach may seek to isolate, to discredit, or otherwise dis-empower such a member, often in the context of actions or positions advocated by that member. For groups with defined membership criteria, especially based on key behaviours or ideological precepts, this approach may be seen as limiting damage to the community or its leadership. This is often paired with some form of excommunication.
Some less often practiced variants may seek to:
Remove a specific member from general external influence to provide an ideological or psychological buffer against external views or behaviour. The amount can vary from severing ties to opponents of the group up to and including severing all non-group-affiliated intercourse.
Shunning is usually approved of (if sometimes with regret) by the group engaging in the shunning, and usually highly disapproved of by the target of the shunning, resulting in a polarization of views. Those subject to the practice respond differently, usually depending both on the circumstances of the event, and the nature of the practices being applied. Extreme forms of shunning have damaged some individuals' psychological and relational health. Responses to the practice have developed, mostly around anti-shunning advocacy; such advocates highlight the detrimental effects of many of such behaviors, and seek to limit the practice through pressure or law. Such groups often operate supportive organizations or institutions to help victims of shunning to recover from damaging effects, and sometimes to attack the organizations practicing shunning, as a part of their advocacy.
In many civil societies, kinds of shunning are practiced de facto or de jure, to coerce or avert behaviours or associations deemed unhealthy. This can include:
restraining orders or peace bonds (to avoid abusive relationships)
court injunctions to disassociate (to avoid criminal association or temptation)
medical or psychological instructing to avoid associating (to avoid hazardous relations, i.e. alcoholics being instructed to avoid friendship with non-recovering alcoholics, or asthmatics being medically instructed to keep to smoke-free environs)
using background checks to avoid hiring people who have criminal records (to avoid association with felons, even when the crimes have nothing to do with the job description)
Stealth shunning[edit]
Stealth shunning is a practice where a person or an action is silently banned. When a person is silently banned, the group they have been banned from doesn't interact with them. This can be done by secretly announcing the policy to all except the banned individual, or it can happen informally when all people in a group or email list each conclude that they do not want to interact with the person. When an action is silently banned, requests for that action are either ignored or turned down with faked explanations.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Effects[edit]
Shunning is often used as a pejorative term to describe any organizationally mandated disassociation, and has acquired a connotation of abuse and relational aggression. This is due to the sometimes extreme damage caused by its disruption to normal relationships between individuals, such as friendships and family relations. Disruption of established relationships certainly causes pain, which is at least an unintended consequence of the practices described here, though it may also in many cases be an intended, coercive consequence. This pain, especially when seen as unjustly inflicted, can have secondary general psychological effects on self-worth and self-confidence, trust and trustworthiness, and can, as with other types of trauma, impair psychological function.
Shunning often involves implicit or explicit shame for a member who commits acts seen as wrong by the group or its leadership. Such shame may not be psychologically damaging if the membership is voluntary and the rules of behavior were clear before the person joined. However, if the rules are arbitrary, if the group membership is seen as essential for personal security, safety, or health, or if the application of the rules is inconsistent, such shame can be highly destructive. This can be especially damaging if perceptions are attacked or controlled, or various tools of psychological pressure applied. Extremes of this cross over the line into psychological torture and can be permanently scarring.
A key detrimental effect of some of the practices associated with shunning relate to their effect on relationships, especially family relationships. At its extremes, the practices may destroy marriages, break up families, and separate children and their parents. The effect of shunning can be very dramatic or even devastating on the shunned, as it can damage or destroy the shunned member's closest familial, spousal, social, emotional, and economic bonds.
Shunning contains aspects of what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause traumas to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.
Shunning is also a mechanism in family estrangement. When an adult child, sibling, or parent physically and/or emotionally cuts himself off from the family without adequate justification, the act traumatizes the family.[9]
Civil rights implications[edit]
Some aspects of shunning may also be seen as being at odds with civil rights or human rights, especially those behaviours that coerce and attack. When a group seeks to have an effect through such practices outside its own membership, for instance when a group seeks to cause financial harm through isolation and disassociation, they can come at odds with their surrounding civil society, if such a society enshrines rights such as freedom of association, conscience, or belief. Many civil societies do not extend such protections to the internal operations of communities or organizations so long as an ex-member has the same rights, prerogatives, and power as any other member of the civil society.
In cases where a group or religion is state-sanctioned, a key power, or in the majority (e.g. in Singapore), a shunned former member may face severe social, political, and/or financial costs.
In religion[edit]
Christianity[edit]

Ambox question.svg
 This article or section possibly contains previously unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (December 2010)
Passages in the New Testament, such as 1 Corinthians 5:11-13. and Matthew 18:15–17, suggest shunning as an internal practice of early Christians and are cited as such by its modern-day practitioners within Christianity. However, not all Christian scholars or denominations agree on this interpretation of these verses.
Catholicism[edit]
Prior to the Code of Canon Law of 1983[citation needed], the Catholic Church expected in rare cases (known as excommunication vitandi) the faithful to shun an excommunicated member in secular matters.[10] In 1983, the distinction between vitandi and others (tolerandi) was abolished, and thus the expectation is not made any more[citation needed].
Anabaptism[edit]


 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
Shunning occurs in Old Order Amish and some Mennonite churches.[citation needed]
Shunning is only practiced against persons who joined the church through adult baptism. Family members who never joined the church are not shunned. Upon taking instruction classes, each applicant must make a confession to uphold shunning of all excommunicated adult members, and also submit to being shunned if they are excommunicated. The stated intention is not to punish, but to be used in love to win the member back by showing them their error. (Ref Johns Hopkins Press, below). When a member is excommunicated, shunning continues until the individual's death unless he repents. Repentance is always possible, even after very severe sins or crimes, even murder.
Shunning can be particularly painful for the shunned individuals in these denominations, which are generally very close-knit, as the shunned person in extreme cases may have no significant social contact with anyone other than those in their denomination.
The Amish call shunning Meidung, the German word for avoidance. Shunning was a key issue of disagreement in the Amish-Mennonite split. Former Amish Ruth Irene Garrett provides an account of Amish shunning in her community from perspective of shunned individuals in Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life. Amish shunning is also the subject of popular fiction novels. Different Amish communities vary in the severity and strictness of shunning employed.
The Mennonite ban does not usually involve shunning, but excommunicated members are banned from participation in communion. A few Mennonite groups do practice shunning, or have in the past. Mainstream and progressive Mennonites either do not shun, or employ less extreme forms of shunning. Some very conservative Mennonite churches use shunning to exclude excommunicated members like the Amish.
Historically, the acceptance of this practice as a form of communal discipline dates to a meeting of Anabaptist leaders in February 1527, just two years after they broke away from away from Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich. Article 2 of their Schleitheim Confession says:
The ban shall be employed with all those who have given themselves over to the Lord, to walk after [Him] in His commandments; those who have been baptized into the one body of Christ, and let themselves be called brothers or sisters, and still somehow slip and fall into error and sin, being inadvertently overtaken. The same [shall] be warned twice privately and the third time be publicly admonished before the entire congregation according to the command of Christ (Matthew 18). But this shall be done according to the ordering of the Spirit of God before the breaking of bread. so that we may all in one spirit and in one love break and eat from one bread and drink from one cup. [11]
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses practices § Discipline
Jehovah's Witnesses practise a form of shunning which they refer to as "disfellowshipping".[12] A disfellowshipped person is not to be greeted either socially or at their meetings. Disfellowshipping follows a decision of a judicial committee established by a local congregation that a member is unrepentantly guilty of a "serious sin", including "fornication, adultery, homosexuality, greed, extortion, thievery, lying, drunkenness, reviling, spiritism, murder, idolatry, apostasy, and the causing of divisions in the congregation".[13] Watch Tower publications cite sexual immorality as the most common reason for disfellowshipping.[14][15]
The Watch Tower Society directs that those who voluntarily renounce membership of the religion ("disassociation") are also to be shunned.[16][17] The organization cites their interpretation of various passages in the Bible, such as 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, and 2 John 10-11 to support their practice of shunning. Total shunning is practiced, even by immediate family members against the disfellowshipped. Parents are still expected to give Bible instruction to a disfellowshipped minor.[18][19] Contact with family members not living in the family home is to be kept to a minimum.[20] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims his research indicated many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings retain affiliation out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[21]
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Herem (censure)
Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. It is still used in the Ultra-Orthodox and Chassidic community. In the 21st century, sexual abuse victims and their families who have reported abuse to civil authorities have experienced shunning in the Orthodox communities of New York[22] and Australia.[23]
Bahá'í faith[edit]
Main article: Covenant breaker
Members of the Bahá'í Faith are expected to shun those that have been declared Covenant-breakers, and expelled from the religion,[24] by the head of their faith.[25] Covenant-breakers are defined as leaders of schismatic groups that resulted from challenges to legitimacy of Bahá'í leadership, as well as those who follow or refuse to shun them.[25] Unity is considered the highest value in the Bahá'í Faith, and any attempt at schism by a Bahá'í is considered a spiritual sickness, and a negation of that for which the religion stands.[25]
Church of Scientology[edit]
For more details on this topic, see Disconnection.
The Church of Scientology asks its members to quit all communication with Suppressive Persons (those whom the Church deems antagonistic to Scientology). The practice of shunning in Scientology is termed disconnection. Members can disconnect from any person they already know, including existing family members. Many examples of this policy's application have been established in court.[26][27][28] It used to be customary to write a "disconnection letter" to the person being disconnected from, and to write a public disconnection notice, but these practices have not continued.[29][30] The Church states that typically only people with "false data" about Scientology are antagonistic, so it encourages members to first attempt to provide "true data" to these people. According to official Church statements, disconnection is only used as a last resort and only lasts until the antagonism ceases.[31] Failure to disconnect from a Suppressive Person is itself labelled a Suppressive act.[32] In the United States, the Church has tried to argue in court that disconnection is a constitutionally protected religious practice. However, this argument was rejected because the pressure put on individual Scientologists to disconnect means it is not voluntary.[33]
See also[edit]
Al Wala' Wal Bara': Islamic concept of friendship toward fellow Muslims, and distance from non-Muslims.
Anathema
Apostasy in Islam
Blacklisting
Criminalization
Disconnection
Excommunication: An often related practice of community expulsion.
Marginalization
Parental alienation
Passive-aggressive behaviour
Persona non grata
Mark and Avoid: A practice of The Way International
Silent treatment
Social rejection
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Ojeda, Almerindo (September 30, 2006). "What is Psychological Torture?" (PDF). humanrights.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
2.Jump up ^ "Flat Earth Society". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
3.Jump up ^ "now-letter-writing-stealth-ban-correction". www.indiadivine.org. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
4.Jump up ^ "Minecraft: McSharp Server; Ranks". www.minecraftwiki.net. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
5.Jump up ^ "Re: PZ Stealth Ban Request". www.noobonicplague.com. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
6.Jump up ^ "stealth-ban". www.indiadivine.org. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ "Tactic: Stealth Ban". www.flamewarriors.com. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ "How do you know if your Reddit account has been stealth banned?". www.codeunit.co.za. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
9.Jump up ^ Agllias, Kylie. (Sep 2013). Family Estrangement. Encyclopedia of Social Work. Subject: Couples and Families, Aging and Older Adults, Children and Adolescents. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.919
10.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, Entry Excommunication, read on April 23, 2010
11.Jump up ^ http://www.anabaptistwiki.org/mediawiki/index.php/Schleitheim_Confession_(source)#We_have_been_united_as_follows_concerning_the_ban
12.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site. Archived from the original on 7 December 2007.
13.Jump up ^ "Expelling". Insight on the Scriptures, volume 1. p. 788.
14.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 103
15.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1993, page 8
16.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.
17.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, July 1, 1984, page 31.
18.Jump up ^ “Helping Others to Worship God”, The Watchtower, Nov 15 1988, p.20.
19.Jump up ^ “When a Minor Is Disfellowshipped”, The Watchtower, Oct. 1 2001, p.16. par. 12
20.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit", The Watchtower, April 15, 1988, p. 28.
21.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 250–270. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
22.Jump up ^ Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse The New York Times, 9 May 2012
23.Jump up ^ Rabbis' absolute power: how sex abuse tore apart Australia's Orthodox Jewish community The Guardian, 18 February 2015
24.Jump up ^ Van den Hoonaard, Willy Carl (1996). The origins of the Bahá'í community of Canada, 1898-1948. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-88920-272-9.
25.^ Jump up to: a b c Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. pp. 114–116. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
26.Jump up ^ Judgement of Mr Justice Latey, Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody) Delivered in the High Court (Family Division), London, 23 July 1984
27.Jump up ^ "Judge brands Scientology 'sinister' as mother is given custody of children". The Times. 24 July 1984. p. 3.
28.Jump up ^ "News and Notes: Scientology Libel Action". British Medical Journal 1 (5743): 297–298. 30 January 1971. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.5743.297. ISSN 0007-1447. PMC 1794922. PMID 5294085.
29.Jump up ^ Wallis, Roy (1976). The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology. London: Heinemann Educational Books. pp. 144–145. ISBN 0-435-82916-5. OCLC 310565311.
30.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (23 December 1965) HCO Policy Letter "Suppressive Acts" reproduced in Powles, Sir Guy Richardson; E. V. Dumbleton (30 June 1969). Hubbard Scientology Organisation in New Zealand and any associated Scientology organisation or bodies in New Zealand; report of the Commission of Inquiry. Wellington. pp. 53–54. OCLC 147661.
31.Jump up ^ What is Disconnection? (Accessed 5/29/11)
32.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (2007). Introduction to Scientology Ethics (Latin American Spanish ed.). Bridge Publications. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4031-4684-7.
33.Jump up ^ California appellate court, 2nd district, 7th division, Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California, Civ. No. B023193 Cal. Super. (1986)
Scott, Stephen (1996), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
Encyclopedia of American Religions, by J. Gordon Melton ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
Friesen, Patrick, The Shunning (Mennonite fiction), 1980, ISBN 0-88801-038-9
Kraybill, Donald (2001), "On the Backroad to Heaven", Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland".
Further reading[edit]
McCowan, Karen, The Oregon Register-Guard, Cast Out: Religious Shunning Provides an Unusual Background in the Longo and Bryant Slayings, March 2, 2003.
D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Discuss Abuse", Herizons, March 1, 1993.
Esua, Alvin J., and Esau Alvin A.J., The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes, Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Ruth Irene Garret, Rick Farrant
Delivered Unto Satan (Mennonite), Robert L. Bear, 1974, (ASIN B0006CKXQI)
Children Held Hostage: Dealing with Programmed and Brainwashed Children, Stanley S. Clawar, Brynne Valerie Rivlin, 2003.
Deviance, Agency, and the Social Control of Women's Bodies in a Mennonite Community, Linda B. Arthur, NWSA Journal, v10.n2 (Summer 1998): pp75(25).
External links[edit]
Disfellowshipping amongst Jehovah's Witnesses
What Shall We Tell the Children
Spiritual Shunning
Article on "Avoidance"/Shunning in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
The Amish: Technology Practice and Technological Change, (see shunning)
Stress and Conflict in an International Religious Movement: The Case of the Bruderhof (Hutterite)
Ritual and the Social Meaning and Meaninglessness of Religion (Mennonite)
Rituals, Communication, and Social Systems: The Case of the Old Order Mennonites
  


