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Christian countercult movement

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The Christian countercult movement is a social movement of certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist[1] and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries"[2]) and individual activists who oppose religious sects they consider "cults".[3]


Contents  [hide]
1 Overview
2 History 2.1 Precursors and pioneers
2.2 Mid twentieth century apologists
2.3 Walter Martin
3 Other technical terminology
4 Apologetics
5 Worldwide organizations 5.1 Protestant
5.2 Catholic
5.3 Orthodox
6 Contextual missiology
7 Variations and models
8 Prominent advocates 8.1 People
8.2 Organizations
9 See also
10 References 10.1 Primary sources
10.2 History and critical assessments
11 External links

Overview[edit]
Christian countercult activism stems mainly from evangelicalism or fundamentalism. The countercult movement asserts that particular Christian sects whose beliefs they deem to be partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bible are erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a cult if its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential Christian teachings such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesus himself as a person, the ministry and miracles of Jesus, his crucifixion, his resurrection, the Second Coming and the Rapture.[4][5][6]
Countercult ministries often concern themselves with religious sects that consider themselves Christian but hold beliefs thought to contradict the Bible, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Unification Church, Christian Science, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Anti-Catholic movements have lead Protestants to classify Catholicism as a cult. John Highham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history".[7] Some also denounce non-Christian religions such as Islam, Wicca, Paganism, New Age groups, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions.
Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or theological concerns and a missionary or apologetic purpose.[8] It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible against the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelize to followers of cults.[9][10][11] Some Christians also share concerns similar to those of the secular anti-cult movement.[12][13]
The movement publishes its views through a variety of media including books, magazines, and newsletters, radio broadcasting; audio and videocassette production, direct mail appeals, proactive evangelistic encounters, professional and avocational Internet Websites, as well as lecture series, training workshops and counter cult conferences.[1]
History[edit]
Precursors and pioneers[edit]
Christians have applied theological criteria to assess the teachings of non-orthodox movements throughout church history.[14][15][16] The Apostles themselves were involved in challenging the doctrines and claims of various teachers. The Apostle Paul wrote an entire epistle, Galatians, antagonistic to the teachings of a Jewish sect that claimed adherence to the teachings of both Jesus and Moses (cf. Acts 15: & Gal. 1:6-10). The Apostle John devoted his first Epistle to countering early proto-gnostic cults that had arisen in the first century, all claiming to be "Christian" (1 Jn. 2:19).[citation needed]
The early Church in the post-apostolic period was much more involved in "defending its frontiers against alternative soteriologies — either by defining its own position with greater and greater exactness, or by attacking other religions, and particularly the Hellenistic mysteries."[17] In fact, a good deal of the early Christian literature is devoted to the exposure and refutation of unorthodox theology, mystery religions and Gnostic groups.[18][19] Irenaeus, Tertullian and Hippolytus of Rome were among the greatest early Christian apologists who engaged in critical analyses of unorthodox theology, Greco-Roman pagan religions, and Gnostic groups.[20][21][22]
In the Protestant traditions some of the earliest writings opposing unorthodox groups like Swedenborg's teachings, can be traced back to John Wesley, Alexander Campbell and Princeton Theological Seminary theologians like Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield.[23][24] The first known usage of the term "cult" by a Protestant apologist to denote a group is heretical or unorthodox is in Anti-Christian Cults by A. H. Barrington, published in 1898.[25]
Quite a few of the pioneering apologists were Baptist pastors, like I. M. Haldeman, or participants in the Plymouth Brethren, like William C. Irvine and Sydney Watson.[26] Watson wrote a series of didactic novels like Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science,[27] Bewitched by Spiritualism,[28] and The Gilded Lie, as warnings of the dangers posed by cultic groups. Watson's use of fiction to counter the cults has been repeated by later novelists like Frank E. Peretti.[29][30]
The early twentieth century apologists generally applied the words "heresy" and "sects" to groups like the Christadelphians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Spiritualists, and Theosophists. This was reflected in several chapters contributed to the multi-volume work released in 1915 The Fundamentals, where apologists criticised the teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, the Mormons and Spiritualists.[31][32][33][34]
Mid twentieth century apologists[edit]
Since at least the 1940s, the approach of traditional Christians was to apply the meaning of cult such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the Bible or have teachings and practices deviating from traditional Christian teachings and practices. Some examples of sources (with published dates where known) that documented this approach are:
The Missionary Faces Isms, by John C. Mattes, pub. 1937 (Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America).
Heresies Ancient and Modern, by J.Oswald Sanders, pub.1948 (Marshall Morgan & Scott, London/Zondervan, Grand Rapids).
Sanders, J. Oswald (1973). Cults and isms (Revised ed. ed.). London: Lakeland. ISBN 978-0551004580.
Baalen, Jan Karel van (1962). The chaos of cults; a study of present-day isms. (4th rev. and enl. ed. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0802832788.
Heresies Exposed, by W.C. Irvine, pub. 1917, 1921, 1975 (Loizeaux Brothers).
Confusion of Tongues, by C.W. Ferguson, pub. 1928 (Doran & Co).
Isms New and Old, by Julius Bodensieck.
Some Latter-Day Religions, by G.H.Combs.
One of the first prominent counter-cult apologists was Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. His book, The Chaos of Cults, which was first published in 1938, became a classic in the field as it was repeatedly revised and updated until 1962.[35]
Walter Martin[edit]
Historically, one of the most important protagonists of the movement was Walter Martin (1928–89), whose numerous books include the 1955 The Rise of the Cults: An Introductory Guide to the Non-Christian Cults and the 1965 The Kingdom of the Cults: An Analysis of Major Cult Systems in the Present Christian Era, which continues to be influential. He became well known in conservative Christian circles through a radio program, "The Bible Answer Man", currently hosted by Hank Hanegraaff.
In The Rise of the Cults[36] Martin gave the following definition of a cult:

By cultism we mean the adherence to doctrines which are pointedly contradictory to orthodox Christianity and which yet claim the distinction of either tracing their origin to orthodox sources or of being in essential harmony with those sources. Cultism, in short, is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith.
As Martin's definition suggests, the countercult ministries concentrate on non-traditional groups that claim to be Christian, so chief targets have been The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., "Mormons"), Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism, Christian Science and the Unification Church, but also smaller groups like the Swedenborgian Church[37]
Various other conservative Christian leaders—among them John Ankerberg and Norman Geisler—have emphasized themes similar to Martin's.[38][39] Perhaps more importantly, numerous other well-known conservative Christian leaders as well as many conservative pastors have accepted Martin's definition of a cult as well as his understanding of the groups to which he gave that label. Dave Breese[40] summed up this kind of definition[41] in these words:

A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy. A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Other technical terminology[edit]
Since the 1980s the term "new religions" or "new religious movements" has slowly entered into Evangelical usage alongside the word "cult". Some book titles use both terms.[42][43][44]
The acceptance of these alternatives to the word "cult" in Evangelicalism reflects, in part, the wider usage of such language in the sociology of religion.[45]
Apologetics[edit]
The term "countercult apologetics" first appeared in Protestant Evangelical literature as a self-designation in the late 1970s and early 1980s in articles by Ronald Enroth and David Fetcho, and by Walter Martin in Martin Speaks Out on the Cults.[46] A mid-1980s debate about apologetic methodology between Ronald Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, led the latter to place more emphasis in his publications on differentiating the Christian countercult from the secular anti-cult.[47] Eric Pement urged Melton to adopt the label "Christian countercult",[48] and since the early 1990s the terms has entered into popular usage and is recognised by sociologists such as Douglas Cowan.[49]
The only existing umbrella organization within the countercult movement in the USA is the EMNR (Evangelical Ministries to New Religions) founded in 1982 which has the evangelical Lausanne Covenant as governing document and which stresses mission, scholarship, accountability and networking.
Worldwide organizations[edit]
While the greatest number of countercult ministries are found in the USA, ministries exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. A comparison between the methods employed in the USA and other nations discloses some similarities in emphasis, but also other nuances in emphasis. The similarities are that globally these ministries share a common concern about the evangelization of people in cults and new religions. There is also often a common thread of comparing orthodox doctrines and biblical passages with the teachings of the groups under examination. However, in some of the European and southern hemisphere contexts, confrontational methods of engagement are not always relied on, and dialogical approaches are sometimes advocated.
A group of organizations which originated within the context of established religion is working in more general fields of cult-awareness, especially in Europe. Their leaders are theologians, and they are often social ministries affiliated to big churches.
Protestant[edit]
Berlin-based Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen[50] ("Parish Office for Sects and World Views.") headed by Lutheran Pastor Thomas Gandow[51]
Swiss "Evangelische Informationsstelle Kirchen-Sekten-Religionen" (Protestant Reformed Zwinglian Information Service on Churches, Sects and Religions) headed by Zwinglian Parson Georg Schmid[52]
Catholic[edit]
Sekten und Weltanschauungen in Sachsen (Sects and ideologies in Saxony)[53]
Weltanschauungen und religiöse Gruppierungen ("Worldviews and religious groups") of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz, Austria[54]
GRIS (Gruppo di ricerca e informazione socio-religiosa), Italy[55]
Orthodox[edit]
Synodic Committee about Heresies of Greek Orthodox Church[56]
Center of Ireneus of Lyon in Russia.
Contextual missiology[edit]
The phenomena of "cults" has also entered into the discourses of Christian missions and theology of religions. An initial step in this direction occurred in 1980 when the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization convened a mini-consultation in Thailand. From that consultation a position paper was produced.[57] The issue was revisited at the Lausanne Forum in 2004 with another paper.[58] The latter paper adopts a different methodology to that advocated in 1980.
In the 1990s discussions in academic missions and theological journals indicate that another trajectory is emerging which reflects the influence of contextual missions theory. Advocates of this approach maintain that apologetics as a tool needs to be retained, but do not favour a confrontational style of engagement.[59]
Variations and models[edit]
Countercult apologetics has several variations and methods employed in analysing and responding to cults. The different nuances in countercult apologetics have been discussed by John A. Saliba and Philip Johnson.[60]
The dominant method is the emphasis on detecting unorthodox or heretical doctrines and contrasting those with orthodox interpretations of the Bible and early creedal documents. Some apologists, such as Francis J. Beckwith, have emphasised a philosophical approach, pointing out logical, epistemological and metaphysical problems within the teachings of a particular group.[61] Another approach involves former members of cultic groups recounting their spiritual autobiographies, which highlight experiences of disenchantment with the group, unanswered questions and doubts about commitment to the group, culminating in the person's conversion to Evangelical Christianity.[62]
Apologists like Dave Hunt in Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust and Hal Lindsey in The Terminal Generation have tended to interpret the phenomena of cults as part of the burgeoning evidence of signs that Christ's Second Advent is close at hand.[63] Both Hunt, and Constance Cumbey, have applied a conspiracy model to interpreting the emergence of New Age spirituality and linking that to speculations about fulfilled prophecies heralding Christ's reappearance.[64]
Prominent advocates[edit]
People[edit]
Constance Cumbey
Douglas Groothuis
Dave Hunt
Greg Koukl
J. P. Moreland, Biola University
Norman Geisler
Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Ronald Enroth, evangelical Christian author of books about "cults" and new religious movements.
Texe Marrs
Walter Martin Late Baptist minister who was the host of the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast and the president of the Christian Research Institute. He often used his show to promote arguments against Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other movements.
Organizations[edit]
Answers in Action,[65] Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Apologetics resource center,[66] by Craig Branch
Apologetics Press, [67] current Executive Director Dr. Dave Miller
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) founded by Matt Slick
Christian Research Institute (CRI) founded by Walter Martin
Cult Awareness and Information Centre[68] founded by the late Jan Groenveld
Dialog Center International founded by Johannes Aagaard
EMNR Evangelical Ministries to New Religions,[69] an umbrella group for ministries to the cults and new religions
Midwest Christian Outreach
Mormonism Research Ministry (Bill McKeever)
Personal Freedom Outreach
Spiritual Counterfeits Project, president Tal Brooke
Stand To Reason, founded by Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner
Utah Lighthouse Ministry (Jerald & Sandra Tanner)
Watchman Fellowship, founder David Henke, president James K. Walker[70]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Anti-cult movement
References[edit]