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Disengagement from religion
Punishments in religion
Religious law
Social rejection











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Shunning

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Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rules. It differs from, but may be associated with, excommunication.
Social rejection occurs when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all members of the group as a form of solidarity. It is a sanction against association, often associated with religious groups and other tightly knit organizations and communities. Targets of shunning can include persons who have been labeled as apostates, whistleblowers, dissidents, strikebreakers, or anyone the group perceives as a threat or source of conflict. Social rejection has been established to cause psychological damage and has been categorized as torture.[1] Mental rejection is a more individual action, where a person subconsciously or willfully ignores an idea, or a set of information related to a particular viewpoint. Some groups are made up of people who shun the same ideas.[2]
Social rejection was and is a punishment used by many customary legal systems. Such sanctions include the ostracism of ancient Athens and the still-used kasepekang in Balinese society.


Contents  [hide]
1 Overview 1.1 Stealth shunning
1.2 Effects
1.3 Civil rights implications
2 In religion 2.1 Christianity 2.1.1 Catholicism
2.1.2 Anabaptism
2.1.3 Jehovah's Witnesses
2.2 Judaism
2.3 Bahá'í faith
2.4 Church of Scientology
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

Overview[edit]


 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)
Shunning can be broken down into behaviours and practices that seek to accomplish either or both of two primary goals.
1.To modify the behaviour of a member. This approach seeks to influence, encourage, or coerce normative behaviours from members, and may seek to dissuade, provide disincentives for, or to compel avoidance of certain behaviours. Shunning may include disassociating from a member by other members of the community who are in good standing. It may include more antagonistic psychological behaviours (described below). This approach may be seen as either corrective or punitive (or both) by the group membership or leadership, and may also be intended as a deterrent.
2.To remove or limit the influence of a member (or former member) over other members in a community. This approach may seek to isolate, to discredit, or otherwise dis-empower such a member, often in the context of actions or positions advocated by that member. For groups with defined membership criteria, especially based on key behaviours or ideological precepts, this approach may be seen as limiting damage to the community or its leadership. This is often paired with some form of excommunication.
Some less often practiced variants may seek to:
Remove a specific member from general external influence to provide an ideological or psychological buffer against external views or behaviour. The amount can vary from severing ties to opponents of the group up to and including severing all non-group-affiliated intercourse.
Shunning is usually approved of (if sometimes with regret) by the group engaging in the shunning, and usually highly disapproved of by the target of the shunning, resulting in a polarization of views. Those subject to the practice respond differently, usually depending both on the circumstances of the event, and the nature of the practices being applied. Extreme forms of shunning have damaged some individuals' psychological and relational health. Responses to the practice have developed, mostly around anti-shunning advocacy; such advocates highlight the detrimental effects of many of such behaviors, and seek to limit the practice through pressure or law. Such groups often operate supportive organizations or institutions to help victims of shunning to recover from damaging effects, and sometimes to attack the organizations practicing shunning, as a part of their advocacy.
In many civil societies, kinds of shunning are practiced de facto or de jure, to coerce or avert behaviours or associations deemed unhealthy. This can include:
restraining orders or peace bonds (to avoid abusive relationships)
court injunctions to disassociate (to avoid criminal association or temptation)
medical or psychological instructing to avoid associating (to avoid hazardous relations, i.e. alcoholics being instructed to avoid friendship with non-recovering alcoholics, or asthmatics being medically instructed to keep to smoke-free environs)
using background checks to avoid hiring people who have criminal records (to avoid association with felons, even when the crimes have nothing to do with the job description)
Stealth shunning[edit]
Stealth shunning is a practice where a person or an action is silently banned. When a person is silently banned, the group they have been banned from doesn't interact with them. This can be done by secretly announcing the policy to all except the banned individual, or it can happen informally when all people in a group or email list each conclude that they do not want to interact with the person. When an action is silently banned, requests for that action are either ignored or turned down with faked explanations.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Effects[edit]
Shunning is often used as a pejorative term to describe any organizationally mandated disassociation, and has acquired a connotation of abuse and relational aggression. This is due to the sometimes extreme damage caused by its disruption to normal relationships between individuals, such as friendships and family relations. Disruption of established relationships certainly causes pain, which is at least an unintended consequence of the practices described here, though it may also in many cases be an intended, coercive consequence. This pain, especially when seen as unjustly inflicted, can have secondary general psychological effects on self-worth and self-confidence, trust and trustworthiness, and can, as with other types of trauma, impair psychological function.
Shunning often involves implicit or explicit shame for a member who commits acts seen as wrong by the group or its leadership. Such shame may not be psychologically damaging if the membership is voluntary and the rules of behavior were clear before the person joined. However, if the rules are arbitrary, if the group membership is seen as essential for personal security, safety, or health, or if the application of the rules is inconsistent, such shame can be highly destructive. This can be especially damaging if perceptions are attacked or controlled, or various tools of psychological pressure applied. Extremes of this cross over the line into psychological torture and can be permanently scarring.
A key detrimental effect of some of the practices associated with shunning relate to their effect on relationships, especially family relationships. At its extremes, the practices may destroy marriages, break up families, and separate children and their parents. The effect of shunning can be very dramatic or even devastating on the shunned, as it can damage or destroy the shunned member's closest familial, spousal, social, emotional, and economic bonds.
Shunning contains aspects of what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause traumas to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.
Shunning is also a mechanism in family estrangement. When an adult child, sibling, or parent physically and/or emotionally cuts himself off from the family without adequate justification, the act traumatizes the family.[9]
Civil rights implications[edit]
Some aspects of shunning may also be seen as being at odds with civil rights or human rights, especially those behaviours that coerce and attack. When a group seeks to have an effect through such practices outside its own membership, for instance when a group seeks to cause financial harm through isolation and disassociation, they can come at odds with their surrounding civil society, if such a society enshrines rights such as freedom of association, conscience, or belief. Many civil societies do not extend such protections to the internal operations of communities or organizations so long as an ex-member has the same rights, prerogatives, and power as any other member of the civil society.
In cases where a group or religion is state-sanctioned, a key power, or in the majority (e.g. in Singapore), a shunned former member may face severe social, political, and/or financial costs.
In religion[edit]
Christianity[edit]

Ambox question.svg
 This article or section possibly contains previously unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (December 2010)
Passages in the New Testament, such as 1 Corinthians 5:11-13. and Matthew 18:15–17, suggest shunning as an internal practice of early Christians and are cited as such by its modern-day practitioners within Christianity. However, not all Christian scholars or denominations agree on this interpretation of these verses.
Catholicism[edit]
Prior to the Code of Canon Law of 1983[citation needed], the Catholic Church expected in rare cases (known as excommunication vitandi) the faithful to shun an excommunicated member in secular matters.[10] In 1983, the distinction between vitandi and others (tolerandi) was abolished, and thus the expectation is not made any more[citation needed].
Anabaptism[edit]


 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
Shunning occurs in Old Order Amish and some Mennonite churches.[citation needed]
Shunning is only practiced against persons who joined the church through adult baptism. Family members who never joined the church are not shunned. Upon taking instruction classes, each applicant must make a confession to uphold shunning of all excommunicated adult members, and also submit to being shunned if they are excommunicated. The stated intention is not to punish, but to be used in love to win the member back by showing them their error. (Ref Johns Hopkins Press, below). When a member is excommunicated, shunning continues until the individual's death unless he repents. Repentance is always possible, even after very severe sins or crimes, even murder.
Shunning can be particularly painful for the shunned individuals in these denominations, which are generally very close-knit, as the shunned person in extreme cases may have no significant social contact with anyone other than those in their denomination.
The Amish call shunning Meidung, the German word for avoidance. Shunning was a key issue of disagreement in the Amish-Mennonite split. Former Amish Ruth Irene Garrett provides an account of Amish shunning in her community from perspective of shunned individuals in Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life. Amish shunning is also the subject of popular fiction novels. Different Amish communities vary in the severity and strictness of shunning employed.
The Mennonite ban does not usually involve shunning, but excommunicated members are banned from participation in communion. A few Mennonite groups do practice shunning, or have in the past. Mainstream and progressive Mennonites either do not shun, or employ less extreme forms of shunning. Some very conservative Mennonite churches use shunning to exclude excommunicated members like the Amish.
Historically, the acceptance of this practice as a form of communal discipline dates to a meeting of Anabaptist leaders in February 1527, just two years after they broke away from away from Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich. Article 2 of their Schleitheim Confession says:
The ban shall be employed with all those who have given themselves over to the Lord, to walk after [Him] in His commandments; those who have been baptized into the one body of Christ, and let themselves be called brothers or sisters, and still somehow slip and fall into error and sin, being inadvertently overtaken. The same [shall] be warned twice privately and the third time be publicly admonished before the entire congregation according to the command of Christ (Matthew 18). But this shall be done according to the ordering of the Spirit of God before the breaking of bread. so that we may all in one spirit and in one love break and eat from one bread and drink from one cup. [11]
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses practices § Discipline
Jehovah's Witnesses practise a form of shunning which they refer to as "disfellowshipping".[12] A disfellowshipped person is not to be greeted either socially or at their meetings. Disfellowshipping follows a decision of a judicial committee established by a local congregation that a member is unrepentantly guilty of a "serious sin", including "fornication, adultery, homosexuality, greed, extortion, thievery, lying, drunkenness, reviling, spiritism, murder, idolatry, apostasy, and the causing of divisions in the congregation".[13] Watch Tower publications cite sexual immorality as the most common reason for disfellowshipping.[14][15]
The Watch Tower Society directs that those who voluntarily renounce membership of the religion ("disassociation") are also to be shunned.[16][17] The organization cites their interpretation of various passages in the Bible, such as 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, and 2 John 10-11 to support their practice of shunning. Total shunning is practiced, even by immediate family members against the disfellowshipped. Parents are still expected to give Bible instruction to a disfellowshipped minor.[18][19] Contact with family members not living in the family home is to be kept to a minimum.[20] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims his research indicated many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings retain affiliation out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[21]
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Herem (censure)
Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. It is still used in the Ultra-Orthodox and Chassidic community. In the 21st century, sexual abuse victims and their families who have reported abuse to civil authorities have experienced shunning in the Orthodox communities of New York[22] and Australia.[23]
Bahá'í faith[edit]
Main article: Covenant breaker
Members of the Bahá'í Faith are expected to shun those that have been declared Covenant-breakers, and expelled from the religion,[24] by the head of their faith.[25] Covenant-breakers are defined as leaders of schismatic groups that resulted from challenges to legitimacy of Bahá'í leadership, as well as those who follow or refuse to shun them.[25] Unity is considered the highest value in the Bahá'í Faith, and any attempt at schism by a Bahá'í is considered a spiritual sickness, and a negation of that for which the religion stands.[25]
Church of Scientology[edit]
For more details on this topic, see Disconnection.
The Church of Scientology asks its members to quit all communication with Suppressive Persons (those whom the Church deems antagonistic to Scientology). The practice of shunning in Scientology is termed disconnection. Members can disconnect from any person they already know, including existing family members. Many examples of this policy's application have been established in court.[26][27][28] It used to be customary to write a "disconnection letter" to the person being disconnected from, and to write a public disconnection notice, but these practices have not continued.[29][30] The Church states that typically only people with "false data" about Scientology are antagonistic, so it encourages members to first attempt to provide "true data" to these people. According to official Church statements, disconnection is only used as a last resort and only lasts until the antagonism ceases.[31] Failure to disconnect from a Suppressive Person is itself labelled a Suppressive act.[32] In the United States, the Church has tried to argue in court that disconnection is a constitutionally protected religious practice. However, this argument was rejected because the pressure put on individual Scientologists to disconnect means it is not voluntary.[33]
See also[edit]
Al Wala' Wal Bara': Islamic concept of friendship toward fellow Muslims, and distance from non-Muslims.
Anathema
Apostasy in Islam
Blacklisting
Criminalization
Disconnection
Excommunication: An often related practice of community expulsion.
Marginalization
Parental alienation
Passive-aggressive behaviour
Persona non grata
Mark and Avoid: A practice of The Way International
Silent treatment
Social rejection
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Ojeda, Almerindo (September 30, 2006). "What is Psychological Torture?" (PDF). humanrights.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
2.Jump up ^ "Flat Earth Society". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
3.Jump up ^ "now-letter-writing-stealth-ban-correction". www.indiadivine.org. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
4.Jump up ^ "Minecraft: McSharp Server; Ranks". www.minecraftwiki.net. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
5.Jump up ^ "Re: PZ Stealth Ban Request". www.noobonicplague.com. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
6.Jump up ^ "stealth-ban". www.indiadivine.org. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ "Tactic: Stealth Ban". www.flamewarriors.com. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ "How do you know if your Reddit account has been stealth banned?". www.codeunit.co.za. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
9.Jump up ^ Agllias, Kylie. (Sep 2013). Family Estrangement. Encyclopedia of Social Work. Subject: Couples and Families, Aging and Older Adults, Children and Adolescents. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.919
10.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, Entry Excommunication, read on April 23, 2010
11.Jump up ^ http://www.anabaptistwiki.org/mediawiki/index.php/Schleitheim_Confession_(source)#We_have_been_united_as_follows_concerning_the_ban
12.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site. Archived from the original on 7 December 2007.
13.Jump up ^ "Expelling". Insight on the Scriptures, volume 1. p. 788.
14.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 103
15.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1993, page 8
16.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.
17.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, July 1, 1984, page 31.
18.Jump up ^ “Helping Others to Worship God”, The Watchtower, Nov 15 1988, p.20.
19.Jump up ^ “When a Minor Is Disfellowshipped”, The Watchtower, Oct. 1 2001, p.16. par. 12
20.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit", The Watchtower, April 15, 1988, p. 28.
21.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 250–270. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
22.Jump up ^ Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse The New York Times, 9 May 2012
23.Jump up ^ Rabbis' absolute power: how sex abuse tore apart Australia's Orthodox Jewish community The Guardian, 18 February 2015
24.Jump up ^ Van den Hoonaard, Willy Carl (1996). The origins of the Bahá'í community of Canada, 1898-1948. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-88920-272-9.
25.^ Jump up to: a b c Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. pp. 114–116. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
26.Jump up ^ Judgement of Mr Justice Latey, Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody) Delivered in the High Court (Family Division), London, 23 July 1984
27.Jump up ^ "Judge brands Scientology 'sinister' as mother is given custody of children". The Times. 24 July 1984. p. 3.
28.Jump up ^ "News and Notes: Scientology Libel Action". British Medical Journal 1 (5743): 297–298. 30 January 1971. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.5743.297. ISSN 0007-1447. PMC 1794922. PMID 5294085.
29.Jump up ^ Wallis, Roy (1976). The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of Scientology. London: Heinemann Educational Books. pp. 144–145. ISBN 0-435-82916-5. OCLC 310565311.
30.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (23 December 1965) HCO Policy Letter "Suppressive Acts" reproduced in Powles, Sir Guy Richardson; E. V. Dumbleton (30 June 1969). Hubbard Scientology Organisation in New Zealand and any associated Scientology organisation or bodies in New Zealand; report of the Commission of Inquiry. Wellington. pp. 53–54. OCLC 147661.
31.Jump up ^ What is Disconnection? (Accessed 5/29/11)
32.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (2007). Introduction to Scientology Ethics (Latin American Spanish ed.). Bridge Publications. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4031-4684-7.
33.Jump up ^ California appellate court, 2nd district, 7th division, Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California, Civ. No. B023193 Cal. Super. (1986)
Scott, Stephen (1996), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
Encyclopedia of American Religions, by J. Gordon Melton ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
Friesen, Patrick, The Shunning (Mennonite fiction), 1980, ISBN 0-88801-038-9
Kraybill, Donald (2001), "On the Backroad to Heaven", Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland".
Further reading[edit]
McCowan, Karen, The Oregon Register-Guard, Cast Out: Religious Shunning Provides an Unusual Background in the Longo and Bryant Slayings, March 2, 2003.
D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Discuss Abuse", Herizons, March 1, 1993.
Esua, Alvin J., and Esau Alvin A.J., The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes, Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Ruth Irene Garret, Rick Farrant
Delivered Unto Satan (Mennonite), Robert L. Bear, 1974, (ASIN B0006CKXQI)
Children Held Hostage: Dealing with Programmed and Brainwashed Children, Stanley S. Clawar, Brynne Valerie Rivlin, 2003.
Deviance, Agency, and the Social Control of Women's Bodies in a Mennonite Community, Linda B. Arthur, NWSA Journal, v10.n2 (Summer 1998): pp75(25).
External links[edit]
Disfellowshipping amongst Jehovah's Witnesses
What Shall We Tell the Children
Spiritual Shunning
Article on "Avoidance"/Shunning in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
The Amish: Technology Practice and Technological Change, (see shunning)
Stress and Conflict in an International Religious Movement: The Case of the Bruderhof (Hutterite)
Ritual and the Social Meaning and Meaninglessness of Religion (Mennonite)
Rituals, Communication, and Social Systems: The Case of the Old Order Mennonites
  


Categories: Shunning
Disengagement from religion
Punishments in religion
Religious law
Social rejection