 This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)
1.^ Jump up to: a b Cowan, D.E. 2003. Bearing False Witness?: An Introduction to the Christian Countercult: Praeger.
2.Jump up ^ Robert M. Bowman, Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Biblical Guide to Doctrinal Discernment, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992, pp. 10, 106-107, & 123-124.
3.Jump up ^ Douglas E Cowan author. Bearing False Witness? Introduction to the Christian Counter Cult. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0275974596
4.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, rev.ed. Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, pp. 11-12.
5.Jump up ^ Richard Abanes, Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions,Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, p. 33.
6.Jump up ^ H. Wayne House & Gordon Carle, Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted, Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
7.Jump up ^ Jenkins, Philip (1 April 2003). The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice. Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-19-515480-1.
8.Jump up ^ Garry W. Trompf,"Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements," Religious Traditions Volume 10, 1987, pp. 95-106.
9.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev.ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003, pp.479-493.
10.Jump up ^ Ronald Enroth ed. Evangelising the Cults, Milton Keynes: Word, 1990.
11.Jump up ^ Norman L Geisler & Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997.
12.Jump up ^ Paul R. Martin, Cult Proofing Your Kids, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993.
13.Jump up ^ Joel A. MacCollam, Carnival of Souls: Religious Cults and Young People, New York: Seabury Press, 1979.
14.Jump up ^ Saliba, Understanding New Religious Movements, pp.45-74.
15.Jump up ^ Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present, Garden City: Doubleday, 1984.
16.Jump up ^ J.W.C.Wand, The Four Great Heresies:Nestorian, Eutychian, Apollinarian, Arian, London: A.R.Mowbray, 1955.
17.Jump up ^ Eric J. Sharpe, Comparative Religion: A History, London: Duckworth, 1975, p. 9
18.Jump up ^ Brown, Heresies, pp.38-69.
19.Jump up ^ Ronald H. Nash, Christianity and the Hellenistic World, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984, pp.213-224.
20.Jump up ^ Avery Dulles, A History of Apologetics, Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1999, pp. 22-58.
21.Jump up ^ J.K.S.Reid, Christian Apologetics, Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans, 1970, pp. 36-53.
22.Jump up ^ Bengt Hagglund, History of Theology, trans. Gene J. Lund, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968, pp.31-105.
23.Jump up ^ Richard G. Kyle, The Religious Fringe: A History of Alternative Religions in America, Downers Grove: IVP, 1993.
24.Jump up ^ Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
25.Jump up ^ A.H.Barrington, Anti-Christian Cults, Milwaukee:Young Churchman/London:Sampson Low, Marston, 1898.
26.Jump up ^ J. Gordon Melton,"The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, Routledge, London, 2003, pp. 102–113.
27.Jump up ^ Sydney Watson, Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science, London:William Nichoson & Sons, no date.
28.Jump up ^ Sydney Watson, The Lure of a Soul: Bewitched by Spiritualism, London: W. Nicholson & Sons, no date.
29.Jump up ^ Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness, Westchester: Crossway,1986.
30.Jump up ^ James R. Lewis, "Works of Darkness: Occult Fascination in the Novels of Frank Peretti" in Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, James R. Lewis ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996, pp.339-350.
31.Jump up ^ William G. Moorehead, ‘Millennial Dawn A Counterfeit of Christianity’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 7. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
32.Jump up ^ Maurice E. Wilson, ‘Eddyism, Commonly Called “Christian Science”, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 9. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
33.Jump up ^ R. G. McNiece, ‘Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 8. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
34.Jump up ^ Algernon J. Pollock, ‘Modern Spiritualism Briefly Tested By Scripture’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 10. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
35.Jump up ^ J.K.van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, 4th rev.ed.Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing, 1962.
36.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955, pp. 11-12.
37.Jump up ^ Each of these movements are treated in separate chapters in Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev. ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003.
38.Jump up ^ John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Cult Watch,Eugene: Harvest House, 1991, pp. i-x.
39.Jump up ^ Geisler & Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, pp. 10-11.
40.Jump up ^ Dave Breese, Know the Marks of Cults, Wheaton: Victor, 1975, 14.
41.Jump up ^ Compare this definition with heresy.
42.Jump up ^ Richard Abanes, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Wheaton: Crossway, 1998.
43.Jump up ^ Ronald Enroth ed. A Guide to New Religious Movements, Downers Grove: IVP, 2005.
44.Jump up ^ Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
45.Jump up ^ On sociological understandings see for example Eileen Barker, New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1989. George D. Chryssides, Exploring New Religions, London & New York: Cassell, 1999.Jacob Needleman & George Baker ed. Understanding the New Religions, New York: Seabury Press, 1981. Mikael Rothstein & Reender Kranenborg ed. New Religions in a Postmodern World, Aarhus, Denmark: Aargus University Press, 2003.
46.Jump up ^ Ronald M. Enroth, "Cult/Counter-cult", Eternity, November 1977, pp.18-22 & 32-35. David Fetcho, "Disclosing the Unknown God: Evangelism to the New Religions", Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements Volume 6, number 4 December 1982 p.8. Walter R. Martin, Martin Speaks Out On The Cults, rev. ed. Ventura: Vision House, 1983,pp.124-125.
47.Jump up ^ Ronald M. Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails, Elgin: Brethren, 1985, pp. 25-30.
48.Jump up ^ Eric Pement, ‘Comments on the Directory’ in Keith Edward Tolbert and Eric Pement, The 1993 Directory of Cult Research Organizations,Trenton: American Religions Center, 1993, p. x.
49.Jump up ^ Douglas E. Cowan, Bearing False Witness? An Introduction ot the Christian Countercult, Westport: Praeger, 2003.
50.Jump up ^ Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen - Index
51.Jump up ^ Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen - Pfarrer Gandow
52.Jump up ^ Relinfo
53.Jump up ^ Sekten in Sachsen
54.Jump up ^ Sekten & Gruppierungen
55.Jump up ^ www.gris.org
56.Jump up ^ http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/holySynod/commitees/heresies/omades.html
57.Jump up ^ The Thailand Report on New Religious Movements
58.Jump up ^ Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World
59.Jump up ^ Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost & John W. Morehead ed. Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004.Gordon R. Lewis, "Our Mission Responsibility to New Religious Movements" International Journal of Frontier Missions Volume 15, number 3 July–September 1998,p. 116.
60.Jump up ^ Saliba, Understanding New Religious Movements, pp.212-223. Philip Johnson, "Apologetics, Mission and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach," Sacred Tribes Journal, Volume 1, number 1 Fall 2002 5-220.
61.Jump up ^ Francis J. Beckwith & Stephen E. Parrish, See the gods fall, Joplin: College Press, 1997. Francis J. Beckwith, Carl Mosser & Paul Owen ed. The New Mormon Challenge, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
62.Jump up ^ James R. Adair & Ted Miller ed. Escape from Darkness, Wheaton: Victor, 1982.Chris Elkins, Heavenly Deception, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1980. Joe Hewitt, I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness, Denver: Accent Books, 1979. Latayne C. Scott, Ex-Mormons: Why We Left, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990.
63.Jump up ^ Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust: The New Age Movement in Prophecy, Eugene: Harvest House, 1983. Hal Lindsey, The Terminal Generation, Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1976.
64.Jump up ^ Constance E. Cumbey, The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, Shreveport: Huntington House, 1983. Evaluated in Elliot Miller, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, pp. 193-206. John A. Saliba, Christian Responses to the New Age Movement: A Critical Assessment, London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1999, pp.58-63.
65.Jump up ^ Answers In Action - Truth Brings Light
66.Jump up ^ Apologetics Resource Center (ARC) - Birmingham, AL
67.Jump up ^ About Apologetics Press.org
68.Jump up ^ Cult Help and Information - Home
69.Jump up ^ Welcome to EMNR On-Line
70.Jump up ^ Moore, Waveney Ann (September 17, 2003), "Fundamental advice", St. Petersburg Times
Primary sources[edit]
Abanes, Richard, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Crossway Books, Wheaton, 1998.
Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House, Eugene, 1999.
Enroth, Ronald (ed)., A Guide to New Religious Movements, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2005.
Geisler, Norman L. and Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, Baker, Grand Rapids, 1997
House, H.Wayne, Charts of Cults, Sects and Religious Movements, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2000.
LeBar, James J. Cults, Sects, and the New Age, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, 1989.
Martin, Walter R. The Kingdom of the Cults, edited by Ravi Zacharias, Bethany, Bloomington, 2003
McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 1992
Rhodes, Ron, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2001
Sire, James W. Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1980.
Sire, James W. The Universe Next Door 4th ed., InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2004.
Tucker, Ruth A. Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions and the New Age Movement, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2004.
Vatican Report on Sects, Cults and New Religious Movements, St. Paul Publications, Sydney, 1988.
History and critical assessments[edit]
Cowan, Douglas E. Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult (Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut & London, 2003).
Enroth, Ronald M. and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails (Brethren Press, Elgin, 1985).
Jenkins, Philip, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History (Oxford University Press, New York, 2000).
Johnson, Philip, "Apologetics, Mission, and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach," Sacred Tribes: Journal of Christian Missions to New Religious Movements, 1 (1) (2002)
Melton, J. Gordon., "The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, (Routledge, London, 2003), pp. 102–113.
Saliba, John A., Understanding New Religious Movements, 2nd edition (Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek, Lanham, New York & Oxford, 2003).
External links[edit]
Apologetics Index; The counter-cult movement
Douglas E. Cowan: Christian Countercult Website Profiles
CESNUR: Overview of Christian Countercult movement by Douglas E. Cowan
Counter Cult Movement at Religious Tolerance
Jeff Lindsay's discussion of cults from an LDS perspective
Article: Anti-"Minority Religion" Groups with "Big Religion" Ties


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Opposition to new religious movements


Secular groups
APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control ·
 Cult Awareness Network ·
 International Cultic Studies Association - ICSA (Formerly: the AFF, American Family Foundation) ·
 The Family Survival Trust - TFST (Formerly: FAIR - Family Action Information and Rescue) ·
 Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network ·
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Secular individuals
Carol Giambalvo ·
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 Jim Siegelman ·
 Margaret Singer ·
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 Lawrence Wollersheim
 

Religious groups
Reachout Trust ·
 Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry ·
 Christian Research Institute ·
 Dialog Center International ·
 Personal Freedom Outreach ·
 Watchman Fellowship ·
 New England Institute of Religious Research ·
 Midwest Christian Outreach ·
 Institute for Religious Research ·
 Spiritual Counterfeits Project ·
 Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
 

Religious individuals
Johannes Aagaard ·
 Alexander Dvorkin ·
 Ronald Enroth ·
 Hank Hanegraaff ·
 Paul R. Martin ·
 Walter Ralston Martin ·
 Robert Passantino
 

Governmental organizations
European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism ·
 Centre contre les manipulations mentales ·
 Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu ·
 MIVILUDES ·
 Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France
 

Individuals in government
Catherine Picard
 

Concepts
Cult ·
 NRM apologist ·
 Deprogramming ·
 Freedom of religion ·
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 New religious movement
 

Historical events
About-Picard law ·
 Governmental lists of cults and sects ·
 Persecution of Bahá'ís ·
 Persecution of Falun Gong ·
 Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses ·
 Anti-Mormonism ·
 Scientology in Germany
 

  


Categories: Christian countercult movement
Religious persecution
Persecution by Christians








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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_countercult_movement












Christian countercult movement

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The Christian countercult movement is a social movement of certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist[1] and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries"[2]) and individual activists who oppose religious sects they consider "cults".[3]


Contents  [hide]
1 Overview
2 History 2.1 Precursors and pioneers
2.2 Mid twentieth century apologists
2.3 Walter Martin
3 Other technical terminology
4 Apologetics
5 Worldwide organizations 5.1 Protestant
5.2 Catholic
5.3 Orthodox
6 Contextual missiology
7 Variations and models
8 Prominent advocates 8.1 People
8.2 Organizations
9 See also
10 References 10.1 Primary sources
10.2 History and critical assessments
11 External links

Overview[edit]
Christian countercult activism stems mainly from evangelicalism or fundamentalism. The countercult movement asserts that particular Christian sects whose beliefs they deem to be partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bible are erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a cult if its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential Christian teachings such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesus himself as a person, the ministry and miracles of Jesus, his crucifixion, his resurrection, the Second Coming and the Rapture.[4][5][6]
Countercult ministries often concern themselves with religious sects that consider themselves Christian but hold beliefs thought to contradict the Bible, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Unification Church, Christian Science, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Anti-Catholic movements have lead Protestants to classify Catholicism as a cult. John Highham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history".[7] Some also denounce non-Christian religions such as Islam, Wicca, Paganism, New Age groups, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions.
Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or theological concerns and a missionary or apologetic purpose.[8] It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible against the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelize to followers of cults.[9][10][11] Some Christians also share concerns similar to those of the secular anti-cult movement.[12][13]
The movement publishes its views through a variety of media including books, magazines, and newsletters, radio broadcasting; audio and videocassette production, direct mail appeals, proactive evangelistic encounters, professional and avocational Internet Websites, as well as lecture series, training workshops and counter cult conferences.[1]
History[edit]
Precursors and pioneers[edit]
Christians have applied theological criteria to assess the teachings of non-orthodox movements throughout church history.[14][15][16] The Apostles themselves were involved in challenging the doctrines and claims of various teachers. The Apostle Paul wrote an entire epistle, Galatians, antagonistic to the teachings of a Jewish sect that claimed adherence to the teachings of both Jesus and Moses (cf. Acts 15: & Gal. 1:6-10). The Apostle John devoted his first Epistle to countering early proto-gnostic cults that had arisen in the first century, all claiming to be "Christian" (1 Jn. 2:19).[citation needed]
The early Church in the post-apostolic period was much more involved in "defending its frontiers against alternative soteriologies — either by defining its own position with greater and greater exactness, or by attacking other religions, and particularly the Hellenistic mysteries."[17] In fact, a good deal of the early Christian literature is devoted to the exposure and refutation of unorthodox theology, mystery religions and Gnostic groups.[18][19] Irenaeus, Tertullian and Hippolytus of Rome were among the greatest early Christian apologists who engaged in critical analyses of unorthodox theology, Greco-Roman pagan religions, and Gnostic groups.[20][21][22]
In the Protestant traditions some of the earliest writings opposing unorthodox groups like Swedenborg's teachings, can be traced back to John Wesley, Alexander Campbell and Princeton Theological Seminary theologians like Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield.[23][24] The first known usage of the term "cult" by a Protestant apologist to denote a group is heretical or unorthodox is in Anti-Christian Cults by A. H. Barrington, published in 1898.[25]
Quite a few of the pioneering apologists were Baptist pastors, like I. M. Haldeman, or participants in the Plymouth Brethren, like William C. Irvine and Sydney Watson.[26] Watson wrote a series of didactic novels like Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science,[27] Bewitched by Spiritualism,[28] and The Gilded Lie, as warnings of the dangers posed by cultic groups. Watson's use of fiction to counter the cults has been repeated by later novelists like Frank E. Peretti.[29][30]
The early twentieth century apologists generally applied the words "heresy" and "sects" to groups like the Christadelphians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Spiritualists, and Theosophists. This was reflected in several chapters contributed to the multi-volume work released in 1915 The Fundamentals, where apologists criticised the teachings of Charles Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, the Mormons and Spiritualists.[31][32][33][34]
Mid twentieth century apologists[edit]
Since at least the 1940s, the approach of traditional Christians was to apply the meaning of cult such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the Bible or have teachings and practices deviating from traditional Christian teachings and practices. Some examples of sources (with published dates where known) that documented this approach are:
The Missionary Faces Isms, by John C. Mattes, pub. 1937 (Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America).
Heresies Ancient and Modern, by J.Oswald Sanders, pub.1948 (Marshall Morgan & Scott, London/Zondervan, Grand Rapids).
Sanders, J. Oswald (1973). Cults and isms (Revised ed. ed.). London: Lakeland. ISBN 978-0551004580.
Baalen, Jan Karel van (1962). The chaos of cults; a study of present-day isms. (4th rev. and enl. ed. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0802832788.
Heresies Exposed, by W.C. Irvine, pub. 1917, 1921, 1975 (Loizeaux Brothers).
Confusion of Tongues, by C.W. Ferguson, pub. 1928 (Doran & Co).
Isms New and Old, by Julius Bodensieck.
Some Latter-Day Religions, by G.H.Combs.
One of the first prominent counter-cult apologists was Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. His book, The Chaos of Cults, which was first published in 1938, became a classic in the field as it was repeatedly revised and updated until 1962.[35]
Walter Martin[edit]
Historically, one of the most important protagonists of the movement was Walter Martin (1928–89), whose numerous books include the 1955 The Rise of the Cults: An Introductory Guide to the Non-Christian Cults and the 1965 The Kingdom of the Cults: An Analysis of Major Cult Systems in the Present Christian Era, which continues to be influential. He became well known in conservative Christian circles through a radio program, "The Bible Answer Man", currently hosted by Hank Hanegraaff.
In The Rise of the Cults[36] Martin gave the following definition of a cult:

By cultism we mean the adherence to doctrines which are pointedly contradictory to orthodox Christianity and which yet claim the distinction of either tracing their origin to orthodox sources or of being in essential harmony with those sources. Cultism, in short, is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith.
As Martin's definition suggests, the countercult ministries concentrate on non-traditional groups that claim to be Christian, so chief targets have been The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., "Mormons"), Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism, Christian Science and the Unification Church, but also smaller groups like the Swedenborgian Church[37]
Various other conservative Christian leaders—among them John Ankerberg and Norman Geisler—have emphasized themes similar to Martin's.[38][39] Perhaps more importantly, numerous other well-known conservative Christian leaders as well as many conservative pastors have accepted Martin's definition of a cult as well as his understanding of the groups to which he gave that label. Dave Breese[40] summed up this kind of definition[41] in these words:

A cult is a religious perversion. It is a belief and practice in the world of religion which calls for devotion to a religious view or leader centered in false doctrine. It is an organized heresy. A cult may take many forms but it is basically a religious movement which distorts or warps orthodox faith to the point where truth becomes perverted into a lie. A cult is impossible to define except against the absolute standard of the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Other technical terminology[edit]
Since the 1980s the term "new religions" or "new religious movements" has slowly entered into Evangelical usage alongside the word "cult". Some book titles use both terms.[42][43][44]
The acceptance of these alternatives to the word "cult" in Evangelicalism reflects, in part, the wider usage of such language in the sociology of religion.[45]
Apologetics[edit]
The term "countercult apologetics" first appeared in Protestant Evangelical literature as a self-designation in the late 1970s and early 1980s in articles by Ronald Enroth and David Fetcho, and by Walter Martin in Martin Speaks Out on the Cults.[46] A mid-1980s debate about apologetic methodology between Ronald Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, led the latter to place more emphasis in his publications on differentiating the Christian countercult from the secular anti-cult.[47] Eric Pement urged Melton to adopt the label "Christian countercult",[48] and since the early 1990s the terms has entered into popular usage and is recognised by sociologists such as Douglas Cowan.[49]
The only existing umbrella organization within the countercult movement in the USA is the EMNR (Evangelical Ministries to New Religions) founded in 1982 which has the evangelical Lausanne Covenant as governing document and which stresses mission, scholarship, accountability and networking.
Worldwide organizations[edit]
While the greatest number of countercult ministries are found in the USA, ministries exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. A comparison between the methods employed in the USA and other nations discloses some similarities in emphasis, but also other nuances in emphasis. The similarities are that globally these ministries share a common concern about the evangelization of people in cults and new religions. There is also often a common thread of comparing orthodox doctrines and biblical passages with the teachings of the groups under examination. However, in some of the European and southern hemisphere contexts, confrontational methods of engagement are not always relied on, and dialogical approaches are sometimes advocated.
A group of organizations which originated within the context of established religion is working in more general fields of cult-awareness, especially in Europe. Their leaders are theologians, and they are often social ministries affiliated to big churches.
Protestant[edit]
Berlin-based Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen[50] ("Parish Office for Sects and World Views.") headed by Lutheran Pastor Thomas Gandow[51]
Swiss "Evangelische Informationsstelle Kirchen-Sekten-Religionen" (Protestant Reformed Zwinglian Information Service on Churches, Sects and Religions) headed by Zwinglian Parson Georg Schmid[52]
Catholic[edit]
Sekten und Weltanschauungen in Sachsen (Sects and ideologies in Saxony)[53]
Weltanschauungen und religiöse Gruppierungen ("Worldviews and religious groups") of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz, Austria[54]
GRIS (Gruppo di ricerca e informazione socio-religiosa), Italy[55]
Orthodox[edit]
Synodic Committee about Heresies of Greek Orthodox Church[56]
Center of Ireneus of Lyon in Russia.
Contextual missiology[edit]
The phenomena of "cults" has also entered into the discourses of Christian missions and theology of religions. An initial step in this direction occurred in 1980 when the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization convened a mini-consultation in Thailand. From that consultation a position paper was produced.[57] The issue was revisited at the Lausanne Forum in 2004 with another paper.[58] The latter paper adopts a different methodology to that advocated in 1980.
In the 1990s discussions in academic missions and theological journals indicate that another trajectory is emerging which reflects the influence of contextual missions theory. Advocates of this approach maintain that apologetics as a tool needs to be retained, but do not favour a confrontational style of engagement.[59]
Variations and models[edit]
Countercult apologetics has several variations and methods employed in analysing and responding to cults. The different nuances in countercult apologetics have been discussed by John A. Saliba and Philip Johnson.[60]
The dominant method is the emphasis on detecting unorthodox or heretical doctrines and contrasting those with orthodox interpretations of the Bible and early creedal documents. Some apologists, such as Francis J. Beckwith, have emphasised a philosophical approach, pointing out logical, epistemological and metaphysical problems within the teachings of a particular group.[61] Another approach involves former members of cultic groups recounting their spiritual autobiographies, which highlight experiences of disenchantment with the group, unanswered questions and doubts about commitment to the group, culminating in the person's conversion to Evangelical Christianity.[62]
Apologists like Dave Hunt in Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust and Hal Lindsey in The Terminal Generation have tended to interpret the phenomena of cults as part of the burgeoning evidence of signs that Christ's Second Advent is close at hand.[63] Both Hunt, and Constance Cumbey, have applied a conspiracy model to interpreting the emergence of New Age spirituality and linking that to speculations about fulfilled prophecies heralding Christ's reappearance.[64]
Prominent advocates[edit]
People[edit]
Constance Cumbey
Douglas Groothuis
Dave Hunt
Greg Koukl
J. P. Moreland, Biola University
Norman Geisler
Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Ronald Enroth, evangelical Christian author of books about "cults" and new religious movements.
Texe Marrs
Walter Martin Late Baptist minister who was the host of the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast and the president of the Christian Research Institute. He often used his show to promote arguments against Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other movements.
Organizations[edit]
Answers in Action,[65] Bob and Gretchen Passantino
Apologetics resource center,[66] by Craig Branch
Apologetics Press, [67] current Executive Director Dr. Dave Miller
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) founded by Matt Slick
Christian Research Institute (CRI) founded by Walter Martin
Cult Awareness and Information Centre[68] founded by the late Jan Groenveld
Dialog Center International founded by Johannes Aagaard
EMNR Evangelical Ministries to New Religions,[69] an umbrella group for ministries to the cults and new religions
Midwest Christian Outreach
Mormonism Research Ministry (Bill McKeever)
Personal Freedom Outreach
Spiritual Counterfeits Project, president Tal Brooke
Stand To Reason, founded by Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner
Utah Lighthouse Ministry (Jerald & Sandra Tanner)
Watchman Fellowship, founder David Henke, president James K. Walker[70]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Anti-cult movement
References[edit]


 This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)
1.^ Jump up to: a b Cowan, D.E. 2003. Bearing False Witness?: An Introduction to the Christian Countercult: Praeger.
2.Jump up ^ Robert M. Bowman, Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Biblical Guide to Doctrinal Discernment, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992, pp. 10, 106-107, & 123-124.
3.Jump up ^ Douglas E Cowan author. Bearing False Witness? Introduction to the Christian Counter Cult. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0275974596
4.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, rev.ed. Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, pp. 11-12.
5.Jump up ^ Richard Abanes, Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions,Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, p. 33.
6.Jump up ^ H. Wayne House & Gordon Carle, Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted, Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
7.Jump up ^ Jenkins, Philip (1 April 2003). The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice. Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-19-515480-1.
8.Jump up ^ Garry W. Trompf,"Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements," Religious Traditions Volume 10, 1987, pp. 95-106.
9.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev.ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003, pp.479-493.
10.Jump up ^ Ronald Enroth ed. Evangelising the Cults, Milton Keynes: Word, 1990.
11.Jump up ^ Norman L Geisler & Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997.
12.Jump up ^ Paul R. Martin, Cult Proofing Your Kids, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993.
13.Jump up ^ Joel A. MacCollam, Carnival of Souls: Religious Cults and Young People, New York: Seabury Press, 1979.
14.Jump up ^ Saliba, Understanding New Religious Movements, pp.45-74.
15.Jump up ^ Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present, Garden City: Doubleday, 1984.
16.Jump up ^ J.W.C.Wand, The Four Great Heresies:Nestorian, Eutychian, Apollinarian, Arian, London: A.R.Mowbray, 1955.
17.Jump up ^ Eric J. Sharpe, Comparative Religion: A History, London: Duckworth, 1975, p. 9
18.Jump up ^ Brown, Heresies, pp.38-69.
19.Jump up ^ Ronald H. Nash, Christianity and the Hellenistic World, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984, pp.213-224.
20.Jump up ^ Avery Dulles, A History of Apologetics, Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1999, pp. 22-58.
21.Jump up ^ J.K.S.Reid, Christian Apologetics, Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans, 1970, pp. 36-53.
22.Jump up ^ Bengt Hagglund, History of Theology, trans. Gene J. Lund, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968, pp.31-105.
23.Jump up ^ Richard G. Kyle, The Religious Fringe: A History of Alternative Religions in America, Downers Grove: IVP, 1993.
24.Jump up ^ Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
25.Jump up ^ A.H.Barrington, Anti-Christian Cults, Milwaukee:Young Churchman/London:Sampson Low, Marston, 1898.
26.Jump up ^ J. Gordon Melton,"The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, Routledge, London, 2003, pp. 102–113.
27.Jump up ^ Sydney Watson, Escaped from the Snare: Christian Science, London:William Nichoson & Sons, no date.
28.Jump up ^ Sydney Watson, The Lure of a Soul: Bewitched by Spiritualism, London: W. Nicholson & Sons, no date.
29.Jump up ^ Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness, Westchester: Crossway,1986.
30.Jump up ^ James R. Lewis, "Works of Darkness: Occult Fascination in the Novels of Frank Peretti" in Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, James R. Lewis ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996, pp.339-350.
31.Jump up ^ William G. Moorehead, ‘Millennial Dawn A Counterfeit of Christianity’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 7. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
32.Jump up ^ Maurice E. Wilson, ‘Eddyism, Commonly Called “Christian Science”, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 9. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
33.Jump up ^ R. G. McNiece, ‘Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 8. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
34.Jump up ^ Algernon J. Pollock, ‘Modern Spiritualism Briefly Tested By Scripture’, in The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, Volume 10. Chicago: Testimony Publishing.
35.Jump up ^ J.K.van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, 4th rev.ed.Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing, 1962.
36.Jump up ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955, pp. 11-12.
37.Jump up ^ Each of these movements are treated in separate chapters in Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev. ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003.
38.Jump up ^ John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Cult Watch,Eugene: Harvest House, 1991, pp. i-x.
39.Jump up ^ Geisler & Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, pp. 10-11.
40.Jump up ^ Dave Breese, Know the Marks of Cults, Wheaton: Victor, 1975, 14.
41.Jump up ^ Compare this definition with heresy.
42.Jump up ^ Richard Abanes, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Wheaton: Crossway, 1998.
43.Jump up ^ Ronald Enroth ed. A Guide to New Religious Movements, Downers Grove: IVP, 2005.
44.Jump up ^ Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
45.Jump up ^ On sociological understandings see for example Eileen Barker, New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1989. George D. Chryssides, Exploring New Religions, London & New York: Cassell, 1999.Jacob Needleman & George Baker ed. Understanding the New Religions, New York: Seabury Press, 1981. Mikael Rothstein & Reender Kranenborg ed. New Religions in a Postmodern World, Aarhus, Denmark: Aargus University Press, 2003.
46.Jump up ^ Ronald M. Enroth, "Cult/Counter-cult", Eternity, November 1977, pp.18-22 & 32-35. David Fetcho, "Disclosing the Unknown God: Evangelism to the New Religions", Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements Volume 6, number 4 December 1982 p.8. Walter R. Martin, Martin Speaks Out On The Cults, rev. ed. Ventura: Vision House, 1983,pp.124-125.
47.Jump up ^ Ronald M. Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails, Elgin: Brethren, 1985, pp. 25-30.
48.Jump up ^ Eric Pement, ‘Comments on the Directory’ in Keith Edward Tolbert and Eric Pement, The 1993 Directory of Cult Research Organizations,Trenton: American Religions Center, 1993, p. x.
49.Jump up ^ Douglas E. Cowan, Bearing False Witness? An Introduction ot the Christian Countercult, Westport: Praeger, 2003.
50.Jump up ^ Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen - Index
51.Jump up ^ Pfarramt für Sekten- und Weltanschauungsfragen - Pfarrer Gandow
52.Jump up ^ Relinfo
53.Jump up ^ Sekten in Sachsen
54.Jump up ^ Sekten & Gruppierungen
55.Jump up ^ www.gris.org
56.Jump up ^ http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/holySynod/commitees/heresies/omades.html
57.Jump up ^ The Thailand Report on New Religious Movements
58.Jump up ^ Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World
59.Jump up ^ Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost & John W. Morehead ed. Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004.Gordon R. Lewis, "Our Mission Responsibility to New Religious Movements" International Journal of Frontier Missions Volume 15, number 3 July–September 1998,p. 116.
60.Jump up ^ Saliba, Understanding New Religious Movements, pp.212-223. Philip Johnson, "Apologetics, Mission and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach," Sacred Tribes Journal, Volume 1, number 1 Fall 2002 5-220.
61.Jump up ^ Francis J. Beckwith & Stephen E. Parrish, See the gods fall, Joplin: College Press, 1997. Francis J. Beckwith, Carl Mosser & Paul Owen ed. The New Mormon Challenge, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
62.Jump up ^ James R. Adair & Ted Miller ed. Escape from Darkness, Wheaton: Victor, 1982.Chris Elkins, Heavenly Deception, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1980. Joe Hewitt, I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness, Denver: Accent Books, 1979. Latayne C. Scott, Ex-Mormons: Why We Left, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990.
63.Jump up ^ Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust: The New Age Movement in Prophecy, Eugene: Harvest House, 1983. Hal Lindsey, The Terminal Generation, Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1976.
64.Jump up ^ Constance E. Cumbey, The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, Shreveport: Huntington House, 1983. Evaluated in Elliot Miller, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, pp. 193-206. John A. Saliba, Christian Responses to the New Age Movement: A Critical Assessment, London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1999, pp.58-63.
65.Jump up ^ Answers In Action - Truth Brings Light
66.Jump up ^ Apologetics Resource Center (ARC) - Birmingham, AL
67.Jump up ^ About Apologetics Press.org
68.Jump up ^ Cult Help and Information - Home
69.Jump up ^ Welcome to EMNR On-Line
70.Jump up ^ Moore, Waveney Ann (September 17, 2003), "Fundamental advice", St. Petersburg Times
Primary sources[edit]
Abanes, Richard, Cults, New Religious Movements, and Your Family, Crossway Books, Wheaton, 1998.
Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House, Eugene, 1999.
Enroth, Ronald (ed)., A Guide to New Religious Movements, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2005.
Geisler, Norman L. and Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask, Baker, Grand Rapids, 1997
House, H.Wayne, Charts of Cults, Sects and Religious Movements, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2000.
LeBar, James J. Cults, Sects, and the New Age, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, 1989.
Martin, Walter R. The Kingdom of the Cults, edited by Ravi Zacharias, Bethany, Bloomington, 2003
McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 1992
Rhodes, Ron, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2001
Sire, James W. Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1980.
Sire, James W. The Universe Next Door 4th ed., InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2004.
Tucker, Ruth A. Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions and the New Age Movement, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2004.
Vatican Report on Sects, Cults and New Religious Movements, St. Paul Publications, Sydney, 1988.
History and critical assessments[edit]
Cowan, Douglas E. Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult (Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut & London, 2003).
Enroth, Ronald M. and J. Gordon Melton, Why Cults Succeed Where The Church Fails (Brethren Press, Elgin, 1985).
Jenkins, Philip, Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History (Oxford University Press, New York, 2000).
Johnson, Philip, "Apologetics, Mission, and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach," Sacred Tribes: Journal of Christian Missions to New Religious Movements, 1 (1) (2002)
Melton, J. Gordon., "The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, (Routledge, London, 2003), pp. 102–113.
Saliba, John A., Understanding New Religious Movements, 2nd edition (Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek, Lanham, New York & Oxford, 2003).
External links[edit]
Apologetics Index; The counter-cult movement
Douglas E. Cowan: Christian Countercult Website Profiles
CESNUR: Overview of Christian Countercult movement by Douglas E. Cowan
Counter Cult Movement at Religious Tolerance
Jeff Lindsay's discussion of cults from an LDS perspective
Article: Anti-"Minority Religion" Groups with "Big Religion" Ties


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 e
 
Opposition to new religious movements


Secular groups
APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control ·
 Cult Awareness Network ·
 International Cultic Studies Association - ICSA (Formerly: the AFF, American Family Foundation) ·
 The Family Survival Trust - TFST (Formerly: FAIR - Family Action Information and Rescue) ·
 Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network ·
 Cult Information Centre
 

Secular individuals
Carol Giambalvo ·
 Steven Hassan ·
 Galen Kelly ·
 Michael Langone ·
 Ted Patrick ·
 Rick Ross ·
 Tom Sackville ·
 Jim Siegelman ·
 Margaret Singer ·
 Louis Jolyon West ·
 Cyril Vosper ·
 Lawrence Wollersheim
 

Religious groups
Reachout Trust ·
 Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry ·
 Christian Research Institute ·
 Dialog Center International ·
 Personal Freedom Outreach ·
 Watchman Fellowship ·
 New England Institute of Religious Research ·
 Midwest Christian Outreach ·
 Institute for Religious Research ·
 Spiritual Counterfeits Project ·
 Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
 

Religious individuals
Johannes Aagaard ·
 Alexander Dvorkin ·
 Ronald Enroth ·
 Hank Hanegraaff ·
 Paul R. Martin ·
 Walter Ralston Martin ·
 Robert Passantino
 

Governmental organizations
European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism ·
 Centre contre les manipulations mentales ·
 Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu ·
 MIVILUDES ·
 Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France
 

Individuals in government
Catherine Picard
 

Concepts
Cult ·
 NRM apologist ·
 Deprogramming ·
 Freedom of religion ·
 Heresy ·
 Mind control ·
 New religious movement
 

Historical events
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Anti-cult movement

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"Countercult" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Counterculture.
The anti-cult movement(abbreviated ACMand sometimes called the countercult movement) opposes any new religious movements(NRMs) they characterize as cults. Sociologists David G. Bromleyand Anson Shupeinitially defined the ACM in 1981 as a collection of groups embracing brainwashing-theory,[1]but later observed a significant shift in ideology towards a 'medicalization' of the memberships of new religious movements.[2]Some Christian organizations also oppose NRMs on theological grounds through church networks and printed literature.[3]


Contents [hide]
1The concept of an ACM1.1Religious and secular critics
1.2Barker's five types of cult-watching groups
1.3Hadden's taxonomy of the anti-cult movement
2Cult-watching groups and individuals, and other opposition to cults2.1Family-members of adherents
2.2Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists
2.3Former members
2.4Christian countercult movement
2.5Governmental opposition
3Anti-cult movement in Russia
4Controversies4.1Polarized views among scholars
4.2Brainwashing and mind-control
4.3Deprogramming or exit-counseling
4.4Responses of targeted groups and scholars
5See also
6Footnotes
7References
8Further reading

The concept of an ACM[edit]
The anti-cult movement is conceptualized as a collection of individuals and groups, whether formally organized or not, who oppose some new religious movements (or 'cults'). This countermovementhas reportedly recruited from family members of 'cultists', former group members (or apostates), church groups (including Jewish groups)[4]and associations of health professionals.[5]Although there is a trend towards globalization,[6]the social and organizational bases vary significantly from country to country according to the social and political opportunity structuresin each place.[7]
As with many subjects in the social sciences, the movement is variously defined. A significant minority opinion suggests that analysis should treat the secular anti-cult movement separately from the religiously motivated (mainly Christian) groups.[8][9]
The anti-cult movement might be divided into four classes:
##secular counter-cult groups;
##Christian evangelical counter-cult groups;
##groups formed to counter a specific cult; and
##organizations that offer some form of exit counseling.[10]
Most, if not all, the groups involved express the view that there are potentially deleterious effects associated with some new religious movements.[11]
Religious and secular critics[edit]
Commentators differentiate two main types of opposition to 'cults':
##religious opposition (related to theologicalissues).
##secular opposition (related to emotional, social, financial, and economic consequences of cultic involvement, where 'cult' can refer to a religious or to a secular group).
Barker's five types of cult-watching groups[edit]
According to sociologist Eileen Barker, cult-watching groups (CWGs) disseminate information about 'cults' with the intent of changing public and government perception as well as of changing public policy regarding NRMs.
Barker has identified five types of CWG:[12]
1.cult-awareness groups (CAGs) focusing on the harm done by 'destructive cults'
2.counter-cult groups (CCGs) focusing on the (heretical) teaching of non-mainstream groups
3.research-oriented groups (ROGs) focusing on beliefs, practices and comparisons
4.human-rights groups (HRGs) focusing on the human rights of religious minorities
5.cult-defender groups (CDGs) focusing on defending cults and exposing CAGs
Hadden's taxonomy of the anti-cult movement[edit]
Jeffrey K. Haddensees four distinct classes in the organizational opposition to 'cults':[13]
1.Religiously grounded opposition##Opposition usually defined in theological terms.
##Cults viewed as engaging in heresy.
##Sees its mission as exposing the heresy and correcting the beliefs of those who have strayed from a truth.
##Prefers metaphors of deception rather than of possession.
##Opposition serves two important functions:##protects members (especially youth) from heresy, and
##increases solidarity among the faithful.

2.Secular opposition##Regards individual autonomy as the manifest goal — achieved by getting people out of groups using mind controland deceptive proselytization.
##Identifies the struggle as about control, not as about theology.
##Organized around families who have or have had children involved in a cult.
##Has a latent goal of disabling or destroying NRMs organizationally.
3.Apostates##Apostasy = the renunciation of a religious faith.
##Apostate = one who engages in active opposition to their former faith.
##The anti-cult movement has actively encouraged former members to interpret their experience in a 'cult' as one of being egregiously wronged and encourages participation in organized anti-cult activities.
4.Entrepreneurial opposition##Individuals who take up a cause for personal gain
##Ad hoc alliances or coalitions to promote shared views
##Broadcasters and journalists as leading examples.
##A few 'entrepreneurs' have made careers by setting up organized opposition.

Cult-watching groups and individuals, and other opposition to cults[edit]
Family-members of adherents[edit]
Some opposition to cults (and to some new religious movements) started with family-members of cult-adherents who had problems with the sudden changes in character, lifestyle and future plans of their young adult children who had joined NRMs. Ted Patrick, widely known as 'the father of deprogramming', exemplifies members of this group. The former Cult Awareness Network(old CAN) grew out of a grassroots-movement by parents of cult-members. The American Family Foundation(todaythe International Cultic Studies Association) originated from a father whose daughter had joined a high-control group.
Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists[edit]
From the 1970s onwards some psychiatrists and clinical psychologists accused 'cults' of harming some of their members. These accusations were sometimes based on observations made during therapy, and sometimes were related to theories regarding brainwashing or mind-control.
Former members[edit]
See also: Apostasy in alleged cults and new religious movements
Anson Shupe, David G. Bromleyand Joseph Ventimiglia coined the term atrocity talesin 1979,[14]which Bryan R. Wilsonlater took up in relation to former members' narratives. Bromley and Shupe defined an 'atrocity tale' as the symbolic presentation of action or events (real or imagined) in such a context that they come to flagrantly violate the (presumably) shared premises upon which a given set of social relationships should take place. The recounting of such tales has the intention of reaffirming normative boundaries. By sharing the reporter's disapproval or horror, an audience reasserts normative prescription and clearly locates the violator beyond the limits of public morality.[15][16]
Christian countercult movement[edit]
Main article: Christian countercult movement
In the 1940s, the long held opposition by some established Christian denominations to non-Christian religions or/and supposedly heretical, or counterfeit, Christian sects crystallized into a more organized 'Christian counter cult movement' in the United States. For those belonging to the movement, all religious groups claiming to be Christian, but deemed outside of Christian orthodoxy, were considered 'cults'.[17]Christian cults are new religious movements which have a Christian background but are considered to be theologicallydeviant by members of other Christian churches.[18]In his influential book The Kingdom of the Cults(first published in the United States in 1965) Christian scholar Walter Martindefines Christian cults as groups that follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the understanding of the Bibleaccepted by mainstream Christianity. He mentions The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarian Universalism, and Unityas examples.[19]
The Christian countercult movement asserts that Christian sects whose beliefs are partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bibleare erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a 'cult' if its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential Christianteachings such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesushimself as a person, the ministry of Jesus, the Miracles of Jesus, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Death of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Rapture.[20][21][22]
Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or theological concerns and a missionaryor apologeticpurpose.[23]It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bibleagainst the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelizeto followers of cults.[24][25][26]
Governmental opposition[edit]
For more details see: Governmental lists of cults and sects
The secular opposition to cults and new religious movements operates internationally, though a number of sizeable and sometimes expanding groups originated in the United States. Some European countries, such as France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland have introduced legislation or taken other measures against cults or 'cultic deviations'.
In the Netherlands 'cults', sects, and new religious movementshave the same legal rights as larger and more mainstream religious movements.[27]As of 2004, the Netherlands do not have an anti-cult movement of any significance.[28]
Anti-cult movement in Russia[edit]
In Russia“anticultism” appeared in early 1990s. Some Russian Protestantcriticized foreign missionaries, sects and new religious movements. They perhaps hoped that taking part in anti-cult declarations could demonstrate that they were not "sectarians". Some religious studies have shown that anti-cult movements, especially with support of the government, can provoke serious religious conflicts in Russian society.[29]In 2008 the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairsprepared a list of "extremist groups". At the top of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam", which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "Pagan cults".[30]In 2009 the Russian Ministry of Justicecreated a council which it named the Council of Experts Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis. The new council listed 80 large sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones. Large sects listed included The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and what were called "neo-Pentecostals." [31]
Controversies[edit]
Polarized views among scholars[edit]
Social scientists, sociologists, religious scholars, psychologists and psychiatrists have studied the modern field of 'cults' and new religious movements since the early 1980s. Cult debates about certain purported cults and about cults in general often become polarized with widely divergent opinions, not only among current followers and disaffected former members, but sometimes among scholars as well.
All academics agree that some groups have become problematic and sometimes very problematic; but they disagree over the extent to which new religious movements in general cause harm.
Several scholars have questioned Hadden's attitude towards NRMs and cult critics as one-sided.[32]
Scholars in the field of new religious movements confront many controversial subjects:
##The validity of the testimonies of former members.
##The validity of the testimonies of current members.
##The validity of and differences between exit counselingand coercive deprogramming.
##The validity of evidence of harm caused by 'cults'.
##Ethical concerns regarding new religious movements, for example: free will, freedom of speech.
##Opposition to 'cults' vs. freedom of religionand religious intolerance.
##The objectivity of all scholars studying new religious movements (see NRM apologists).
##The acceptance or rejection of the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Controlreport (Amitrani & di Marzio, 2000, Massimo Introvigne), see also scholarly positions on mind control.
Janet Jacobs expresses the range of views on the membership of the perceived ACM itself, ranging from those who comment on "the value of the Cult Awareness Network, the value of exit therapy for former members of new religious movements, and alternative modes of support for family members of individuals who have joined new religions" and extending to "a more critical perspective on [a perceived] wide range of ACM activities that threaten religious freedom and individual rights."[33]
Brainwashing and mind-control[edit]
Further information: Mind control
Over the years various theories of conversionand member retention have been proposed that link mind control to NRMs, and particularly those religious movements referred to as 'cults' by their critics. These theories resemble the original political brainwashing theories first developed by the American CIA as a propaganda device to combat communism,[34]with some minor changes. Philip Zimbardodiscusses mind control as "...the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes",[35]and he suggests that any human being is susceptible to such manipulation.[36]In a 1999 book, Robert Lifton also applied his original ideas about thought reform to Aum Shinrikyo, concluding that in this context thought reform was possible without violence or physical coercion. Margaret Singer, who also spent time studying the political brainwashing of Korean prisoners of war, agreed with this conclusion: in her book Cults in Our Midstshe describes six conditions which would create an atmosphere in which thought reform is possible.[37]
James T. Richardsonobserves that if the NRMs had access to powerful brainwashing techniques, one would expect that NRMs would have high growth rates, yet in fact most have not had notable success in recruitment. Most adherents participate for only a short time, and the success in retaining members is limited.[38]For this and other reasons, sociologists of religion including David G. Bromleyand Anson D. Shupeconsider the idea that cults are brainwashing American youth to be "implausible."[39]In addition to Bromley, Thomas Robbins, Dick Anthony, Eileen Barker, Newton Maloney, Massimo Introvigne, John Hall, Lorne L. Dawson, Anson D. Shupe, J. Gordon Melton, Marc Galanter, Saul Levine of Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc, amongst other scholars researching NRMs, have argued and established to the satisfaction of courts, relevant professional associations and scientific communities that there exists no scientific theory, generally accepted and based upon methodologically sound research, that supports the brainwashing theories as advanced by the anti-cult movement.[40]
Deprogramming or exit-counseling[edit]
Further information: Deprogramming
Some members of the secular opposition to cults and to some new religious movements have argued that if brainwashing has deprived a person of their free will, treatment to restore their free will should take place — even if the 'victim' opposes this.
Precedents for this exist in the treatment of certain mental illnesses: in such cases medical and legal authorities recognize the condition(s) as depriving sufferers of their ability to make appropriate decisions for themselves. But the practice of forcing treatment on a presumed victim of 'brainwashing' (one definition of "deprogramming") has constantly proven controversial. Human-rightsorganizations (including the ACLUand Human Rights Watch) have also criticized deprogramming. While only a small fraction of the anti-cult movement has had involvement in deprogramming, several deprogrammers (including a deprogramming-pioneer, Ted Patrick) have served prison-terms for acts sometimes associated with deprogramming including kidnapping and rape, while courts have acquitted others.
Responses of targeted groups and scholars[edit]
The Foundation against Intolerance of Religious Minorities, associated with the AdidamNRM, sees the use of terms 'cult' and 'cult leader' as detestable and as something to avoid at all costs. The Foundation regards such usage as the exercise of prejudice and discrimination against them in the same manner as the words 'nigger' and 'commie' served in the past to denigrate blacksand Communists.[41]
CESNUR’s president Massimo Introvigne, writes in his article "So many evil things: Anti-cult terrorism via the Internet",[42]that fringe and extreme anti-cult activists resort to tactics that may create a background favorable to extreme manifestations of discriminationand hateagainst individuals that belong to new religious movements. Professor Eileen Barkerpoints out in an interview that the controversy surrounding certain new religious movements can turn violent by a process called deviancy amplification spiral.[43]
In a paper presented at the 2000 meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Anson Shupe and Susan Darnell argued that although the International Cultic Studies Association(ICSA, formerly known as AFF or American Family Foundation) has presented "...slanted, stereotypical images and language that has inflamed persons to perform extreme actions," the extent to which one can classify the ICSA and other anti-cult organizations as 'hate-groups' (as defined by law in some jurisdictions or by racial/ethnic criteria in sociology) remains open to debate. In 2005, the Hate Crimes Unit of the Edmonton Police Service confiscated anti-Falun Gong materials distributed at the annual conference of the ICSA by staff members of the Calgary Chinese Consulate (Province of Alberta, Canada). The materials, including the calling of Falun Gong a 'cult', were identified as having breached the Criminal Code, which bans the wilful promotion of hatred against identifiable religious groups.[44]See also Verbal violence in hate groups.
An article on the categorization of new religious movements in US media published by The Association for the Sociology of Religion(formerly the American Catholic Sociological Society, criticizes the print media for failing to recognize social-scientific efforts in the area of new religious movements, and its tendency to use anti-cultist definitions rather than social-scientific insight, and asserts that The failure of the print media to recognize social-scientific efforts in the area of religious movement organizations (as our previous research [van Driel and Richardson, 1985] also shows) impels us to add yet another failing mark to the media report card Weiss (1985) has constructed to assess the media's reporting of the social sciences.[45]
See also[edit]
##Cult apologist
##Cult Awareness Network
##Christian countercult movement
##Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France(1995)
##Religious Persecution
##International Cultic Studies Association
##Persecution of Falun Gong
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^Bromley, David G.; Anson Shupe(1981). Strange Gods: The Great American Cult Scare. Boston: Beacon Press.
2.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "," pp. 3-32 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, pp. 9-14.
3.Jump up ^Anson, Shupe. "ANTI-CULT MOVEMENT". Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Retrieved 19 May2014.
4.Jump up ^Feher, Shoshanah. 1994. "Maintaining the Faith: The Jewish Anti-Cult and Counter-Missionary Movement, pp. 33-48 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland.
5.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "The Modern Anti-Cult Movement in North America," pp. 3-31 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. 3.
Barker, Eileen. 1995 The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking!", Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion34 (3): 287-310, p. 297.
6.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "Introduction," pp. vii-xi in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. x.
7.Jump up ^Richardson, James T.and Barend von Driel. 1994 "New Religious Movements in Europe: Developments and Reactions," pp. 129-170 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. 137ff.
8.Jump up ^Cowan, Douglas E. 2002. "Exits and Migrations: Foregrounding the Christian Counter-cult", Journal of Contemporary Religion17 (3): 339-354.
9.Jump up ^"Cult Group Controversies: Conceptualizing 'Anti-Cult' and 'Counter-Cult'"
10.Jump up ^Chryssides, George D. 1999. Exploring New Religions.London & New York: Cassell, p. 345.
11.Jump up ^Possamaï, Adam and Murray Lee. 2004. "New Religious Movements and the Fear of Crime," Journal of Contemporary Religion19 (3): 337-352, p. 338.
12.Jump up ^http://www.cesnur.org/2001/london2001/barker.htm
13.Jump up ^Hadden, Jeffrey K., SOC 257: New Religious Movements Lectures: The Anti-Cult Movement, University of Virginia, Department of Sociology
14.Jump up ^Bromley, David G., Shupe, Anson D., Ventimiglia, G.C.: "Atrocity Tales, the Unification Church, and the Social Construction of Evil", Journal of Communication, Summer 1979, p. 42-53.
15.Jump up ^Duhaime, Jean (Université de Montréal) Les Témoigagnes de Convertis et d'ex-Adeptes(English: The testimonies of converts and former followers, an article that appeared in the otherwise English-language book New Religions in a Postmodern Worldedited by Mikael Rothsteinand Reender KranenborgRENNER Studies in New religions Aarhus Universitypress, ISBN 87-7288-748-6
16.Jump up ^Shupe, A.D. and D.G. Bromley 1981 Apostatesand Atrocity Stories: Some parameters in the Dynamics of DeprogrammingIn: B.R. Wilson (ed.) The Social Impact of New Religious MovementsBarrytown NY: Rose of Sharon Press, 179-215
17.Jump up ^Cowan, 2003
18.Jump up ^J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America(New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992). page 5
19.Jump up ^Walter Ralston Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany House, 2003, ISBN 0764228218page 18
20.Jump up ^Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, rev.ed. Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, pp. 11-12.
21.Jump up ^Richard Abanes, Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions,Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, p. 33.
22.Jump up ^H. Wayne House & Gordon Carle, Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted, Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
23.Jump up ^Garry W. Trompf,"Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements," Religious TraditionsVolume 10, 1987, pp. 95-106.
24.Jump up ^Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev.ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003, pp.479-493.
25.Jump up ^Ronald Enroth ed. Evangelising the Cults, Milton Keynes: Word, 1990.
26.Jump up ^Norman L Geisler & Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997.
27.Jump up ^Singelenberg, RichardForedoomed to Failure: the Anti-Cult Movement in the Netherlandsin Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe, redacted by James T. Richardson, Springer, 2004, ISBN 0-306-47887-0, ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1, pages 214-215
28.Jump up ^Singelenberg, RichardForedoomed to Failure: the Anti-Cult Movement in the Netherlandsin Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe, redacted by James T. Richardson, Springer, 2004, ISBN 0-306-47887-0, ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1, page 213
29.Jump up ^Сергей Иваненко (2009-08-17). О религиоведческих аспектах "антикультового движения"(in Russian). Retrieved 2009-12-04.
30.Jump up ^The new nobility : the restoration of Russia's security state and the enduring legacy of the KGB, Author: Andreĭ Soldatov; I Borogan, Publisher: New York, NY : PublicAffairs, ©2010. pages 65-66
31.Jump up ^Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians (Google eBook), Paul Marshall, 2013, Thomas Nelson Inc
32.Jump up ^Robbins and Zablocki 2001, Beit-Hallahmi 2001, Kent and Krebs 1998.
33.Jump up ^Janet L Jacobs: Review of Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley: Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland in Sociology of religion, Winter 1996. Online at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n4_v57/ai_19178617/pg_2. Retrieved 2007-09-17
34.Jump up ^Dick, Anthony (1999). "Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall". Social Justice Research12(4).
35.Jump up ^Zimbardo, Philip G.(November 2002). "Mind Control: Psychological Reality or Mindless Rhetoric?". Monitor on Psychology. Retrieved 2008-12-30. "Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process that involves a set of basic social psychological principles. Conformity, compliance, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, guilt and fear arousal, modeling and identification are some of the staple social influence ingredients well studied in psychological experiments and field studies. In some combinations, they create a powerful crucible of extreme mental and behavioral manipulationwhen synthesized with several other real-world factors, such as charismatic, authoritarian leaders, dominant ideologies, social isolation, physical debilitation, induced phobias, and extreme threats or promised rewards that are typically deceptively orchestrated, over an extended time period in settings where they are applied intensively. A body of social science evidence shows that when systematically practiced by state-sanctioned police, military or destructive cults, mind control can induce false confessions, create converts who willingly torture or kill 'invented enemies,' and engage indoctrinated members to work tirelessly, give up their money—and even their lives—for 'the cause.'"
36.Jump up ^Zimbardo, P(1997). "What messages are behind today's cults?". Monitor on Psychology: 14.
37.Jump up ^Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace, Margaret Thaler Singer, Jossey-Bass, publisher, April 2003, ISBN 0-7879-6741-6
38.Jump up ^Richardson, James T. (June 1985). "The active vs. passive convert: paradigm conflict in conversion/recruitment research". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion(Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 24, No. 2) 24(2): 163–179. doi:10.2307/1386340. JSTOR 1386340.
39.Jump up ^Brainwashing by Religious Cults
40.Jump up ^Richardson, James T. 2009. "Religion and The Law" in The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Peter Clarke. (ed) Oxford Handbooks Online. p. 426
41.Jump up ^The Foundation Against Intolerance of Minority Religions
42.Jump up ^CESNUR - "So Many Evil Things": Anti-Cult Terrorism via the Internet
43.Jump up ^Interview with Eileen Barker, Introducing New Religious MovementsAvailable online(Retrieved 2007-10-17 'What can be observed in most of these tragedies is a process which sociologists sometimes call "deviance amplification" building up. The antagonists on each side behave rather badly, and that gives permission for the other side to behave more badly, so you get this spiral and increasing polarisation with each side saying: "Look what they did."')
44.Jump up ^Edmonton Police Report of Wilful Promotion of Hatred by Chinese Consular Officials against Falun Gong, Appendix 8 to "Bloody Harvest: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China," By David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, Esq.
45.Jump up ^van Driel, Barend and James T. Richardson. Research Note Categorization of New Religious Movements in American Print Media. Sociological Analysis 1988, 49, 2:171-183
References[edit]
##Amitrani, Alberto and di Marzio, Raffaella: "Mind Control" in New Religious Movements and the American Psychological Association, Cultic Studies Journal Vol 17, 2000.
##Beckford, James A., Cult Controversies: The Societal Response to New Religious Movements, London, Tavistock, 1985, p. 235
##Bromley, David G.& Anson Shupe, Public Reaction against New Religious Movementsarticle that appeared in Cults and new religious movements: a report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association, edited by Marc Galanter, M.D., (1989) ISBN 0-89042-212-5
##Langone, Michael: Cults, Psychological Manipulation, and Society: International Perspectives - An Overview[1]
##Langone, Michael: Secular and Religious Critiques of Cults: Complementary Visions, Not Irresolvable Conflicts, Cultic Studies Journal, 1995, Volume 12, Number 2 [2]
##Langone, Michael, On Dialogue Between the Two Tribes of Cultic ResearchersCultic Studies Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 1, 1983, pp. 11–15 [3]
##Robbins, Thomas. (2000). “Quo Vadis” the Scientific Study of New Religious Movements? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(4), 515-523.
##Thomas Robbin and Dick Anthony, Cults in the late Twentieth Centuryin Lippy, Charles H. and Williams, Peter W. (edfs.) Encyclopedia of the American Religious experience. Studies of Traditions and Movements. Charles Scribner's sons, New York (1988) Vol II pp. ISBN 0-684-18861-9
##Victor, J. S. (1993). Satanic panic: The creation of a contemporary legend.Chicago: Open Court Publishing. In J. T. Richardson, J. Best, & D. G. Bromley (Eds.), The satanism scare(pp. 263–275). Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
##Wilson, Brian R., Apostates and New Religious Movements, Oxford, England 1994
##Robbins, Thomas and Zablocki, Benjamin, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8020-8188-6
Further reading[edit]
##Anthony, D. Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall. Social Justice Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers, December 1999, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 421–456(36)
##Bromley, David G.& Anson ShupePublic Reaction against New Religious Movementsarticle that appeared in Cults and new religious movements: a report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association, edited by Marc Galanter, M.D., (1989) ISBN 0-89042-212-5
##Introvigne, Massimo, Fighting the three Cs: Cults, Comics, and Communists – The Critic of Popular Culture as Origin of Contemporary Anti-Cultism, CESNUR 2003 conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2003 [4]
##Introvigne, Massimo The Secular Anti-Cult and the Religious Counter-Cult Movement: Strange Bedfellows or Future Enemies?, in Eric Towler (Ed.), New Religions and the New Europe, Aarhus University Press, 1995, pp. 32–54.
##Thomas Robbinsand Benjamin Zablocki, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for objectivity in a controversial field, 2001, ISBN 0-8020-8188-6
##AD Shupe Jr, DG Bromley, DL Olive, The Anti-Cult Movement in America: A Bibliography and Historical Survey, New York: Garland 1984.
##Langone, MichaelD. Ph.D., (Ed.), Recovery from cults: help for victims of psychological and spiritual abuse(1993), a publication of the American Family Foundation, W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-31321-2