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Apostasy

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"Apostates" redirects here. For other uses, see Apostates (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Apostasy (disambiguation).
Apostasy (/əˈpɒstəsi/; Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia), "a defection or revolt") is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion contrary to one's previous beliefs.[1] One who commits apostasy (or who apostatizes) is known as an apostate. The term apostasy 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 occasionally also used metaphorically to refer to renunciation of a non-religious belief or cause, such as a political party, brain trust, or a sports team.
Apostasy is generally not a self-definition: very few former believers call themselves apostates because of the negative connotation of the term.
Many religious groups and some states punish apostates. Apostates may be shunned by the members of their former religious group[2] or subjected to formal or informal punishment. This may be the official policy of the religious group or may simply be the voluntary action of its members. Certain churches may in certain circumstances excommunicate the apostate, while some religious scriptures demand the death penalty for apostates. Examples of punishment by death for apostates can be found under the Sharia code of Islam.[3][4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Sociological definitions
2 International law
3 Where punished
4 Religious views 4.1 Baha'i
4.2 Christianity 4.2.1 Jehovah's Witnesses
4.3 Hinduism
4.4 Islam
4.5 Judaism
4.6 Sikhism
4.7 Other religious movements
5 Examples 5.1 Historical persons
5.2 Recent times
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Sociological definitions[edit]
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."[5][6]
The American sociologist David G. Bromley defined the apostate role as follows and distinguished it from the defector and whistleblower roles.[6]
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 is one which 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 one in which an organization member forms an alliance with an external regulatory unit through offering personal testimony concerning specific, contested organizational practices that is then used to sanction the organization. The narrative constructed jointly by the whistle blower and regulatory agency is one which 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."[7]
International law[edit]
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[8] 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.[9]
Where punished[edit]
See also: Use of capital punishment by nation
In 23 countries as of 2014, it was a criminal offense to abandon one's religion to become atheist, or convert to another religion.[10] All 23 of these countries were majority Islamic nations, of which 11 were in the Middle East. No country in the Americas or Europe has any law forbidding apostasy and restricting the freedom to convert to any religion. Furthermore, across the globe, no country with Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, agnostic or atheist majority had any criminal or civil laws forbidding or encouraging apostasy, or had laws restricting an individual's right to convert from one religion to another.[11][12][13][14]
The following nations treat apostasy under their criminal laws as of 2014:
Afghanistan – illegal (death penalty, although the U.S. and other coalition members have put pressure that has prevented recent executions)[15][16]
Algeria – While Algeria has no direct laws against apostasy, its laws indirectly cover it. Article 144(2) of Algerian code specifies a prison term to anyone who criticizes or insults the creed or prophets of Islam through writing, drawing, declaration, or any other means; further, Algerian law makes conversion from Islam and proselytizing by non-Muslims an offense punishable with fine and prison term.[10]
Brunei – per recently enacted Sharia law, Section 112(1) of the Brunei Penal Code states that a Muslim who declares himself non-Muslim commits a crime that is punishable with death, or with up to 30 year imprisonment, depending on the type of evidence. However, if the accused has recanted his conversion, he may be acquitted of the crime of apostasy.[10]
Comoros[17]
Egypt – illegal (3 years' imprisonment)[18]
Iran – illegal (death penalty)[18][19][20]
Iraq[17]
Jordan – possibly illegal (fine, jail, child custody loss, marriage annulment) although officials claim otherwise, convictions are recorded for apostasy[21][22][23]
Kuwait[17]
Malaysia – illegal in five of thirteen states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)[24][25]
Maldives[17]
Mauritania – illegal (death penalty if still apostate after 3 days)[26]
Morocco – not illegal, but official Islamic council decreed apostates should be put to death.[10] Illegal to proselytise for religions other than Islam (15 years' imprisonment)[27]
Nigeria[17]
Oman – illegal (prison) according to Article 209 of Oman penal code, and denies child custody rights under Article 32 of Personal Status Law[10]
Qatar – illegal (death penalty)[28]
Saudi Arabia – illegal (death penalty, although there have been no recently reported executions)[18][29]
Somalia – illegal (death penalty)[30]
Sudan – illegal (death penalty)[31]
Syria[17]
United Arab Emirates – illegal (3 years' imprisonment, flogging)[32]
Yemen – illegal (death penalty)[28]
A few Islamic majority nations, not in the above list, prosecute apostasy even though they do not have apostasy laws, and only have blasphemy laws. In these nations, there is no general agreement or legal code to define "blasphemy". The lack of definition and legal vagueness has been used to include apostasy as a form of blasphemy. For example, in Indonesia, apostasy is indirectly covered under 156(a) of the Penal Code and 1965 Presidential edict, the phrase used in the Blasphemy Law is penyalahgunaan dan/atau penodaan agama, meaning "to misuse or disgrace a religion". Persons accused of blasphemy have included murtad (apostate), kafir (non-Muslim/unbeliever), aliran sesat (deviant group), sesat (deviant), or aliran kepercayaan (mystical believers). Indonesia has invoked blasphemy laws to address crimes of riddah (apostasy); zandaqah (heresy); nifaq (hypocrisy); and kufr (unbelief). Islamic activists have demanded, and state prosecutors have proposed, punishments ranging from prison sentences to death for such crimes.[33][34][35]
Religious views[edit]
Baha'i[edit]
See also: Covenant-breaker and Freedom of religion in Iran
Both marginal and apostate Baha'is have existed in the Baha'i community[36] who are known as nāqeżīn.[37]
Muslims often regard adherents of the Bahá'í faith as apostates from Islam,[38] and there have been cases in some Muslim countries where Baha'is have been harassed and persecuted.[39]
Christianity[edit]
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 ...", though many believe that biblically this is impossible ('once saved, forever saved').[40] "Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."[41] The Greek noun apostasia (rebellion, abandonment, state of apostasy, defection)[42] is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).[43] However, "the concept of apostasy is found throughout Scripture."[44] 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."[45] These images are: Rebellion; Turning Away; Falling Away; Adultery.[46]
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)."[46]
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 relationship with God though disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods (Judges 2:19) and practicing their immorality (Daniel 9:9-11) ... Following the Lord or journeying with him is one of the chief images of faithfulness in the Scriptures ... The ... 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) ... 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."[46]
Falling away: "The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament ... 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) ... he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."[47]
Adultery: One of the most common images for apostasy in the Old Testament is adultery.[46] "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) ... 'Your children have forsaken me and sworn by god 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 graphically name 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 ... which have lusted after their idols' (Ezekiel 6:9)."[46]
Speaking with specific regard to apostasy in Christianity, Michael Fink writes:

Apostasy is certainly a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated.[48] 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 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.[49]
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs § Apostasy
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of shunning which they refer to as "disfellowshipping".[50] If a person baptized as a Jehovah's Witness later leaves the organization because they disagree with the religion's teachings, the person is shunned, and labeled by the organization as an "apostate".[51][51] Watch Tower Society literature describes apostates as "mentally diseased".[52][53]
Hinduism[edit]
There is no concept of heresy or apostasy in Hinduism. Hinduism grants absolute freedom for an individual to leave or choose his or her faith; on the Path of God. Hindus believe all sincere faiths ultimately lead to the same God.[54]
Islam[edit]
Main articles: Apostasy in Islam and Takfir



 A ruling by Al-Azhar, the Egyptian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and chief centre of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world.[55] The case examined an Egyptian Muslim man marrying a German Christian woman, and then the man converting to Christianity. Al-Azhar ruled that the man committed the crime of apostasy, he should be given a chance to repent and return to Islam, and if he refuses he must be killed. Al-Azhar issued the same sentence for his children once they reach the age of puberty, in this September 1978 ruling.
In Islamic literature, apostasy is called irtidād or ridda; an apostate is called murtadd, which literally means 'one who turns back' from Islam.[56] 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 proscribed by Qur'an 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.[57][58][59] 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.[60][61][62]
There are multiple verses in Qur'an that condemn apostasy,[63] and multiple Hadiths include statements that support the death penalty for apostasy.[64]
The concept and crime of Apostasy has been extensively covered in Islamic literature since 7th century.[65] A person is considered apostate if he or she converts from Islam to another religion.[66] A person is an apostate even if he or she believes in most of Islam, but verbally or in writing denies of one or more principles or precepts of Islam. For example, if a Muslim declares that the universe has always existed, he or she is an apostate; similarly, a Muslim who doubts the existence of Allah, enters a church or temple, makes offerings to and worships an idol or stupa or any image of God, celebrates festivals of non-Muslim religion, helps build a church or temple, confesses a belief in rebirth or incarnation of God, disrespects Qur'an or Islam's Prophet are all individually sufficient evidence of apostasy.[67][68][69]
The Islamic law on apostasy and the punishment is considered by many Muslims to be one of the immutable laws under Islam.[70] It is a hudud crime,[71][72] which means it is a crime against God,[73] and the punishment has been fixed by God. The punishment for apostasy includes[74] 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.[65][75][76]
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 females life imprisonment.[77][78]
According to the Ahmadi Muslim sect, there is no punishment for apostasy, neither in the Qur'an nor as taught by the founder of Islam, Muhammad.[79] This position of the Ahmadi sect is not widely accepted in other sects of Islam, and the Ahmadi sect acknowledges that major sects have a different interpretation and definition of apostasy in Islam.[80] Ulama of major sects of Islam consider the Ahmadi Muslim sect as kafirs (infidels)[81] and apostates.[82][83]
Today, apostasy is a crime in 23 out 49 Muslim majority countries; in many other Muslim nations such as Indonesia and Morocco, apostasy is indirectly covered by other laws.[10][84] It is subject in some countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, to the death penalty, although executions for apostasy are rare. Apostasy is legal in secular Muslim countries such as Turkey.[85] In numerous Islamic majority countries, many individuals have been arrested and punished for the crime of apostasy without any associated capital crimes.[86][87][88][17] In a 2013 report based on an international survey of religious attitudes, more than 50% of the Muslim population in 6 Islamic countries supported the death penalty for any Muslim who leaves Islam (apostasy).[89][90] A similar survey of the Muslim population in the United Kingdom, in 2007, found nearly a third of 16 to 24-year-old faithfuls believed that Muslims who convert to another religion should be executed, while less than a fifth of those over 55 believed the same.[91]
Muslim historians recognize 632 AD as the year when the first regional apostasy from Islam emerged, immediately after the death of Muhammed.[92] The civil wars that followed are now called Riddah wars (Wars of Islamic Apostasy), with the massacre at Battle of Karbala holding a special place for Shia Muslims.
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Apostasy in Judaism
See also: yetzia bish'eila