[hide]
v·
t·
e

Opposition to new religious movements


Secular groups
APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control·
Cult Awareness Network·
International Cultic Studies Association- ICSA (Formerly: the AFF, American Family Foundation)·
The Family Survival Trust- TFST (Formerly: FAIR - Family Action Information and Rescue)·
Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network·
Cult Information Centre


Secular individuals
Carol Giambalvo·
Steven Hassan·
Galen Kelly·
Michael Langone·
Ted Patrick·
Rick Ross·
Tom Sackville·
Jim Siegelman·
Margaret Singer·
Louis Jolyon West·
Cyril Vosper·
Lawrence Wollersheim


Religious groups
Reachout Trust·
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry·
Christian Research Institute·
Dialog Center International·
Personal Freedom Outreach·
Watchman Fellowship·
New England Institute of Religious Research·
Midwest Christian Outreach·
Institute for Religious Research·
Spiritual Counterfeits Project·
Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center


Religious individuals
Johannes Aagaard·
Alexander Dvorkin·
Ronald Enroth·
Hank Hanegraaff·
Paul R. Martin·
Walter Ralston Martin·
Robert Passantino


Governmental organizations
European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism·
Centre contre les manipulations mentales·
Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu·
MIVILUDES·
Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France


Individuals in government
Catherine Picard


Concepts
Cult·
NRM apologist·
Deprogramming·
Freedom of religion·
Heresy·
Mind control·
New religious movement


Historical events
About-Picard law·
Governmental lists of cults and sects·
Persecution of Bahá'ís·
Persecution of Falun Gong·
Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses·
Anti-Mormonism·
Scientology in Germany





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Anti-cult organizations and individuals
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Anti-cult movement

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"Countercult" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Counterculture.
The anti-cult movement(abbreviated ACMand sometimes called the countercult movement) opposes any new religious movements(NRMs) they characterize as cults. Sociologists David G. Bromleyand Anson Shupeinitially defined the ACM in 1981 as a collection of groups embracing brainwashing-theory,[1]but later observed a significant shift in ideology towards a 'medicalization' of the memberships of new religious movements.[2]Some Christian organizations also oppose NRMs on theological grounds through church networks and printed literature.[3]


Contents [hide]
1The concept of an ACM1.1Religious and secular critics
1.2Barker's five types of cult-watching groups
1.3Hadden's taxonomy of the anti-cult movement
2Cult-watching groups and individuals, and other opposition to cults2.1Family-members of adherents
2.2Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists
2.3Former members
2.4Christian countercult movement
2.5Governmental opposition
3Anti-cult movement in Russia
4Controversies4.1Polarized views among scholars
4.2Brainwashing and mind-control
4.3Deprogramming or exit-counseling
4.4Responses of targeted groups and scholars
5See also
6Footnotes
7References
8Further reading

The concept of an ACM[edit]
The anti-cult movement is conceptualized as a collection of individuals and groups, whether formally organized or not, who oppose some new religious movements (or 'cults'). This countermovementhas reportedly recruited from family members of 'cultists', former group members (or apostates), church groups (including Jewish groups)[4]and associations of health professionals.[5]Although there is a trend towards globalization,[6]the social and organizational bases vary significantly from country to country according to the social and political opportunity structuresin each place.[7]
As with many subjects in the social sciences, the movement is variously defined. A significant minority opinion suggests that analysis should treat the secular anti-cult movement separately from the religiously motivated (mainly Christian) groups.[8][9]
The anti-cult movement might be divided into four classes:
##secular counter-cult groups;
##Christian evangelical counter-cult groups;
##groups formed to counter a specific cult; and
##organizations that offer some form of exit counseling.[10]
Most, if not all, the groups involved express the view that there are potentially deleterious effects associated with some new religious movements.[11]
Religious and secular critics[edit]
Commentators differentiate two main types of opposition to 'cults':
##religious opposition (related to theologicalissues).
##secular opposition (related to emotional, social, financial, and economic consequences of cultic involvement, where 'cult' can refer to a religious or to a secular group).
Barker's five types of cult-watching groups[edit]
According to sociologist Eileen Barker, cult-watching groups (CWGs) disseminate information about 'cults' with the intent of changing public and government perception as well as of changing public policy regarding NRMs.
Barker has identified five types of CWG:[12]
1.cult-awareness groups (CAGs) focusing on the harm done by 'destructive cults'
2.counter-cult groups (CCGs) focusing on the (heretical) teaching of non-mainstream groups
3.research-oriented groups (ROGs) focusing on beliefs, practices and comparisons
4.human-rights groups (HRGs) focusing on the human rights of religious minorities
5.cult-defender groups (CDGs) focusing on defending cults and exposing CAGs
Hadden's taxonomy of the anti-cult movement[edit]
Jeffrey K. Haddensees four distinct classes in the organizational opposition to 'cults':[13]
1.Religiously grounded opposition##Opposition usually defined in theological terms.
##Cults viewed as engaging in heresy.
##Sees its mission as exposing the heresy and correcting the beliefs of those who have strayed from a truth.
##Prefers metaphors of deception rather than of possession.
##Opposition serves two important functions:##protects members (especially youth) from heresy, and
##increases solidarity among the faithful.

2.Secular opposition##Regards individual autonomy as the manifest goal — achieved by getting people out of groups using mind controland deceptive proselytization.
##Identifies the struggle as about control, not as about theology.
##Organized around families who have or have had children involved in a cult.
##Has a latent goal of disabling or destroying NRMs organizationally.
3.Apostates##Apostasy = the renunciation of a religious faith.
##Apostate = one who engages in active opposition to their former faith.
##The anti-cult movement has actively encouraged former members to interpret their experience in a 'cult' as one of being egregiously wronged and encourages participation in organized anti-cult activities.
4.Entrepreneurial opposition##Individuals who take up a cause for personal gain
##Ad hoc alliances or coalitions to promote shared views
##Broadcasters and journalists as leading examples.
##A few 'entrepreneurs' have made careers by setting up organized opposition.

Cult-watching groups and individuals, and other opposition to cults[edit]
Family-members of adherents[edit]
Some opposition to cults (and to some new religious movements) started with family-members of cult-adherents who had problems with the sudden changes in character, lifestyle and future plans of their young adult children who had joined NRMs. Ted Patrick, widely known as 'the father of deprogramming', exemplifies members of this group. The former Cult Awareness Network(old CAN) grew out of a grassroots-movement by parents of cult-members. The American Family Foundation(todaythe International Cultic Studies Association) originated from a father whose daughter had joined a high-control group.
Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists[edit]
From the 1970s onwards some psychiatrists and clinical psychologists accused 'cults' of harming some of their members. These accusations were sometimes based on observations made during therapy, and sometimes were related to theories regarding brainwashing or mind-control.
Former members[edit]
See also: Apostasy in alleged cults and new religious movements
Anson Shupe, David G. Bromleyand Joseph Ventimiglia coined the term atrocity talesin 1979,[14]which Bryan R. Wilsonlater took up in relation to former members' narratives. Bromley and Shupe defined an 'atrocity tale' as the symbolic presentation of action or events (real or imagined) in such a context that they come to flagrantly violate the (presumably) shared premises upon which a given set of social relationships should take place. The recounting of such tales has the intention of reaffirming normative boundaries. By sharing the reporter's disapproval or horror, an audience reasserts normative prescription and clearly locates the violator beyond the limits of public morality.[15][16]
Christian countercult movement[edit]
Main article: Christian countercult movement
In the 1940s, the long held opposition by some established Christian denominations to non-Christian religions or/and supposedly heretical, or counterfeit, Christian sects crystallized into a more organized 'Christian counter cult movement' in the United States. For those belonging to the movement, all religious groups claiming to be Christian, but deemed outside of Christian orthodoxy, were considered 'cults'.[17]Christian cults are new religious movements which have a Christian background but are considered to be theologicallydeviant by members of other Christian churches.[18]In his influential book The Kingdom of the Cults(first published in the United States in 1965) Christian scholar Walter Martindefines Christian cults as groups that follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the understanding of the Bibleaccepted by mainstream Christianity. He mentions The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarian Universalism, and Unityas examples.[19]
The Christian countercult movement asserts that Christian sects whose beliefs are partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bibleare erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a 'cult' if its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential Christianteachings such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesushimself as a person, the ministry of Jesus, the Miracles of Jesus, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Death of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Rapture.[20][21][22]
Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or theological concerns and a missionaryor apologeticpurpose.[23]It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bibleagainst the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelizeto followers of cults.[24][25][26]
Governmental opposition[edit]
For more details see: Governmental lists of cults and sects
The secular opposition to cults and new religious movements operates internationally, though a number of sizeable and sometimes expanding groups originated in the United States. Some European countries, such as France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland have introduced legislation or taken other measures against cults or 'cultic deviations'.
In the Netherlands 'cults', sects, and new religious movementshave the same legal rights as larger and more mainstream religious movements.[27]As of 2004, the Netherlands do not have an anti-cult movement of any significance.[28]
Anti-cult movement in Russia[edit]
In Russia“anticultism” appeared in early 1990s. Some Russian Protestantcriticized foreign missionaries, sects and new religious movements. They perhaps hoped that taking part in anti-cult declarations could demonstrate that they were not "sectarians". Some religious studies have shown that anti-cult movements, especially with support of the government, can provoke serious religious conflicts in Russian society.[29]In 2008 the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairsprepared a list of "extremist groups". At the top of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam", which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "Pagan cults".[30]In 2009 the Russian Ministry of Justicecreated a council which it named the Council of Experts Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis. The new council listed 80 large sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones. Large sects listed included The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and what were called "neo-Pentecostals." [31]
Controversies[edit]
Polarized views among scholars[edit]
Social scientists, sociologists, religious scholars, psychologists and psychiatrists have studied the modern field of 'cults' and new religious movements since the early 1980s. Cult debates about certain purported cults and about cults in general often become polarized with widely divergent opinions, not only among current followers and disaffected former members, but sometimes among scholars as well.
All academics agree that some groups have become problematic and sometimes very problematic; but they disagree over the extent to which new religious movements in general cause harm.
Several scholars have questioned Hadden's attitude towards NRMs and cult critics as one-sided.[32]
Scholars in the field of new religious movements confront many controversial subjects:
##The validity of the testimonies of former members.
##The validity of the testimonies of current members.
##The validity of and differences between exit counselingand coercive deprogramming.
##The validity of evidence of harm caused by 'cults'.
##Ethical concerns regarding new religious movements, for example: free will, freedom of speech.
##Opposition to 'cults' vs. freedom of religionand religious intolerance.
##The objectivity of all scholars studying new religious movements (see NRM apologists).
##The acceptance or rejection of the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Controlreport (Amitrani & di Marzio, 2000, Massimo Introvigne), see also scholarly positions on mind control.
Janet Jacobs expresses the range of views on the membership of the perceived ACM itself, ranging from those who comment on "the value of the Cult Awareness Network, the value of exit therapy for former members of new religious movements, and alternative modes of support for family members of individuals who have joined new religions" and extending to "a more critical perspective on [a perceived] wide range of ACM activities that threaten religious freedom and individual rights."[33]
Brainwashing and mind-control[edit]
Further information: Mind control
Over the years various theories of conversionand member retention have been proposed that link mind control to NRMs, and particularly those religious movements referred to as 'cults' by their critics. These theories resemble the original political brainwashing theories first developed by the American CIA as a propaganda device to combat communism,[34]with some minor changes. Philip Zimbardodiscusses mind control as "...the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes",[35]and he suggests that any human being is susceptible to such manipulation.[36]In a 1999 book, Robert Lifton also applied his original ideas about thought reform to Aum Shinrikyo, concluding that in this context thought reform was possible without violence or physical coercion. Margaret Singer, who also spent time studying the political brainwashing of Korean prisoners of war, agreed with this conclusion: in her book Cults in Our Midstshe describes six conditions which would create an atmosphere in which thought reform is possible.[37]
James T. Richardsonobserves that if the NRMs had access to powerful brainwashing techniques, one would expect that NRMs would have high growth rates, yet in fact most have not had notable success in recruitment. Most adherents participate for only a short time, and the success in retaining members is limited.[38]For this and other reasons, sociologists of religion including David G. Bromleyand Anson D. Shupeconsider the idea that cults are brainwashing American youth to be "implausible."[39]In addition to Bromley, Thomas Robbins, Dick Anthony, Eileen Barker, Newton Maloney, Massimo Introvigne, John Hall, Lorne L. Dawson, Anson D. Shupe, J. Gordon Melton, Marc Galanter, Saul Levine of Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc, amongst other scholars researching NRMs, have argued and established to the satisfaction of courts, relevant professional associations and scientific communities that there exists no scientific theory, generally accepted and based upon methodologically sound research, that supports the brainwashing theories as advanced by the anti-cult movement.[40]
Deprogramming or exit-counseling[edit]
Further information: Deprogramming
Some members of the secular opposition to cults and to some new religious movements have argued that if brainwashing has deprived a person of their free will, treatment to restore their free will should take place — even if the 'victim' opposes this.
Precedents for this exist in the treatment of certain mental illnesses: in such cases medical and legal authorities recognize the condition(s) as depriving sufferers of their ability to make appropriate decisions for themselves. But the practice of forcing treatment on a presumed victim of 'brainwashing' (one definition of "deprogramming") has constantly proven controversial. Human-rightsorganizations (including the ACLUand Human Rights Watch) have also criticized deprogramming. While only a small fraction of the anti-cult movement has had involvement in deprogramming, several deprogrammers (including a deprogramming-pioneer, Ted Patrick) have served prison-terms for acts sometimes associated with deprogramming including kidnapping and rape, while courts have acquitted others.
Responses of targeted groups and scholars[edit]
The Foundation against Intolerance of Religious Minorities, associated with the AdidamNRM, sees the use of terms 'cult' and 'cult leader' as detestable and as something to avoid at all costs. The Foundation regards such usage as the exercise of prejudice and discrimination against them in the same manner as the words 'nigger' and 'commie' served in the past to denigrate blacksand Communists.[41]
CESNUR’s president Massimo Introvigne, writes in his article "So many evil things: Anti-cult terrorism via the Internet",[42]that fringe and extreme anti-cult activists resort to tactics that may create a background favorable to extreme manifestations of discriminationand hateagainst individuals that belong to new religious movements. Professor Eileen Barkerpoints out in an interview that the controversy surrounding certain new religious movements can turn violent by a process called deviancy amplification spiral.[43]
In a paper presented at the 2000 meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Anson Shupe and Susan Darnell argued that although the International Cultic Studies Association(ICSA, formerly known as AFF or American Family Foundation) has presented "...slanted, stereotypical images and language that has inflamed persons to perform extreme actions," the extent to which one can classify the ICSA and other anti-cult organizations as 'hate-groups' (as defined by law in some jurisdictions or by racial/ethnic criteria in sociology) remains open to debate. In 2005, the Hate Crimes Unit of the Edmonton Police Service confiscated anti-Falun Gong materials distributed at the annual conference of the ICSA by staff members of the Calgary Chinese Consulate (Province of Alberta, Canada). The materials, including the calling of Falun Gong a 'cult', were identified as having breached the Criminal Code, which bans the wilful promotion of hatred against identifiable religious groups.[44]See also Verbal violence in hate groups.
An article on the categorization of new religious movements in US media published by The Association for the Sociology of Religion(formerly the American Catholic Sociological Society, criticizes the print media for failing to recognize social-scientific efforts in the area of new religious movements, and its tendency to use anti-cultist definitions rather than social-scientific insight, and asserts that The failure of the print media to recognize social-scientific efforts in the area of religious movement organizations (as our previous research [van Driel and Richardson, 1985] also shows) impels us to add yet another failing mark to the media report card Weiss (1985) has constructed to assess the media's reporting of the social sciences.[45]
See also[edit]
##Cult apologist
##Cult Awareness Network
##Christian countercult movement
##Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France(1995)
##Religious Persecution
##International Cultic Studies Association
##Persecution of Falun Gong
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^Bromley, David G.; Anson Shupe(1981). Strange Gods: The Great American Cult Scare. Boston: Beacon Press.
2.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "," pp. 3-32 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, pp. 9-14.
3.Jump up ^Anson, Shupe. "ANTI-CULT MOVEMENT". Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Retrieved 19 May2014.
4.Jump up ^Feher, Shoshanah. 1994. "Maintaining the Faith: The Jewish Anti-Cult and Counter-Missionary Movement, pp. 33-48 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland.
5.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "The Modern Anti-Cult Movement in North America," pp. 3-31 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. 3.
Barker, Eileen. 1995 The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking!", Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion34 (3): 287-310, p. 297.
6.Jump up ^Shupe, Anson and David G. Bromley. 1994. "Introduction," pp. vii-xi in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. x.
7.Jump up ^Richardson, James T.and Barend von Driel. 1994 "New Religious Movements in Europe: Developments and Reactions," pp. 129-170 in Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland, p. 137ff.
8.Jump up ^Cowan, Douglas E. 2002. "Exits and Migrations: Foregrounding the Christian Counter-cult", Journal of Contemporary Religion17 (3): 339-354.
9.Jump up ^"Cult Group Controversies: Conceptualizing 'Anti-Cult' and 'Counter-Cult'"
10.Jump up ^Chryssides, George D. 1999. Exploring New Religions.London & New York: Cassell, p. 345.
11.Jump up ^Possamaï, Adam and Murray Lee. 2004. "New Religious Movements and the Fear of Crime," Journal of Contemporary Religion19 (3): 337-352, p. 338.
12.Jump up ^http://www.cesnur.org/2001/london2001/barker.htm
13.Jump up ^Hadden, Jeffrey K., SOC 257: New Religious Movements Lectures: The Anti-Cult Movement, University of Virginia, Department of Sociology
14.Jump up ^Bromley, David G., Shupe, Anson D., Ventimiglia, G.C.: "Atrocity Tales, the Unification Church, and the Social Construction of Evil", Journal of Communication, Summer 1979, p. 42-53.
15.Jump up ^Duhaime, Jean (Université de Montréal) Les Témoigagnes de Convertis et d'ex-Adeptes(English: The testimonies of converts and former followers, an article that appeared in the otherwise English-language book New Religions in a Postmodern Worldedited by Mikael Rothsteinand Reender KranenborgRENNER Studies in New religions Aarhus Universitypress, ISBN 87-7288-748-6
16.Jump up ^Shupe, A.D. and D.G. Bromley 1981 Apostatesand Atrocity Stories: Some parameters in the Dynamics of DeprogrammingIn: B.R. Wilson (ed.) The Social Impact of New Religious MovementsBarrytown NY: Rose of Sharon Press, 179-215
17.Jump up ^Cowan, 2003
18.Jump up ^J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America(New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992). page 5
19.Jump up ^Walter Ralston Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany House, 2003, ISBN 0764228218page 18
20.Jump up ^Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, rev.ed. Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, pp. 11-12.
21.Jump up ^Richard Abanes, Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions,Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997, p. 33.
22.Jump up ^H. Wayne House & Gordon Carle, Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted, Downers Grove: IVP, 2003.
23.Jump up ^Garry W. Trompf,"Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements," Religious TraditionsVolume 10, 1987, pp. 95-106.
24.Jump up ^Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev.ed. Ravi Zacharias ed. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2003, pp.479-493.
25.Jump up ^Ronald Enroth ed. Evangelising the Cults, Milton Keynes: Word, 1990.
26.Jump up ^Norman L Geisler & Ron Rhodes, When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997.
27.Jump up ^Singelenberg, RichardForedoomed to Failure: the Anti-Cult Movement in the Netherlandsin Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe, redacted by James T. Richardson, Springer, 2004, ISBN 0-306-47887-0, ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1, pages 214-215
28.Jump up ^Singelenberg, RichardForedoomed to Failure: the Anti-Cult Movement in the Netherlandsin Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe, redacted by James T. Richardson, Springer, 2004, ISBN 0-306-47887-0, ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1, page 213
29.Jump up ^Сергей Иваненко (2009-08-17). О религиоведческих аспектах "антикультового движения"(in Russian). Retrieved 2009-12-04.
30.Jump up ^The new nobility : the restoration of Russia's security state and the enduring legacy of the KGB, Author: Andreĭ Soldatov; I Borogan, Publisher: New York, NY : PublicAffairs, ©2010. pages 65-66
31.Jump up ^Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians (Google eBook), Paul Marshall, 2013, Thomas Nelson Inc
32.Jump up ^Robbins and Zablocki 2001, Beit-Hallahmi 2001, Kent and Krebs 1998.
33.Jump up ^Janet L Jacobs: Review of Anson Shupe and David G. Bromley: Anti-Cult Movements in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York, NY: Garland in Sociology of religion, Winter 1996. Online at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n4_v57/ai_19178617/pg_2. Retrieved 2007-09-17
34.Jump up ^Dick, Anthony (1999). "Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall". Social Justice Research12(4).
35.Jump up ^Zimbardo, Philip G.(November 2002). "Mind Control: Psychological Reality or Mindless Rhetoric?". Monitor on Psychology. Retrieved 2008-12-30. "Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process that involves a set of basic social psychological principles. Conformity, compliance, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, guilt and fear arousal, modeling and identification are some of the staple social influence ingredients well studied in psychological experiments and field studies. In some combinations, they create a powerful crucible of extreme mental and behavioral manipulationwhen synthesized with several other real-world factors, such as charismatic, authoritarian leaders, dominant ideologies, social isolation, physical debilitation, induced phobias, and extreme threats or promised rewards that are typically deceptively orchestrated, over an extended time period in settings where they are applied intensively. A body of social science evidence shows that when systematically practiced by state-sanctioned police, military or destructive cults, mind control can induce false confessions, create converts who willingly torture or kill 'invented enemies,' and engage indoctrinated members to work tirelessly, give up their money—and even their lives—for 'the cause.'"
36.Jump up ^Zimbardo, P(1997). "What messages are behind today's cults?". Monitor on Psychology: 14.
37.Jump up ^Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace, Margaret Thaler Singer, Jossey-Bass, publisher, April 2003, ISBN 0-7879-6741-6
38.Jump up ^Richardson, James T. (June 1985). "The active vs. passive convert: paradigm conflict in conversion/recruitment research". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion(Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 24, No. 2) 24(2): 163–179. doi:10.2307/1386340. JSTOR 1386340.
39.Jump up ^Brainwashing by Religious Cults
40.Jump up ^Richardson, James T. 2009. "Religion and The Law" in The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Peter Clarke. (ed) Oxford Handbooks Online. p. 426
41.Jump up ^The Foundation Against Intolerance of Minority Religions
42.Jump up ^CESNUR - "So Many Evil Things": Anti-Cult Terrorism via the Internet
43.Jump up ^Interview with Eileen Barker, Introducing New Religious MovementsAvailable online(Retrieved 2007-10-17 'What can be observed in most of these tragedies is a process which sociologists sometimes call "deviance amplification" building up. The antagonists on each side behave rather badly, and that gives permission for the other side to behave more badly, so you get this spiral and increasing polarisation with each side saying: "Look what they did."')
44.Jump up ^Edmonton Police Report of Wilful Promotion of Hatred by Chinese Consular Officials against Falun Gong, Appendix 8 to "Bloody Harvest: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China," By David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, Esq.
45.Jump up ^van Driel, Barend and James T. Richardson. Research Note Categorization of New Religious Movements in American Print Media. Sociological Analysis 1988, 49, 2:171-183
References[edit]
##Amitrani, Alberto and di Marzio, Raffaella: "Mind Control" in New Religious Movements and the American Psychological Association, Cultic Studies Journal Vol 17, 2000.
##Beckford, James A., Cult Controversies: The Societal Response to New Religious Movements, London, Tavistock, 1985, p. 235
##Bromley, David G.& Anson Shupe, Public Reaction against New Religious Movementsarticle that appeared in Cults and new religious movements: a report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association, edited by Marc Galanter, M.D., (1989) ISBN 0-89042-212-5
##Langone, Michael: Cults, Psychological Manipulation, and Society: International Perspectives - An Overview[1]
##Langone, Michael: Secular and Religious Critiques of Cults: Complementary Visions, Not Irresolvable Conflicts, Cultic Studies Journal, 1995, Volume 12, Number 2 [2]
##Langone, Michael, On Dialogue Between the Two Tribes of Cultic ResearchersCultic Studies Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 1, 1983, pp. 11–15 [3]
##Robbins, Thomas. (2000). “Quo Vadis” the Scientific Study of New Religious Movements? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(4), 515-523.
##Thomas Robbin and Dick Anthony, Cults in the late Twentieth Centuryin Lippy, Charles H. and Williams, Peter W. (edfs.) Encyclopedia of the American Religious experience. Studies of Traditions and Movements. Charles Scribner's sons, New York (1988) Vol II pp. ISBN 0-684-18861-9
##Victor, J. S. (1993). Satanic panic: The creation of a contemporary legend.Chicago: Open Court Publishing. In J. T. Richardson, J. Best, & D. G. Bromley (Eds.), The satanism scare(pp. 263–275). Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
##Wilson, Brian R., Apostates and New Religious Movements, Oxford, England 1994
##Robbins, Thomas and Zablocki, Benjamin, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8020-8188-6
Further reading[edit]
##Anthony, D. Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall. Social Justice Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers, December 1999, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 421–456(36)
##Bromley, David G.& Anson ShupePublic Reaction against New Religious Movementsarticle that appeared in Cults and new religious movements: a report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association, edited by Marc Galanter, M.D., (1989) ISBN 0-89042-212-5
##Introvigne, Massimo, Fighting the three Cs: Cults, Comics, and Communists – The Critic of Popular Culture as Origin of Contemporary Anti-Cultism, CESNUR 2003 conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2003 [4]
##Introvigne, Massimo The Secular Anti-Cult and the Religious Counter-Cult Movement: Strange Bedfellows or Future Enemies?, in Eric Towler (Ed.), New Religions and the New Europe, Aarhus University Press, 1995, pp. 32–54.
##Thomas Robbinsand Benjamin Zablocki, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for objectivity in a controversial field, 2001, ISBN 0-8020-8188-6
##AD Shupe Jr, DG Bromley, DL Olive, The Anti-Cult Movement in America: A Bibliography and Historical Survey, New York: Garland 1984.
##Langone, MichaelD. Ph.D., (Ed.), Recovery from cults: help for victims of psychological and spiritual abuse(1993), a publication of the American Family Foundation, W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-31321-2