Mattathias killing a Jewish apostate
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[93]
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, which occurred under duress and threats of torture and forced expulsion. 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,[94][95] 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, Judaism does not follow the Torah's prescription on this point: there is no punishment today for leaving Judaism, other than being excluded from participating in the rituals of the Jewish community, including leading worship, being called to the Torah and being buried in a Jewish cemetery.
Sikhism[edit]
Sikhism teaches that it is up to the individual to leave or choose his faith, on the Path of God. Each individual will ultimately find his/her path to truth/God and there is only one God for everyone and paths/religions could be different. Every human being is the Light of the Divine contained in a human form.[96]
Other religious movements[edit]
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".
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 deceit, he was recruited to a group that he now condemns.[97]
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 utilizes 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".[98]
One camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes David G. Bromley,[99][100] Daniel Carson Johnson,[101] Dr. Lonnie D. Kliever (1932–2004),[102] Gordon Melton,[103] and Bryan R. Wilson.[104] An opposing camp less critical of apostate narratives as a group includes Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi,[105] Dr. Phillip Charles Lucas,[106][107][108] Jean Duhaime,[109] Mark Dunlop,[110][111] Michael Langone,[112] and Benjamin Zablocki.[113]
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,[114] 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.[115] 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.[116] 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.
Massimo Introvigne in his Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates[117] defines three types of narratives constructed by apostates of new religious movements:
Type I narratives characterize the exit process as defection, in which the organization and the former member negotiate an exiting process aimed at minimizing the damage for both parties.
Type II narratives involve a minimal degree of negotiation between the exiting member, the organization they intend to leave, and the environment or society at large, implying that the ordinary apostate holds no strong feelings concerning his past experience in the group. They may make "comments on the organization's more negative features or shortcomings" while also recognizing that there was "something positive in the experience."
Type III narratives are characterized by the ex-member dramatically reversing their loyalties and becoming a professional enemy of the organization they have left. These apostates often join an oppositional coalition fighting the organization, often claiming victimization.
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.
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).[118]
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".[119]
According to F. Derks and psychologist of religion Jan van der Lans, there is no uniform 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.[120]
The report of the "Swedish Government's Commission on New Religious Movements" (1998) states that the great majority of members of new religious movements derive positive experiences from their subscription to ideas or doctrines which correspond to their personal needs, and that withdrawal from these movements is usually quite undramatic, as these people leave feeling enriched by a predominantly positive experience. Although the report describes that there are a small number of withdrawals that require support (100 out of 50,000+ people), the report did not recommend that any special resources be established for their rehabilitation, as these cases are very rare.[121]
Examples[edit]
Historical persons[edit]
Julian the Apostate, 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.
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, thus shifting his religious support from Calvinism to Arminianism.
Abraham ben Abraham, (Count Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki), a Polish nobleman of the Potocki family who is claimed to have converted to Judaism and was burned at the stake in 1749 because he had renounced Catholicism and had become an observant Jew.
Maria Monk, sometimes considered an apostate of the Catholic Church, though there is little evidence that she ever was a 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.
Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism, was considered both an apostate and heretic by the strict definition of apostasy according to the Catholic Church. Most Protestants would naturally disagree, calling him a liberator and revolutionary.
Recent times[edit]
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.[122]
In 2013, Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian blogger, was found guilty of apostasy by the high court, which has a penalty of death.[123]
In 2014, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag (aka 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.[124] 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.[31]
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, labelled an apostate by Theo van Gogh according to Ayaan Hirsi Ali[125]
Tasleema Nasreen from Bangladesh, the author of Lajja, has been declared apostate – "an apostate appointed by imperialist forces to vilify Islam" – by several fundamentalist clerics in Dhaka[126]
Younus Shaikh from Pakistan was sentenced to death for his remarks on Muhammad, considered blasphemous; but later on the judge ordered a re-trial.[127]
Brian Moore spoke strongly about the effect of the Catholic Church on life in Ireland.
See also[edit]
Heresy
Religious conversion
Forced conversion
Religious intolerance
Blasphemy
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ 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. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0002.748>. Trans. of "Apostasie," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 1. Paris, 1751.
2.Jump up ^ Muslim apostates cast out and at risk from faith and family, The Times, February 05, 2005
3.Jump up ^ [Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (1996): p. 352]
4.Jump up ^ [Shafi'i: Rawda al-talibin, 10.7, Hanafi: Ibn 'Abidin: Radd al-muhtar 3.287, Maliki: al-Dardir: al-Sharh al-saghir, 4.435, and Hanbali: al-Bahuti: Kashshaf al-qina', 6.170 (see The Struggle to Constitute and Sustain Productive Orders: Vincent Ostrom's Quest to Understand Human Affairs), Mark Sproule-Jones et al (2008), Lexington Books, ISBN 978-0739126288)]
5.Jump up ^ Lewis A. Coser The Age of the Informer Dissent:1249–54, 1954
6.^ Jump up to: 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
7.Jump up ^ 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
8.Jump up ^ Wikisource-logo.svg Article 18.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
9.Jump up ^ CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. 22., 1993
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Laws Criminalizing Apostasy Library of Congress (2014)
11.Jump up ^ Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life (September 2012), Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion''
12.Jump up ^ El-Awa, Mohamed S. Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Pub., 1981
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15.Jump up ^ BBC News, "Afghanistan treads religious tightrope", quote: "Others point out that no one has been executed for apostasy in Afghanistan even under the Taleban ... two Afghan editors accused of blasphemy both faced the death sentence, but one claimed asylum abroad and the other was freed after a short spell in jail."
16.Jump up ^ CNS news, "Plight of Christian Converts Highlights Absence of Religious Freedom in Afghanistan", quote: "A Christian convert from Islam named Abdul Rahman was sentenced to death in 2006 for apostasy, and only after the U.S. and other coalition members applied pressure on the Karzai government was he freed and allowed to leave the country."
17.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
18.^ Jump up to: a b c Ali Eteraz. "Supporting Islam's apostates". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
19.Jump up ^ The Telegraph, "Hanged for Being a Christian in Iran
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21.Jump up ^ http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/jordan/090922/jordanian-poet-trial-apostacy,
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26.Jump up ^ "MAURITANIA" (PDF). 14 June 2012. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
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28.^ Jump up to: a b "/news/archives/article.php". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
29.Jump up ^ CTV news, "'Apostasy' laws widespread in Muslim world", quote: "Islamic Shariah law considers conversion to any religion apostasy and most Muslim scholars agree the punishment is death. Saudi Arabia considers Shariah the law of the land, though there have been no reported cases of executions of converts from Islam in recent memory."
30.Jump up ^ "BBC NEWS - Africa - Somali executed for 'apostasy'". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
31.^ Jump up to: a b "Sudan woman faces death for apostasy". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
32.Jump up ^ "Crimes punishable by death in the UAE include…apostasy | Freedom Center Students". freedomcenterstudents.org. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
33.Jump up ^ Crouch, Melissa. "Shifting conceptions of state regulation of religion: the Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony." (2013)
34.Jump up ^ Peri Bearman, Wolfhart Heinrichs & Bernard Weiss, eds., The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shari'a (IB Taurus, 2008)
35.Jump up ^ Saeed, Abdullah, AMBIGUITIES OF APOSTASY AND THE REPRESSION OF MUSLIM DISSENT, The Review of Faith & International Affairs 9.2 (2011); pages 31–38
36.Jump up ^ Momen, Moojan (1 September 2007). "Marginality and apostasy in the Baha'i community". Religion 37 (3): 187–209. doi:10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008.
37.Jump up ^ Afshar, Iraj (August 18, 2011). "ĀYATĪ, ʿABD-AL-ḤOSAYN". Encyclopædia Iranica.
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40.Jump up ^ 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).
41.Jump up ^ 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).
42.Jump up ^ Walter Bauder, "Fall, Fall Away," The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), 3:606.
43.Jump up ^ 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).
44.Jump up ^ Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
45.Jump up ^ "Apostasy," 39.
46.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 39.
47.Jump up ^ 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).
48.Jump up ^ 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.
49.Jump up ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Apostasy," 87.
50.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower: 26. April 15, 1988. Archived from the original on 2007-12-07.
51.^ Jump up to: a b w06 1/15 pp. 21–25 - The Watchtower—2006
52.Jump up ^ Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p. 42–43
53.Jump up ^ Hart, Benjamin (28 September 2011). "Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'". Huffington Post.
54.Jump up ^ From the Editors of Hinduism Today (2007). What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith. Himalayan Academy Publications. pp. 416 pages.(see page XX and 136). ISBN 978-1-934145-00-5.
55.Jump up ^ Al-Azhar, Encyclopaedia Britannica
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60.Jump up ^ Mousavian, S. A. A. (2005). A DISCUSSION ON THE APOSTATE'S REPENTANCE IN SHI'A JURISPRUDENCE. Modarres Human Sciences, 8, TOME 37, pages 187–210, Mofid University (Iran).
61.Jump up ^ Advanced Islamic English dictionary Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Fitri Murtad
62.Jump up ^ Advanced Islamic English dictionary Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Milli Murtad
63.Jump up ^ See chapters 3, 9 and 16 of Qur'an; e.g. [Quran 3:90] * [Quran 9:66] * [Quran 16:88]
64.Jump up ^ See Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:260 * Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:83:17 * Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:89:271
65.^ Jump up to: a b Saeed, A., & Saeed, H. (Eds.). (2004). Freedom of religion, apostasy and Islam. Ashgate Publishing; ISBN 0-7546-3083-8
66.Jump up ^ 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
67.Jump up ^ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8; see page 48, 108-109, 118
68.Jump up ^ Peters, R., & De Vries, G. J. (1976). Apostasy in Islam. Die Welt des Islams, 1-25.
69.Jump up ^ Warraq, I. (Ed.). (2003). Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out. Prometheus Books; ISBN 1-59102-068-9
70.Jump up ^ Arzt, Donna (1995). Heroes or heretics: Religious dissidents under Islamic law, Wis. Int'l Law Journal, 14, 349-445
71.Jump up ^ Mansour, A. A. (1982). Hudud Crimes (From Islamic Criminal Justice System, P 195–201, 1982, M Cherif Bassiouni, ed.-See NCJ-87479).
72.Jump up ^ Lippman, M. (1989). Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure: Religious Fundamentalism v. Modern Law. BC Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 12, pages 29, 263-269
73.Jump up ^ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8; see page 174
74.Jump up ^ Tamadonfar, M. (2001). Islam, law, and political control in contemporary Iran, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(2), 205-220.
75.Jump up ^ El-Awa, M. S. (1981), Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Pub; pages 49–68
76.Jump up ^ Forte, D. F. (1994). Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan. Conn. J. Int'l L., 10, 27.
77.Jump up ^ Ibn Warraq (2003), Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out, ISBN 978-1591020684, pp 1-27
78.Jump up ^ Schneider, I. (1995), Imprisonment in Pre-classical and Classical Islamic Law, Islamic Law and Society, 2(2): 157-173
79.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. ISBN 1-85372-850-0. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
80.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. pp. 18–25. ISBN 1-85372-850-0.
81.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. p. 8. ISBN 1-85372-850-0.
82.Jump up ^ 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
83.Jump up ^ Andrew March (2011), Apostasy: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199805969
84.Jump up ^ "Muslim-Majority Countries". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
85.Jump up ^ Zaki Badawi, M.A. (2003). "Islam". In Cookson, Catharine. Encyclopedia of religious freedom. New York: Routledge. pp. 204–8. ISBN 0-415-94181-4.
86.Jump up ^ "Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial - Human Rights Watch". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
87.Jump up ^ The Fate of Infidels and Apostates under Islam 2005
88.Jump up ^ Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam by Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (Mar 30, 2004), ISBN 978-0-7546-3083-8
89.Jump up ^ "Majorities of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan support the death penalty for leaving Islam". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
90.Jump up ^ The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society, April 30 2013
91.Jump up ^ Stephen Bates. "More young Muslims back sharia, says poll". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
92.Jump up ^ "riddah - Islamic history". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
93.Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 13:6–10
94.Jump up ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #16: "Kefira" in our Day from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
95.Jump up ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #17: Heresy V from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
96.Jump up ^ "Introduction to Sikhism | SikhNet". sikhnet.com. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
97.Jump up ^ Wilson, Bryan R. Apostates and New Religious Movements, Oxford, England, 1994
98.Jump up ^ Wright, Stuart, A., Exploring Factors that Shatpe the Apostate Role, in Bromley, David G., The Politics of Religious Apostasy, pp. 95–114, Praeger Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-275-95508-7
99.Jump up ^ Bromley David G. et al., The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil,
100.Jump up ^ 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
101.Jump up ^ 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.
102.Jump up ^ Kliever 1995 Kliever. Lonnie D, Ph.D. The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements, 1995.
103.Jump up ^ "Melton 1999"Melton, Gordon J., Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory, 1999.
104.Jump up ^ Wilson, Bryan R. (Ed.) The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism, Rose of Sharon Press, 1981.
105.Jump up ^ Beit-Hallahmi 1997 Beith-Hallahmi, Benjamin Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research, 1997.
106.Jump up ^ "< Lucas, Phillip Charles Ph.D. – Profile". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
107.Jump up ^ "Holy Order of MANS". Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
108.Jump up ^ 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
109.Jump up ^ 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
110.Jump up ^ "The Culture of Cults". ex-cult.org. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
111.Jump up ^ Dunlop 2001 The Culture of Cults
112.Jump up ^ The Two "Camps" of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue Langone, Michael, Cults and Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001
113.Jump up ^ 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.
114.Jump up ^ 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. p. 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."
115.Jump up ^ 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.
116.Jump up ^ 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.
117.Jump up ^ Introvigne 1997
118.Jump up ^ Burks, Ronald, Cognitive Impairment in Thought Reform Environments
119.Jump up ^ Hadden, J and Bromley, D eds. (1993), The Handbook of Cults and Sects in America. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, Inc., pp. 75–97.
120.Jump up ^ 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, 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 pages 58–75 published by the Free university Amsterdam (1983)
121.Jump up ^ Report of the Swedish Government's Commission on New Religious Movements (1998), 1.6 The need for support (Swedish), English translation
 The great majority of members of the new religious movements derive positive experience from their membership. They have subscribed to an idea or doctrine which corresponds to their personal needs. Membership is of limited duration in most cases. After two years, the majority have left the movement. This withdrawal is usually quite undramatic, and the people withdrawing feel enriched by a predominantly positive experience. The Commission does not recommend that special resources be established for the rehabilitation of withdraws. The cases are too few in number and the problem picture too manifold for this: each individual can be expected to need help from several different care providers or facilitators.
122.Jump up ^ Banks, Adelle M. (2011-09-28). "Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's potential execution rallies U.S. Christians". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-10-05. "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."
123.Jump up ^ Abdelaziz, Salma (2013-12-25). "Wife: Saudi blogger sentenced to death for apostasy". CNN (NYC).
124.Jump up ^ Sudanese woman convicted CNN (May 2014)
125.Jump up ^ 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." "
126.Jump up ^ Taslima's Pilgrimage Meredith Tax, from The Nation
127.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Rory (2001-08-20). "Blasphemy doctor faces death". The Guardian (London).
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further reading[edit]
Bromley, David G. 1988. Falling From the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Dunlop, Mark, The culture of Cults, 2001 [1]
Introvigne, Massimo Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates: A Quantitative Study of Former Members of New Acropolis in France – paper delivered at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, November 23, 1997 [2]
The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906). The Kopelman Foundation. [3]
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, 1995:229–41;
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
Wright, Stuart A. 1988. "Leaving New Religious Movements: Issues, Theory and Research," pp. 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. 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 autobiographiesBabinski, Edward (editor), Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists. Prometheus Books, 2003. ISBN 1-59102-217-7; 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 54e Paris Fixot (ex-Ordre du Temple Solaire who would be the 54th victim)
Kaufmann, Inside Scientology/Dianetics: How I Joined Dianetics/Scientology and Became Superhuman, 1995 [4]
Lavallée, G. 1994 L'alliance de la brebis. Rescapée de la secte de Moïse, Montréal: Club Québec Loisirs (ex-Roch Thériault)
Pignotti, Monica, My nine lives in Scientology, 1989, [5]
Wakefield, Margery, Testimony, 1996 [6]
Lawrence Woodcraft, Astra Woodcraft, Zoe Woodcraft, The Woodcraft Family, Video Interviews [7]
Writings by othersCarter, 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, pages 130–131, "Apostasy". ISBN 0-8010-3447-7
Malinoski, Peter, Thoughts on Conducting Research with Former Cult Members , Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001 [8]
Palmer, Susan J. Apostates and their Role in the Construction of Grievance Claims against the Northeast Kingdom/Messianic Communities [9]
Wilson, S.G., Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-8006-3675-9; 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[edit]
 Look up apostasy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Laws Criminalizing Apostasy, Library of Congress (overview of the apostasy laws of 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia)
  