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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 has been 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 does not 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 refused 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 certain 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 proper 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 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] Witness literature states that avoiding interaction with disfellowshipped former adherents helps to avoid reproach on God's name and organization by indicating that violations of the Bible's standards in their ranks are not tolerated; keep the congregation free of possible corrosive influences; and convince the disfellowshipped individual to re-evaluate their course of action, repent and rejoin the religion.[21][22][23] 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.[24]
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[25] and Australia.[26]
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,[27] by the head of their faith.[28] 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.[28] 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.[28]
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.[29][30][31] 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.[32][33] 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.[34] Failure to disconnect from a Suppressive Person is itself labelled a Suppressive act.[35] 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.[36]
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 ^ The Bible's Viewpoint - Why Disfellowshipping Is a Loving Arrangement Awake! September 8, 1996, p. 26-27.
22.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 11/15/06 p. 27 par. 6 Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline
23.Jump up ^ Jealous for the Pure Worship of Jehovah, The Watchtower September 15, 1995, p. 11.
24.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 250–270. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
25.Jump up ^ Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse The New York Times, 9 May 2012
26.Jump up ^ Rabbis' absolute power: how sex abuse tore apart Australia's Orthodox Jewish community The Guardian, 18 February 2015
27.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.
28.^ 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.
29.Jump up ^ Judgement of Mr Justice Latey, Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody) Delivered in the High Court (Family Division), London, 23 July 1984
30.Jump up ^ "Judge brands Scientology 'sinister' as mother is given custody of children". The Times. 24 July 1984. p. 3.
31.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.
32.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.
33.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.
34.Jump up ^ What is Disconnection? (Accessed 5/29/11)
35.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (2007). Introduction to Scientology Ethics (Latin American Spanish ed.). Bridge Publications. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4031-4684-7.
36.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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Shunning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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 has been 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 does not 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 refused 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 certain 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 proper 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 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] Witness literature states that avoiding interaction with disfellowshipped former adherents helps to avoid reproach on God's name and organization by indicating that violations of the Bible's standards in their ranks are not tolerated; keep the congregation free of possible corrosive influences; and convince the disfellowshipped individual to re-evaluate their course of action, repent and rejoin the religion.[21][22][23] 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.[24]
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[25] and Australia.[26]
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,[27] by the head of their faith.[28] 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.[28] 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.[28]
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.[29][30][31] 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.[32][33] 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.[34] Failure to disconnect from a Suppressive Person is itself labelled a Suppressive act.[35] 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.[36]
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 ^ The Bible's Viewpoint - Why Disfellowshipping Is a Loving Arrangement Awake! September 8, 1996, p. 26-27.
22.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 11/15/06 p. 27 par. 6 Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline
23.Jump up ^ Jealous for the Pure Worship of Jehovah, The Watchtower September 15, 1995, p. 11.
24.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 250–270. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
25.Jump up ^ Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse The New York Times, 9 May 2012
26.Jump up ^ Rabbis' absolute power: how sex abuse tore apart Australia's Orthodox Jewish community The Guardian, 18 February 2015
27.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.
28.^ 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.
29.Jump up ^ Judgement of Mr Justice Latey, Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody) Delivered in the High Court (Family Division), London, 23 July 1984
30.Jump up ^ "Judge brands Scientology 'sinister' as mother is given custody of children". The Times. 24 July 1984. p. 3.
31.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.
32.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.
33.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.
34.Jump up ^ What is Disconnection? (Accessed 5/29/11)
35.Jump up ^ Hubbard, L. Ron (2007). Introduction to Scientology Ethics (Latin American Spanish ed.). Bridge Publications. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-4031-4684-7.
36.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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Excommunication

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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 1521.


 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 (i.e., 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
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
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]
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 ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. 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."
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
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Buddhist practices
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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 1521.


 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 (i.e., 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
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
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]
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 ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 31. 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."
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
Heresy in Judaism
Latter Day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and practices
Punishments in 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 Human rights
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]
Human rights[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]



 Muslim countries with death penalty for the crime of apostasy as of 2013.[10] Many other Muslim countries impose a prison term for apostasy or prosecute it under blasphemy or other laws.[11]
See also: Use of capital punishment by nation
All of the countries to criminalize apostasy as of 2014 were majority Islamic nations, of which 11 were in the Middle East. No country in the Americas or Europe had any law forbidding the renunciation of a religious belief or restricting the freedom to choose one's 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.[12][13][14][15]
The following nations have criminal statutes forbidding apostasy or allow it to be prosecuted under other laws as of 2014:
Afghanistan – illegal (death penalty, although the U.S. and other coalition members have put pressure that has prevented recent executions)[16][17]
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[18]
Egypt – illegal (3 years' imprisonment)[19]
Iran – illegal (death penalty)[19][20][21]
Iraq[18]
Jordan – possibly illegal (fine, jail, child custody loss, marriage annulment) although officials claim otherwise, convictions are recorded for apostasy[22][23][24]
Kuwait[18]
Malaysia – illegal in five of thirteen states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)[25][26]
Maldives[18]
Mauritania – illegal (death penalty if still apostate after 3 days)[27]
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)[28]
Nigeria[18]
Oman – illegal (prison) according to Article 209 of Oman penal code, and denies child custody rights under Article 32 of Personal Status Law[10]
Pakistan – not illegal, but apostates vulnerable to charges of blasphemy, a potential capital offence.[10]
Qatar – illegal (death penalty)[10]
Saudi Arabia – illegal (death penalty, although there have been no recently reported executions)[19][24]
Somalia – illegal (death penalty)[29][30]
Sudan – illegal (death penalty)[31]
Syria[18]
United Arab Emirates – illegal (3 years' imprisonment, flogging, possible death penalty)[10][32]
Yemen – illegal (death penalty)[10][30]
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][18] 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]
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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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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy












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 Human rights
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]
Human rights[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]



 Muslim countries with death penalty for the crime of apostasy as of 2013.[10] Many other Muslim countries impose a prison term for apostasy or prosecute it under blasphemy or other laws.[11]
See also: Use of capital punishment by nation
All of the countries to criminalize apostasy as of 2014 were majority Islamic nations, of which 11 were in the Middle East. No country in the Americas or Europe had any law forbidding the renunciation of a religious belief or restricting the freedom to choose one's 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.[12][13][14][15]
The following nations have criminal statutes forbidding apostasy or allow it to be prosecuted under other laws as of 2014:
Afghanistan – illegal (death penalty, although the U.S. and other coalition members have put pressure that has prevented recent executions)[16][17]
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[18]
Egypt – illegal (3 years' imprisonment)[19]
Iran – illegal (death penalty)[19][20][21]
Iraq[18]
Jordan – possibly illegal (fine, jail, child custody loss, marriage annulment) although officials claim otherwise, convictions are recorded for apostasy[22][23][24]
Kuwait[18]
Malaysia – illegal in five of thirteen states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)[25][26]
Maldives[18]
Mauritania – illegal (death penalty if still apostate after 3 days)[27]
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)[28]
Nigeria[18]
Oman – illegal (prison) according to Article 209 of Oman penal code, and denies child custody rights under Article 32 of Personal Status Law[10]
Pakistan – not illegal, but apostates vulnerable to charges of blasphemy, a potential capital offence.[10]
Qatar – illegal (death penalty)[10]
Saudi Arabia – illegal (death penalty, although there have been no recently reported executions)[19][24]
Somalia – illegal (death penalty)[29][30]
Sudan – illegal (death penalty)[31]
Syria[18]
United Arab Emirates – illegal (3 years' imprisonment, flogging, possible death penalty)[10][32]
Yemen – illegal (death penalty)[10][30]
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][18] 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]
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117.Jump up ^ Introvigne 1997
118.Jump up ^ Burks, Ronald, Cognitive Impairment in Thought Reform Environments
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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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Heresy

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"Heretic" and "Heretical" redirect here. For the website, see Heretical (website). For other uses, see Heretic (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation).



 The Gospel (allegory) triumphs over Heresia and the Serpent. Church of King Gustaf Vasa, Stockholm, Sweden, sculpture by Burchard Precht.


 The burning of adherents of the pantheistic Amalrician sect in 1210, in the presence of King Philip II Augustus. In the background is the Gibbet of Montfaucon and, anachronistically, the Grosse Tour of the Temple. Illumination from the Grandes Chroniques de France, c. 1255-1260.
Heresy is any provocative belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs. A heretic is a proponent of such claims or beliefs.[1] Heresy is distinct from both apostasy, which is the explicit renunciation of one's religion, principles or cause,[2] and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion.[3]
The term is usually used to refer to violations of important religious teachings, but is used also of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas.[4] It is used in particular in reference to Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Marxism.[5]
In certain historical Islamic, Christian, and Jewish cultures, among others, espousing ideas deemed heretical has been and in some cases still is subjected not merely to punishments such as excommunication, but even to the death penalty.


Contents  [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Christianity 2.1 Catholicism
2.2 Eastern Christianity
2.3 Protestantism
2.4 Modern era
3 Islam
4 Judaism 4.1 Orthodox Judaism
5 Other religions
6 Non-religious usage
7 Selected quotations
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links

Etymology[edit]
The term heresy is from Greek αἵρεσις originally meant "choice" or "thing chosen",[6] but it came to mean the "party or school of a man's choice"[7] and also referred to that process whereby a young person would examine various philosophies to determine how to live. The word "heresy" is usually used within a Christian, Jewish, or Islamic context, and implies slightly different meanings in each. The founder or leader of a heretical movement is called a heresiarch, while individuals who espouse heresy or commit heresy are known as heretics. Heresiology is the study of heresy.
Christianity[edit]



 Former German Catholic priest Martin Luther was famously excommunicated as a heretic by Pope Leo X in 1520.
Main article: Heresy in Christianity
According to Titus 3:10 a divisive person should be warned two times before separating from him. The Greek for the phrase "divisive person" became a technical term in the early Church for a type of "heretic" who promoted dissension.[8] In contrast correct teaching is called sound not only because it builds up in the faith, but because it protects against the corrupting influence of false teachers.[9]
The Church Fathers identified Jews and Judaism with heresy. They saw deviations from Orthodox Christianity as heresies that were essentially Jewish in spirit.[10] Tertullian implyed that it was the Jews who most inspired heresy in Christianity: "From the Jew the heretic has accepted guidance in this discussion [that Jesus was not the Christ.]" Saint Peter of Antioch referred to Christians that refused to venerate religious images as having "Jewish minds".[10]
The use of the word "heresy" was given wide currency by Irenaeus in his 2nd century tract Contra Haereses (Against Heresies) to describe and discredit his opponents during the early centuries of the Christian community.[citation needed] He described the community's beliefs and doctrines as orthodox (from ὀρθός, orthos "straight" + δόξα, doxa "belief") and the Gnostics' teachings as heretical.[citation needed] He also pointed out the concept of apostolic succession to support his arguments.[11]
Constantine the Great, who along with Licinius had decreed toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire by what is commonly called the "Edict of Milan",[12] and was the first Roman Emperor baptized, set precedents for later policy. By Roman law the Emperor was Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum) of all recognized religions in ancient Rome. To put an end to the doctrinal debate initiated by Arius, Constantine called the first of what would afterwards be called the ecumenical councils[13] and then enforced orthodoxy by Imperial authority.[14]
The first known usage of the term in a legal context was in AD 380 by the Edict of Thessalonica of Theodosius I,[15] which made Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire. Prior to the issuance of this edict, the Church had no state-sponsored support for any particular legal mechanism to counter what it perceived as "heresy". By this edict the state's authority and that of the Church became somewhat overlapping. One of the outcomes of this blurring of Church and state was the sharing of state powers of legal enforcement with church authorities. This reinforcement of the Church's authority gave church leaders the power to, in effect, pronounce the death sentence upon those whom the church considered heretical.
Within six years of the official criminalization of heresy by the Emperor, the first Christian heretic to be executed, Priscillian, was condemned in 386 by Roman secular officials for sorcery, and put to death with four or five followers.[16][17][18] However, his accusers were excommunicated both by Ambrose of Milan and Pope Siricius,[19] who opposed Priscillian's heresy, but "believed capital punishment to be inappropriate at best and usually unequivocally evil".[16] For some years after the Reformation, Protestant churches were also known to execute those they considered heretics, including Catholics. The last known heretic executed by sentence of the Roman Catholic Church was Spanish schoolmaster Cayetano Ripoll in 1826. The number of people executed as heretics under the authority of the various "ecclesiastical authorities"[note 1] is not known.[note 2]
Catholicism[edit]



 Massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol in 1545.
In the Roman Catholic Church, obstinate and willful manifest heresy is considered to spiritually cut one off from the Church, even before excommunication is incurred. The Codex Justinianus (1:5:12) defines "everyone who is not devoted to the Catholic Church and to our Orthodox holy Faith" a heretic.[20] The Church had always dealt harshly with strands of Christianity that it considered heretical, but before the 11th century these tended to centre around individual preachers or small localised sects, like Arianism, Pelagianism, Donatism, Marcionism and Montanism. The diffusion of the almost Manichaean sect of Paulicians westwards gave birth to the famous 11th and 12th century heresies of Western Europe. The first one was that of Bogomils in modern day Bosnia, a sort of sanctuary between Eastern and Western Christianity. By the 11th century, more organised groups such as the Patarini, the Dulcinians, the Waldensians and the Cathars were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of northern Italy, southern France and Flanders.
In France the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement and the belief was spreading to other areas.[21] The Cathar Crusade was initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar heresy in Languedoc.[22][23] Heresy was a major justification for the Inquisition (Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis, Inquiry on Heretical Perversity) and for the European wars of religion associated with the Protestant Reformation.