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Disengagement from religion
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Apostasy

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"Apostates" redirects here. For other uses, see Apostates (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Apostasy (disambiguation).
Apostasy (/əˈpɒstəsi/; Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia), "a defection or revolt") is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion contrary to one's previous beliefs.[1] One who commits apostasy (or who apostatizes) is known as an apostate. The term apostasy 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 occasionally also used metaphorically to refer to renunciation of a non-religious belief or cause, such as a political party, brain trust, or a sports team.
Apostasy is generally not a self-definition: very few former believers call themselves apostates because of the negative connotation of the term.
Many religious groups and some states punish apostates. Apostates may be shunned by the members of their former religious group[2] or subjected to formal or informal punishment. This may be the official policy of the religious group or may simply be the voluntary action of its members. Certain churches may in certain circumstances excommunicate the apostate, while some religious scriptures demand the death penalty for apostates. Examples of punishment by death for apostates can be found under the Sharia code of Islam.[3][4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Sociological definitions
2 International law
3 Where punished
4 Religious views 4.1 Baha'i
4.2 Christianity 4.2.1 Jehovah's Witnesses
4.3 Hinduism
4.4 Islam
4.5 Judaism
4.6 Sikhism
4.7 Other religious movements
5 Examples 5.1 Historical persons
5.2 Recent times
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Sociological definitions[edit]
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."[5][6]
The American sociologist David G. Bromley defined the apostate role as follows and distinguished it from the defector and whistleblower roles.[6]
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 is one which 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 one in which an organization member forms an alliance with an external regulatory unit through offering personal testimony concerning specific, contested organizational practices that is then used to sanction the organization. The narrative constructed jointly by the whistle blower and regulatory agency is one which 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."[7]
International law[edit]
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[8] 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.[9]
Where punished[edit]
See also: Use of capital punishment by nation
In 23 countries as of 2014, it was a criminal offense to abandon one's religion to become atheist, or convert to another religion.[10] All 23 of these countries were majority Islamic nations, of which 11 were in the Middle East. No country in the Americas or Europe has any law forbidding apostasy and restricting the freedom to convert to any religion. Furthermore, across the globe, no country with Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, agnostic or atheist majority had any criminal or civil laws forbidding or encouraging apostasy, or had laws restricting an individual's right to convert from one religion to another.[11][12][13][14]
The following nations treat apostasy under their criminal laws as of 2014:
Afghanistan – illegal (death penalty, although the U.S. and other coalition members have put pressure that has prevented recent executions)[15][16]
Algeria – While Algeria has no direct laws against apostasy, its laws indirectly cover it. Article 144(2) of Algerian code specifies a prison term to anyone who criticizes or insults the creed or prophets of Islam through writing, drawing, declaration, or any other means; further, Algerian law makes conversion from Islam and proselytizing by non-Muslims an offense punishable with fine and prison term.[10]
Brunei – per recently enacted Sharia law, Section 112(1) of the Brunei Penal Code states that a Muslim who declares himself non-Muslim commits a crime that is punishable with death, or with up to 30 year imprisonment, depending on the type of evidence. However, if the accused has recanted his conversion, he may be acquitted of the crime of apostasy.[10]
Comoros[17]
Egypt – illegal (3 years' imprisonment)[18]
Iran – illegal (death penalty)[18][19][20]
Iraq[17]
Jordan – possibly illegal (fine, jail, child custody loss, marriage annulment) although officials claim otherwise, convictions are recorded for apostasy[21][22][23]
Kuwait[17]
Malaysia – illegal in five of thirteen states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)[24][25]
Maldives[17]
Mauritania – illegal (death penalty if still apostate after 3 days)[26]
Morocco – not illegal, but official Islamic council decreed apostates should be put to death.[10] Illegal to proselytise for religions other than Islam (15 years' imprisonment)[27]
Nigeria[17]
Oman – illegal (prison) according to Article 209 of Oman penal code, and denies child custody rights under Article 32 of Personal Status Law[10]
Qatar – illegal (death penalty)[28]
Saudi Arabia – illegal (death penalty, although there have been no recently reported executions)[18][29]
Somalia – illegal (death penalty)[30]
Sudan – illegal (death penalty)[31]
Syria[17]
United Arab Emirates – illegal (3 years' imprisonment, flogging)[32]
Yemen – illegal (death penalty)[28]
A few Islamic majority nations, not in the above list, prosecute apostasy even though they do not have apostasy laws, and only have blasphemy laws. In these nations, there is no general agreement or legal code to define "blasphemy". The lack of definition and legal vagueness has been used to include apostasy as a form of blasphemy. For example, in Indonesia, apostasy is indirectly covered under 156(a) of the Penal Code and 1965 Presidential edict, the phrase used in the Blasphemy Law is penyalahgunaan dan/atau penodaan agama, meaning "to misuse or disgrace a religion". Persons accused of blasphemy have included murtad (apostate), kafir (non-Muslim/unbeliever), aliran sesat (deviant group), sesat (deviant), or aliran kepercayaan (mystical believers). Indonesia has invoked blasphemy laws to address crimes of riddah (apostasy); zandaqah (heresy); nifaq (hypocrisy); and kufr (unbelief). Islamic activists have demanded, and state prosecutors have proposed, punishments ranging from prison sentences to death for such crimes.[33][34][35]
Religious views[edit]
Baha'i[edit]
See also: Covenant-breaker and Freedom of religion in Iran
Both marginal and apostate Baha'is have existed in the Baha'i community[36] who are known as nāqeżīn.[37]
Muslims often regard adherents of the Bahá'í faith as apostates from Islam,[38] and there have been cases in some Muslim countries where Baha'is have been harassed and persecuted.[39]
Christianity[edit]
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 ...", though many believe that biblically this is impossible ('once saved, forever saved').[40] "Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."[41] The Greek noun apostasia (rebellion, abandonment, state of apostasy, defection)[42] is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).[43] However, "the concept of apostasy is found throughout Scripture."[44] 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."[45] These images are: Rebellion; Turning Away; Falling Away; Adultery.[46]
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)."[46]
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 relationship with God though disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods (Judges 2:19) and practicing their immorality (Daniel 9:9-11) ... Following the Lord or journeying with him is one of the chief images of faithfulness in the Scriptures ... The ... 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) ... 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."[46]
Falling away: "The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament ... 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) ... he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."[47]
Adultery: One of the most common images for apostasy in the Old Testament is adultery.[46] "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) ... 'Your children have forsaken me and sworn by god 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 graphically name 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 ... which have lusted after their idols' (Ezekiel 6:9)."[46]
Speaking with specific regard to apostasy in Christianity, Michael Fink writes:

Apostasy is certainly a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated.[48] 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 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.[49]
Jehovah's Witnesses[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs § Apostasy
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of shunning which they refer to as "disfellowshipping".[50] If a person baptized as a Jehovah's Witness later leaves the organization because they disagree with the religion's teachings, the person is shunned, and labeled by the organization as an "apostate".[51][51] Watch Tower Society literature describes apostates as "mentally diseased".[52][53]
Hinduism[edit]
There is no concept of heresy or apostasy in Hinduism. Hinduism grants absolute freedom for an individual to leave or choose his or her faith; on the Path of God. Hindus believe all sincere faiths ultimately lead to the same God.[54]
Islam[edit]
Main articles: Apostasy in Islam and Takfir



 A ruling by Al-Azhar, the Egyptian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and chief centre of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world.[55] The case examined an Egyptian Muslim man marrying a German Christian woman, and then the man converting to Christianity. Al-Azhar ruled that the man committed the crime of apostasy, he should be given a chance to repent and return to Islam, and if he refuses he must be killed. Al-Azhar issued the same sentence for his children once they reach the age of puberty, in this September 1978 ruling.
In Islamic literature, apostasy is called irtidād or ridda; an apostate is called murtadd, which literally means 'one who turns back' from Islam.[56] 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 proscribed by Qur'an 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.[57][58][59] 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.[60][61][62]
There are multiple verses in Qur'an that condemn apostasy,[63] and multiple Hadiths include statements that support the death penalty for apostasy.[64]
The concept and crime of Apostasy has been extensively covered in Islamic literature since 7th century.[65] A person is considered apostate if he or she converts from Islam to another religion.[66] A person is an apostate even if he or she believes in most of Islam, but verbally or in writing denies of one or more principles or precepts of Islam. For example, if a Muslim declares that the universe has always existed, he or she is an apostate; similarly, a Muslim who doubts the existence of Allah, enters a church or temple, makes offerings to and worships an idol or stupa or any image of God, celebrates festivals of non-Muslim religion, helps build a church or temple, confesses a belief in rebirth or incarnation of God, disrespects Qur'an or Islam's Prophet are all individually sufficient evidence of apostasy.[67][68][69]
The Islamic law on apostasy and the punishment is considered by many Muslims to be one of the immutable laws under Islam.[70] It is a hudud crime,[71][72] which means it is a crime against God,[73] and the punishment has been fixed by God. The punishment for apostasy includes[74] 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.[65][75][76]
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 females life imprisonment.[77][78]
According to the Ahmadi Muslim sect, there is no punishment for apostasy, neither in the Qur'an nor as taught by the founder of Islam, Muhammad.[79] This position of the Ahmadi sect is not widely accepted in other sects of Islam, and the Ahmadi sect acknowledges that major sects have a different interpretation and definition of apostasy in Islam.[80] Ulama of major sects of Islam consider the Ahmadi Muslim sect as kafirs (infidels)[81] and apostates.[82][83]
Today, apostasy is a crime in 23 out 49 Muslim majority countries; in many other Muslim nations such as Indonesia and Morocco, apostasy is indirectly covered by other laws.[10][84] It is subject in some countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, to the death penalty, although executions for apostasy are rare. Apostasy is legal in secular Muslim countries such as Turkey.[85] In numerous Islamic majority countries, many individuals have been arrested and punished for the crime of apostasy without any associated capital crimes.[86][87][88][17] In a 2013 report based on an international survey of religious attitudes, more than 50% of the Muslim population in 6 Islamic countries supported the death penalty for any Muslim who leaves Islam (apostasy).[89][90] A similar survey of the Muslim population in the United Kingdom, in 2007, found nearly a third of 16 to 24-year-old faithfuls believed that Muslims who convert to another religion should be executed, while less than a fifth of those over 55 believed the same.[91]
Muslim historians recognize 632 AD as the year when the first regional apostasy from Islam emerged, immediately after the death of Muhammed.[92] The civil wars that followed are now called Riddah wars (Wars of Islamic Apostasy), with the massacre at Battle of Karbala holding a special place for Shia Muslims.
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Apostasy in Judaism
See also: yetzia bish'eila



Mattathias killing a Jewish apostate
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[93]
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, which occurred under duress and threats of torture and forced expulsion. 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,[94][95] 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, Judaism does not follow the Torah's prescription on this point: there is no punishment today for leaving Judaism, other than being excluded from participating in the rituals of the Jewish community, including leading worship, being called to the Torah and being buried in a Jewish cemetery.
Sikhism[edit]
Sikhism teaches that it is up to the individual to leave or choose his faith, on the Path of God. Each individual will ultimately find his/her path to truth/God and there is only one God for everyone and paths/religions could be different. Every human being is the Light of the Divine contained in a human form.[96]
Other religious movements[edit]
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".
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 deceit, he was recruited to a group that he now condemns.[97]
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 utilizes 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".[98]
One camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes David G. Bromley,[99][100] Daniel Carson Johnson,[101] Dr. Lonnie D. Kliever (1932–2004),[102] Gordon Melton,[103] and Bryan R. Wilson.[104] An opposing camp less critical of apostate narratives as a group includes Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi,[105] Dr. Phillip Charles Lucas,[106][107][108] Jean Duhaime,[109] Mark Dunlop,[110][111] Michael Langone,[112] and Benjamin Zablocki.[113]
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,[114] 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.[115] 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.[116] 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.
Massimo Introvigne in his Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates[117] defines three types of narratives constructed by apostates of new religious movements:
Type I narratives characterize the exit process as defection, in which the organization and the former member negotiate an exiting process aimed at minimizing the damage for both parties.
Type II narratives involve a minimal degree of negotiation between the exiting member, the organization they intend to leave, and the environment or society at large, implying that the ordinary apostate holds no strong feelings concerning his past experience in the group. They may make "comments on the organization's more negative features or shortcomings" while also recognizing that there was "something positive in the experience."
Type III narratives are characterized by the ex-member dramatically reversing their loyalties and becoming a professional enemy of the organization they have left. These apostates often join an oppositional coalition fighting the organization, often claiming victimization.
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.
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).[118]
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".[119]
According to F. Derks and psychologist of religion Jan van der Lans, there is no uniform 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.[120]
The report of the "Swedish Government's Commission on New Religious Movements" (1998) states that the great majority of members of new religious movements derive positive experiences from their subscription to ideas or doctrines which correspond to their personal needs, and that withdrawal from these movements is usually quite undramatic, as these people leave feeling enriched by a predominantly positive experience. Although the report describes that there are a small number of withdrawals that require support (100 out of 50,000+ people), the report did not recommend that any special resources be established for their rehabilitation, as these cases are very rare.[121]
Examples[edit]
Historical persons[edit]
Julian the Apostate, 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.
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, thus shifting his religious support from Calvinism to Arminianism.
Abraham ben Abraham, (Count Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki), a Polish nobleman of the Potocki family who is claimed to have converted to Judaism and was burned at the stake in 1749 because he had renounced Catholicism and had become an observant Jew.
Maria Monk, sometimes considered an apostate of the Catholic Church, though there is little evidence that she ever was a 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.
Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism, was considered both an apostate and heretic by the strict definition of apostasy according to the Catholic Church. Most Protestants would naturally disagree, calling him a liberator and revolutionary.
Recent times[edit]
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.[122]
In 2013, Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian blogger, was found guilty of apostasy by the high court, which has a penalty of death.[123]
In 2014, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag (aka 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.[124] 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.[31]
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, labelled an apostate by Theo van Gogh according to Ayaan Hirsi Ali[125]
Tasleema Nasreen from Bangladesh, the author of Lajja, has been declared apostate – "an apostate appointed by imperialist forces to vilify Islam" – by several fundamentalist clerics in Dhaka[126]
Younus Shaikh from Pakistan was sentenced to death for his remarks on Muhammad, considered blasphemous; but later on the judge ordered a re-trial.[127]
Brian Moore spoke strongly about the effect of the Catholic Church on life in Ireland.
See also[edit]
Heresy
Religious conversion
Forced conversion
Religious intolerance
Blasphemy
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ 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. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0002.748>. Trans. of "Apostasie," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 1. Paris, 1751.
2.Jump up ^ Muslim apostates cast out and at risk from faith and family, The Times, February 05, 2005
3.Jump up ^ [Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (1996): p. 352]
4.Jump up ^ [Shafi'i: Rawda al-talibin, 10.7, Hanafi: Ibn 'Abidin: Radd al-muhtar 3.287, Maliki: al-Dardir: al-Sharh al-saghir, 4.435, and Hanbali: al-Bahuti: Kashshaf al-qina', 6.170 (see The Struggle to Constitute and Sustain Productive Orders: Vincent Ostrom's Quest to Understand Human Affairs), Mark Sproule-Jones et al (2008), Lexington Books, ISBN 978-0739126288)]
5.Jump up ^ Lewis A. Coser The Age of the Informer Dissent:1249–54, 1954
6.^ Jump up to: 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
7.Jump up ^ 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
8.Jump up ^ Wikisource-logo.svg Article 18.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
9.Jump up ^ CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. 22., 1993
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Laws Criminalizing Apostasy Library of Congress (2014)
11.Jump up ^ Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life (September 2012), Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion''
12.Jump up ^ El-Awa, Mohamed S. Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Pub., 1981
13.Jump up ^ Peters, Rudolph, and Gert JJ De Vries. Apostasy in Islam, Die Welt des Islams (1976): 1-25.
14.Jump up ^ Rehman, Javaid, Freedom of expression, apostasy, and blasphemy within Islam: Sharia, criminal justice systems, and modern Islamic state practices: Javaid Rehman investigates the uses and abuses of certain interpretations of Sharia law and the Quran, Criminal Justice Matters, 79.1 (2010): pages 4–5
15.Jump up ^ BBC News, "Afghanistan treads religious tightrope", quote: "Others point out that no one has been executed for apostasy in Afghanistan even under the Taleban ... two Afghan editors accused of blasphemy both faced the death sentence, but one claimed asylum abroad and the other was freed after a short spell in jail."
16.Jump up ^ CNS news, "Plight of Christian Converts Highlights Absence of Religious Freedom in Afghanistan", quote: "A Christian convert from Islam named Abdul Rahman was sentenced to death in 2006 for apostasy, and only after the U.S. and other coalition members applied pressure on the Karzai government was he freed and allowed to leave the country."
17.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
18.^ Jump up to: a b c Ali Eteraz. "Supporting Islam's apostates". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
19.Jump up ^ The Telegraph, "Hanged for Being a Christian in Iran
20.Jump up ^ "Iran hangs man convicted of apostasy". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
21.Jump up ^ http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/jordan/090922/jordanian-poet-trial-apostacy,
22.Jump up ^ "Convert to Christianity flees Jordan under threat to lose custody of his children". assistnews.net. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
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24.Jump up ^ "Malaysia's shackles on religious freedom". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-06-22.
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26.Jump up ^ "MAURITANIA" (PDF). 14 June 2012. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
27.Jump up ^ Saeed, A.; Saeed, H. (2004). Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam. Ashgate. p. 19. ISBN 9780754630838. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
28.^ Jump up to: a b "/news/archives/article.php". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
29.Jump up ^ CTV news, "'Apostasy' laws widespread in Muslim world", quote: "Islamic Shariah law considers conversion to any religion apostasy and most Muslim scholars agree the punishment is death. Saudi Arabia considers Shariah the law of the land, though there have been no reported cases of executions of converts from Islam in recent memory."
30.Jump up ^ "BBC NEWS - Africa - Somali executed for 'apostasy'". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
31.^ Jump up to: a b "Sudan woman faces death for apostasy". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
32.Jump up ^ "Crimes punishable by death in the UAE include…apostasy | Freedom Center Students". freedomcenterstudents.org. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
33.Jump up ^ Crouch, Melissa. "Shifting conceptions of state regulation of religion: the Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony." (2013)
34.Jump up ^ Peri Bearman, Wolfhart Heinrichs & Bernard Weiss, eds., The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shari'a (IB Taurus, 2008)
35.Jump up ^ Saeed, Abdullah, AMBIGUITIES OF APOSTASY AND THE REPRESSION OF MUSLIM DISSENT, The Review of Faith & International Affairs 9.2 (2011); pages 31–38
36.Jump up ^ Momen, Moojan (1 September 2007). "Marginality and apostasy in the Baha'i community". Religion 37 (3): 187–209. doi:10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008.
37.Jump up ^ Afshar, Iraj (August 18, 2011). "ĀYATĪ, ʿABD-AL-ḤOSAYN". Encyclopædia Iranica.
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39.Jump up ^ "Apostates from Islam | The Weekly Standard". weeklystandard.com. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
40.Jump up ^ 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).
41.Jump up ^ 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).
42.Jump up ^ Walter Bauder, "Fall, Fall Away," The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), 3:606.
43.Jump up ^ 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).
44.Jump up ^ Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.
45.Jump up ^ "Apostasy," 39.
46.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 39.
47.Jump up ^ 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).
48.Jump up ^ 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.
49.Jump up ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Apostasy," 87.
50.Jump up ^ "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit". The Watchtower: 26. April 15, 1988. Archived from the original on 2007-12-07.
51.^ Jump up to: a b w06 1/15 pp. 21–25 - The Watchtower—2006
52.Jump up ^ Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p. 42–43
53.Jump up ^ Hart, Benjamin (28 September 2011). "Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'". Huffington Post.
54.Jump up ^ From the Editors of Hinduism Today (2007). What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith. Himalayan Academy Publications. pp. 416 pages.(see page XX and 136). ISBN 978-1-934145-00-5.
55.Jump up ^ Al-Azhar, Encyclopaedia Britannica
56.Jump up ^ 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
57.Jump up ^ Watt, W. M. (1964). Conditions of membership of the Islamic Community, Studia Islamica, (21), pages 5–12
58.Jump up ^ Burki, S. K. (2011). Haram or Halal? Islamists' Use of Suicide Attacks as Jihad. Terrorism and Political Violence, 23(4), pages 582–601
59.Jump up ^ Rahman, S. A. (2006). Punishment of apostasy in Islam, Institute of Islamic Culture, IBT Books; ISBN 983-9541-49-8
60.Jump up ^ Mousavian, S. A. A. (2005). A DISCUSSION ON THE APOSTATE'S REPENTANCE IN SHI'A JURISPRUDENCE. Modarres Human Sciences, 8, TOME 37, pages 187–210, Mofid University (Iran).
61.Jump up ^ Advanced Islamic English dictionary Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Fitri Murtad
62.Jump up ^ Advanced Islamic English dictionary Расширенный исламский словарь английского языка (2012), see entry for Milli Murtad
63.Jump up ^ See chapters 3, 9 and 16 of Qur'an; e.g. [Quran 3:90] * [Quran 9:66] * [Quran 16:88]
64.Jump up ^ See Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:260 * Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:83:17 * Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:89:271
65.^ Jump up to: a b Saeed, A., & Saeed, H. (Eds.). (2004). Freedom of religion, apostasy and Islam. Ashgate Publishing; ISBN 0-7546-3083-8
66.Jump up ^ 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
67.Jump up ^ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8; see page 48, 108-109, 118
68.Jump up ^ Peters, R., & De Vries, G. J. (1976). Apostasy in Islam. Die Welt des Islams, 1-25.
69.Jump up ^ Warraq, I. (Ed.). (2003). Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out. Prometheus Books; ISBN 1-59102-068-9
70.Jump up ^ Arzt, Donna (1995). Heroes or heretics: Religious dissidents under Islamic law, Wis. Int'l Law Journal, 14, 349-445
71.Jump up ^ Mansour, A. A. (1982). Hudud Crimes (From Islamic Criminal Justice System, P 195–201, 1982, M Cherif Bassiouni, ed.-See NCJ-87479).
72.Jump up ^ Lippman, M. (1989). Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure: Religious Fundamentalism v. Modern Law. BC Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 12, pages 29, 263-269
73.Jump up ^ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009), Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4381-2696-8; see page 174
74.Jump up ^ Tamadonfar, M. (2001). Islam, law, and political control in contemporary Iran, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(2), 205-220.
75.Jump up ^ El-Awa, M. S. (1981), Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Pub; pages 49–68
76.Jump up ^ Forte, D. F. (1994). Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan. Conn. J. Int'l L., 10, 27.
77.Jump up ^ Ibn Warraq (2003), Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out, ISBN 978-1591020684, pp 1-27
78.Jump up ^ Schneider, I. (1995), Imprisonment in Pre-classical and Classical Islamic Law, Islamic Law and Society, 2(2): 157-173
79.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. ISBN 1-85372-850-0. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
80.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. pp. 18–25. ISBN 1-85372-850-0.
81.Jump up ^ The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam (PDF). Islam International Publications. p. 8. ISBN 1-85372-850-0.
82.Jump up ^ 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
83.Jump up ^ Andrew March (2011), Apostasy: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199805969
84.Jump up ^ "Muslim-Majority Countries". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
85.Jump up ^ Zaki Badawi, M.A. (2003). "Islam". In Cookson, Catharine. Encyclopedia of religious freedom. New York: Routledge. pp. 204–8. ISBN 0-415-94181-4.
86.Jump up ^ "Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial - Human Rights Watch". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
87.Jump up ^ The Fate of Infidels and Apostates under Islam 2005
88.Jump up ^ Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam by Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (Mar 30, 2004), ISBN 978-0-7546-3083-8
89.Jump up ^ "Majorities of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan support the death penalty for leaving Islam". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
90.Jump up ^ The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society, April 30 2013
91.Jump up ^ Stephen Bates. "More young Muslims back sharia, says poll". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
92.Jump up ^ "riddah - Islamic history". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
93.Jump up ^ Deuteronomy 13:6–10
94.Jump up ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #16: "Kefira" in our Day from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
95.Jump up ^ template.htm Introduction to the Thought of Rav Kookby, Lecture #17: Heresy V from vbm-torah.org (the Virtual Beit Midrash)
96.Jump up ^ "Introduction to Sikhism | SikhNet". sikhnet.com. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
97.Jump up ^ Wilson, Bryan R. Apostates and New Religious Movements, Oxford, England, 1994
98.Jump up ^ Wright, Stuart, A., Exploring Factors that Shatpe the Apostate Role, in Bromley, David G., The Politics of Religious Apostasy, pp. 95–114, Praeger Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-275-95508-7
99.Jump up ^ Bromley David G. et al., The Role of Anecdotal Atrocities in the Social Construction of Evil,
100.Jump up ^ 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
101.Jump up ^ 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.
102.Jump up ^ Kliever 1995 Kliever. Lonnie D, Ph.D. The Reliability of Apostate Testimony About New Religious Movements, 1995.
103.Jump up ^ "Melton 1999"Melton, Gordon J., Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory, 1999.
104.Jump up ^ Wilson, Bryan R. (Ed.) The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism, Rose of Sharon Press, 1981.
105.Jump up ^ Beit-Hallahmi 1997 Beith-Hallahmi, Benjamin Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research, 1997.
106.Jump up ^ "< Lucas, Phillip Charles Ph.D. – Profile". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
107.Jump up ^ "Holy Order of MANS". Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
108.Jump up ^ 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
109.Jump up ^ 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
110.Jump up ^ "The Culture of Cults". ex-cult.org. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
111.Jump up ^ Dunlop 2001 The Culture of Cults
112.Jump up ^ The Two "Camps" of Cultic Studies: Time for a Dialogue Langone, Michael, Cults and Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001
113.Jump up ^ 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.
114.Jump up ^ 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. p. 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."
115.Jump up ^ 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.
116.Jump up ^ 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.
117.Jump up ^ Introvigne 1997
118.Jump up ^ Burks, Ronald, Cognitive Impairment in Thought Reform Environments
119.Jump up ^ Hadden, J and Bromley, D eds. (1993), The Handbook of Cults and Sects in America. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, Inc., pp. 75–97.
120.Jump up ^ 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, 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 pages 58–75 published by the Free university Amsterdam (1983)
121.Jump up ^ Report of the Swedish Government's Commission on New Religious Movements (1998), 1.6 The need for support (Swedish), English translation
 The great majority of members of the new religious movements derive positive experience from their membership. They have subscribed to an idea or doctrine which corresponds to their personal needs. Membership is of limited duration in most cases. After two years, the majority have left the movement. This withdrawal is usually quite undramatic, and the people withdrawing feel enriched by a predominantly positive experience. The Commission does not recommend that special resources be established for the rehabilitation of withdraws. The cases are too few in number and the problem picture too manifold for this: each individual can be expected to need help from several different care providers or facilitators.
122.Jump up ^ Banks, Adelle M. (2011-09-28). "Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's potential execution rallies U.S. Christians". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-10-05. "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."
123.Jump up ^ Abdelaziz, Salma (2013-12-25). "Wife: Saudi blogger sentenced to death for apostasy". CNN (NYC).
124.Jump up ^ Sudanese woman convicted CNN (May 2014)
125.Jump up ^ 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." "
126.Jump up ^ Taslima's Pilgrimage Meredith Tax, from The Nation
127.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Rory (2001-08-20). "Blasphemy doctor faces death". The Guardian (London).
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further reading[edit]
Bromley, David G. 1988. Falling From the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Dunlop, Mark, The culture of Cults, 2001 [1]
Introvigne, Massimo Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates: A Quantitative Study of Former Members of New Acropolis in France – paper delivered at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, November 23, 1997 [2]
The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906). The Kopelman Foundation. [3]
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, 1995:229–41;
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
Wright, Stuart A. 1988. "Leaving New Religious Movements: Issues, Theory and Research," pp. 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. 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 autobiographiesBabinski, Edward (editor), Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists. Prometheus Books, 2003. ISBN 1-59102-217-7; 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 54e Paris Fixot (ex-Ordre du Temple Solaire who would be the 54th victim)
Kaufmann, Inside Scientology/Dianetics: How I Joined Dianetics/Scientology and Became Superhuman, 1995 [4]
Lavallée, G. 1994 L'alliance de la brebis. Rescapée de la secte de Moïse, Montréal: Club Québec Loisirs (ex-Roch Thériault)
Pignotti, Monica, My nine lives in Scientology, 1989, [5]
Wakefield, Margery, Testimony, 1996 [6]
Lawrence Woodcraft, Astra Woodcraft, Zoe Woodcraft, The Woodcraft Family, Video Interviews [7]
Writings by othersCarter, 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, pages 130–131, "Apostasy". ISBN 0-8010-3447-7
Malinoski, Peter, Thoughts on Conducting Research with Former Cult Members , Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001 [8]
Palmer, Susan J. Apostates and their Role in the Construction of Grievance Claims against the Northeast Kingdom/Messianic Communities [9]
Wilson, S.G., Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-8006-3675-9; 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[edit]
 Look up apostasy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Laws Criminalizing Apostasy, Library of Congress (overview of the apostasy laws of 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia)
  


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Disengagement from religion
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