Cristiano Banti's 1857 painting Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition.
Galileo Galilei was brought before the Inquisition for heresy, but abjured his views and was sentenced to house arrest, under which he spent the rest of his life. Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy", namely of having held the opinions that the Sun lies motionless at the centre of the universe, that the Earth is not at its centre and moves, and that one may hold and defend an opinion as probable after it has been declared contrary to Holy Scripture. He was required to "abjure, curse and detest" those opinions.[24]
Pope St. Gregory stigmatized Judaism and the Jewish People in many of his writings. He described Jews as enemies of Christ: "The more the Holy Spirit fills the world, the more perverse hatred dominates the souls of the Jews." He labeled all heresy as "Jewish", claiming that Judaism would "pollute [Catholics and] deceive them with sacrilegious seduction."[25] The identification of Jews and heretics in particular occurred several times in Roman-Christian law,[20][26]
Eastern Christianity[edit]
In Eastern Christianity heresy most commonly refers to those beliefs declared heretical by the first seven Ecumenical Councils.[citation needed] Since the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation, various Christian churches have also used the concept in proceedings against individuals and groups those churches deemed heretical. The Orthodox Church also rejects the early Christian heresies such as Arianism, Gnosticism, Origenism, Montanism, Judaism, Marcionism, Docetism, Adoptionism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism and Iconoclasm.
Protestantism[edit]
In his work "On the Jews and Their Lies" (1543), German Reformation leader Martin Luther calls prophet Jeremiah a heretic: "Jeremiah, you wretched heretic, you seducer and false prophet". He claims that Jewish history was "assailed by much heresy", and that Christ the logos swept away the Jewish heresy and goes on to do so, "as it still does daily before our eyes." He stigmatizes Jewish Prayer as being "blasphemous" (sic) and a lie, and vilifies Jews in general as being spiritually "blind" and "surely possessed by all devils." Luther calls the members of the Orthodox Catholic Church "papists" and heretics, and has a special spiritual problem with Jewish circumcision.[27]
In England, the 16th-century European Reformation resulted in a number of executions on charges of heresy. During the thirty-eight years of Henry VIII's reign, about sixty heretics, mainly Protestants, were executed and a rather greater number of Catholics lost their lives on grounds of political offences such as treason, notably Sir Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, for refusing to accept the king's supremacy over the Church in England.[28][29][30] Under Edward VI, the heresy laws were repealed in 1547 only to be reintroduced in 1554 by Mary I; even so two radicals were executed in Edward's reign (one for denying the reality of the incarnation, the other for denying Christ's divinity).[31] Under Mary, around two hundred and ninety people were burned at the stake between 1555 and 1558 after the restoration of papal jurisdiction.[31] When Elizabeth I came to the throne, the concept of heresy was retained in theory but severely restricted by the 1559 Act of Supremacy and the one hundred and eighty or so Catholics who were executed in the forty-five years of her reign were put to death because they were considered members of "...a subversive fifth column."[32] The last execution of a "heretic" in England occurred under James VI and I in 1612.[33] Although the charge was technically one of "blasphemy" there was one later execution in Scotland (still at that date an entirely independent kingdom) when in 1697 Thomas Aikenhead was accused, among other things, of denying the doctrine of the Trinity.[34]
Another example of the persecution of heretics under Protestant rule was the execution of the Boston martyrs in 1659, 1660, and 1661. These executions resulted from the actions of the Anglican Puritans, who at that time wielded political as well as ecclesiastic control in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. At the time, the colony leaders were apparently hoping to achieve their vision of a "purer absolute theocracy" within their colony .[citation needed] As such, they perceived the teachings and practices of the rival Quaker sect as heretical, even to the point where laws were passed and executions were performed with the aim of ridding their colony of such perceived "heresies".[citation needed] It should be noticed that the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox communions generally regard the Puritans themselves as having been heterodox or heretical.
Modern era[edit]
See also: Christian heresy in the modern era
The era of mass persecution and execution of heretics under the banner of Christianity came to an end in 1826 with the last execution of a "heretic", Cayetano Ripoll, by the Catholic Inquisition.
Although less common than in earlier periods, in modern times, formal charges of heresy within Christian churches still occur. Issues in the Protestant churches have included modern biblical criticism and the nature of God. In the Catholic Church, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith criticizes writings for "ambiguities and errors" without using the word "heresy".[35]
Perhaps due to the many modern negative connotations associated with the term heretic, such as the Spanish inquisition, the term is used less often today. The subject of Christian heresy opens up broader questions as to who has a monopoly on spiritual truth, as explored by Jorge Luis Borges in the short story "The Theologians" within the compilation Labyrinths.[36]
Islam[edit]



Mehdiana Sahib: the martyrdom of Bhai Dayala, a Sikh, by Indian Muslims at Chandni Chowk, India in 1675
Main article: Bid‘ah
The Baha'i Faith is considered an Islamic heresy in Iran.[37] To Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Sikhs were heretics.
Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim, regarded the Shia Qizilbash as heretics, reportedly proclaimed that "the killing of one Shiite had as much otherworldly reward as killing 70 Christians."[38]
Starting in medieval times, Muslims began to refer to heretics and those who antagonized Islam as zindiqs, the charge being punishable by death.[39]
In some modern day nations and regions in which Sharia law is ostensibly practiced, heresy remains an offense punishable by death. One example is the 1989 fatwa issued by the government of Iran, offering a substantial bounty for anyone who succeeds in the assassination of author Salman Rushdie, whose writings were declared as "heretical".
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Heresy in Judaism
Orthodox Judaism[edit]
Main article: Heresy in Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism considers views on the part of Jews who depart from traditional Jewish principles of faith heretical. In addition, the more right-wing groups within Orthodox Judaism hold that all Jews who reject the simple meaning of Maimonides's 13 principles of Jewish faith are heretics.[40] As such, most of Orthodox Judaism considers Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism heretical movements, and regards most of Conservative Judaism as heretical. The liberal wing of Modern Orthodoxy is more tolerant of Conservative Judaism, particularly its right wing, as there is some theological and practical overlap between these groups.
Other religions[edit]
Buddhist literature mentions a wrathful conquest of Buddhist heretics (see Padmasambhava) and the existence of a Buddhist theocracy.[41]
Neo-Confucian heresy has been described.[42]
The act of using Church of Scientology techniques in a form different than originally described by Hubbard is referred to within Scientology as "squirreling" and is said by Scientologists to be high treason.[43] The Religious Technology Center has prosecuted breakaway groups that have practiced Scientology outside the official Church without authorization.
Non-religious usage[edit]
The term "heresy" is used not only with regard to religion but also in the context of a political theory such as Marxism.[44][45][46]
In other contexts the term does not necessarily have pejorative overtones and may even be complimentary when used, in areas where innovation is welcome, of ideas that are in fundamental disagreement with the status quo in any practice and branch of knowledge. Scientist/author Isaac Asimov considered heresy as an abstraction,[47] Asimov's views are in Forward: The Role of the Heretic. mentioning religious, political, socioeconomic and scientific heresies. He divided scientific heretics into endoheretics (those from within the scientific community) and exoheretics (those from without). Characteristics were ascribed to both and examples of both kinds were offered. Asimov concluded that science orthodoxy defends itself well against endoheretics (by control of science education, grants and publication as examples), but is nearly powerless against exoheretics. He acknowledged by examples that heresy has repeatedly become orthodoxy.
The revisionist paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, who published his findings as The Dinosaur Heresies, treated the mainstream view of dinosaurs as dogma.[48] "I have enormous respect for dinosaur paleontologists past and present. But on average, for the last fifty years, the field hasn't tested dinosaur orthodoxy severely enough." page 27 "Most taxonomists, however, have viewed such new terminology as dangerously destabilizing to the traditional and well-known scheme..." page 462. This book apparently influenced Jurassic Park. The illustrations by the author show dinosaurs in very active poses, in contrast to the traditional perception of lethargy. He is an example of a recent scientific endoheretic.
Immanuel Velikovsky is an example of a recent scientific exoheretic; he did not have appropriate scientific credentials or did not publish in scientific journals. While the details of his work are in scientific disrepute, the concept of catastrophic change (extinction event and punctuated equilibrium) has gained acceptance in recent decades.
The term heresy is also used as an ideological pigeonhole for contemporary writers because, by definition, heresy depends on contrasts with an established orthodoxy. For example, the tongue-in-cheek contemporary usage of heresy, such as to categorize a "Wall Street heresy" a "Democratic heresy" or a "Republican heresy," are metaphors that invariably retain a subtext that links orthodoxies in geology or biology or any other field to religion. These expanded metaphoric senses allude to both the difference between the person's views and the mainstream and the boldness of such a person in propounding these views.
Selected quotations[edit]
Thomas Aquinas: "Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death." (Summa Theologica, c. 1270)
Isaac Asimov: "Science is in a far greater danger from the absence of challenge than from the coming of any number of even absurd challenges."[47]
Augustine of Hippo: "For it is the wrongdoing of the opposing party which compels the wise man to wage just wars." (City of God, Chapter 7, c. 426)
Gerald Brenan: "Religions are kept alive by heresies, which are really sudden explosions of faith. Dead religions do not produce them." (Thoughts in a Dry Season, 1978)
Geoffrey Chaucer: "Thu hast translated the Romance of the Rose, That is a heresy against my law, And maketh wise folk from me withdraw." (The Prologue to The Legend of Good Women, c. 1386)
G. K. Chesterton: "Truths turn into dogmas the instant that they are disputed. Thus every man who utters a doubt defines a religion." (Heretics, 12th Edition, 1919)
G. K. Chesterton: "But to have avoided [all heresies] has been one whirling adventure; and in my vision the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect." (Orthodoxy, 1908)
Benjamin Franklin: "Many a long dispute among divines may be thus abridged: It is so. It is not. It is so. It is not." (Poor Richard's Almanack, 1879)
Helen Keller: "The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next." (Optimism, 1903)
Lao Tzu: "Those who are intelligent are not ideologues. Those who are ideologues are not intelligent." (Tao Te Ching, Verse 81, 6th century BCE)
James G. March on the relations among madness, heresy, and genius: "... we sometimes find that such heresies have been the foundation for bold and necessary change, but heresy is usually just new ideas that are foolish or dangerous and appropriately rejected or ignored. So while it may be true that great geniuses are usually heretics, heretics are rarely great geniuses."[49]
Montesquieu: "No kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ." (Persian Letters, 1721)
Friedrich Nietzsche: "Whoever has overthrown an existing law of custom has hitherto always first been accounted a bad man: but when, as did happen, the law could not afterwards be reinstated and this fact was accepted, the predicate gradually changed; - history treats almost exclusively of these bad men who subsequently became good men!" (Daybreak, § 20)[50]
See also[edit]
Convention (norm)
Deviationism
Herem
Heterodoxy
Mores
Norm (social)
Schism
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ An "ecclesiastical authority" was initially an assembly of bishops, later the Pope, then an inquisitor (a delegate of the Pope) and later yet the leadership of a Protestant church (which would itself be regarded as heretical by the Pope). The definitions of "state", "cooperation", "suppress" and "heresy" were all subject to change during the past 16 centuries.
2.Jump up ^ Only very fragmentary records have been found of the executions carried out under Christian "heresy laws" during the first millennium. Somewhat more complete records of such executions can be found for the second millennium. To estimate the total number of executions carried out under various Christian "heresy laws" from 385 AD until the last official Roman Catholic "heresy execution" in 1826 AD would require far more complete historical documentation than is currently available. The Roman Catholic Church by no means had a monopoly on the execution of heretics. The charge of heresy was a weapon that could fit many hands. A century and a half after heresy was made a state crime, the Vandals(a heretical Christian Germanic tribe), used the law to prosecute thousands of (orthodox) Catholics with penalties of torture, mutilation, slavery and banishment.[51] The Vandals were overthrown; orthodoxy was restored; "No toleration whatsoever was to be granted to heretics or schismatics."[52] Heretics were not the only casualties. 4000 Roman soldiers were killed by heretical peasants in one campaign.[53] Some lists of heretics and heresies are available. About seven thousand people were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Inquisition, which lasted for nearly seven centuries.[54] From time to time, heretics were burned at the stake by an enraged local populace, in a certain type of "vigilante justice" , without the official participation of the Church or State.[55] Religious Wars slaughtered millions. During these wars, the charge of "heresy" was often leveled by one side against another as a sort of propaganda or rationalization for the undertaking of such wars.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Heresy | Define Heresy at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
2.Jump up ^ "Apostasy | Learn everything there is to know about Apostasy at". Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
3.Jump up ^ "Definitions of "blasphemy" at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
4.Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionaries: heresy
5.Jump up ^ Daryl Glaser, David M. Walker (editors), Twentieth-Century Marxism (Routledge 2007 ISBN 978-1-13597974-4), p. 62
6.Jump up ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Heresy". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
7.Jump up ^ Bruce, F.F. The Spreading Flame, Exeter:Paternoster 1964, p. 249
8.Jump up ^ The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1987—footnote to Titus 3:10
9.Jump up ^ The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1987—footnote to Titus 1:9
10.^ Jump up to: a b Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
11.Jump up ^ W.H.C. Frend (1984). The Rise of Christianity. Chapter 7, The Emergence of Orthodoxy 135-93. ISBN 978-0-8006-1931-2. Appendices provide a timeline of Councils, Schisms, Heresies and Persecutions in the years 193-604. They are described in the text.
12.Jump up ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Milan, Edict of". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13.Jump up ^ Chadwick, Henry. The Early Christian Church, Pelican 1967, pp 129-30
14.Jump up ^ Paul Stephenson (2009). Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor. Chapter 11. ISBN 978-1-59020-324-8. The Emperor established and enforced orthodoxy for domestic tranquility and the efficacy of prayers in support of the empire.
15.Jump up ^ Charles Freeman (2008). A.D. 381 - Heretics, Pagans, and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State. ISBN 978-1-59020-171-8. As Christianity placed its stamp upon the Empire, the Emperor shaped the church for political purposes.
16.^ Jump up to: a b Everett Ferguson (editor), Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-13661158-2), p. 950
17.Jump up ^ John Anthony McGuckin, The Westminister Handbook to Patristic Theology (Westminster John Knox Press 2004 ISBN 978-0-66422396-0), p. 284
18.Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, "Priscillian"
19.Jump up ^ Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church, Pelican, London, 1967. p.171
20.^ Jump up to: a b Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 219. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
21.Jump up ^ "Massacre of the Pure." Time. April 28, 1961.
22.Jump up ^ Joseph Reese Strayer (1992). The Albigensian Crusades. University of Michigan Press. p. 143. ISBN 0-472-06476-2
23.Jump up ^ Will & Ariel Durant (1950). The Age of Faith. Chapter XXVIII, The Early Inquisition: 1000-1300.
24.Jump up ^ Fantoli (2005, p. 139), Finocchiaro (1989, pp. 288–293).
25.Jump up ^ Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 76. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
26.Jump up ^ Constitutio Sirmondiana, 6 + 14; Theodosius II - Novella 3; Codex Theodosianus 16:5:44, 16:8:27, 16:8:27; Codex Justinianus 1:3:54, 1:5:12+21, 1:10:2; Justinian, Novellae 37 + 45
27.Jump up ^ Luther, Martin; Rydie, Coleman, ed. (February 18, 2009). On The Jews and Their Lies. lulu.com. ISBN 978-0557050239. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
28.Jump up ^ John A. Wagner, Susan Walters Schmid (editors), Encyclopedia of Tudor England, vol. 1 (ABC-CLIO 2012 ISBN 978-1-59884298-2), p. 221
29.Jump up ^ Ron Christenson, Political Trials in History (Transaction Publishers 1991 ISBN 978-0-88738406-6), p. 302
30.Jump up ^ Oliver O'Donovan, Joan Lockwood O'Donovan, From Irenaeus to Grotius (Eerdmans 1999 ISBN 978-0-80284209-1), p. 558
31.^ Jump up to: a b Dickens, A.G. The English Reformation Fontana/Collins 1967, p.327/p.364
32.Jump up ^ Neill, Stephen. Anglicanism Pelican, pp.96,7
33.Jump up ^ MacCullough, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer Yale 1996, p.477
34.Jump up ^ MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation Penguin 2003, p. 679
35.Jump up ^ An example is the Notification regarding certain writings of Fr. Marciano Vidal, C.Ss.R.
36.Jump up ^ Borges, Jorge Luis (1962). Labyrinths. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation. pp. 119–126. ISBN 978-0-8112-0012-7.
37.Jump up ^ Sanasarian, Eliz (2000). Religious Minorities in Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 0-521-77073-4.
38.Jump up ^ Jalāl Āl Aḥmad (1982). Plagued by the West. Translated by Paul Sprachman. Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University. ISBN 978-0-88206-047-7.[citation needed]
39.Jump up ^ John Bowker. "Zindiq." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997
40.Jump up ^ The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised, by Marc B. Shapiro, ISBN 1-874774-90-0, A book written as a contentious rebuttal to an article written in the Torah u'Maddah Journal.
41.Jump up ^ (Buddhism Five precepts)
42.Jump up ^ John B. Henderson (1998). The construction of orthodoxy and heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and early Christian patterns. ISBN 978-0-7914-3760-5.
43.Jump up ^ Welkos, Robert W.; Sappell, Joel (29 June 1990). "When the Doctrine Leaves the Church". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
44.Jump up ^ Time magazine, "Religion: Anti-Religion"
45.Jump up ^ Ludwig von Mises, Trotsky's Heresy - Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis
46.Jump up ^ International Socialist Review, "Exploring the high moments and small mountain roads of Marxism"
47.^ Jump up to: a b Donald Goldsmith (1977). Scientists Confront Velikovsky. ISBN 0-8014-0961-6.
48.Jump up ^ Robert T. Bakker (1986). The Dinosaur Heresies. ISBN 978-0-8065-2260-9.
49.Jump up ^ Coutou, Diane. Ideas as Art. Harvard Business Review 84 (2006): 83–89.
50.Jump up ^ Daybreak, R.J. Hollingdale trans., Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 18. Available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/37646181/Nietzsche-Daybreak
51.Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chapter 37, Part III.
52.Jump up ^ W.H.C. Frend (1984). The Rise of Christianity. page 833. ISBN 978-0-8006-1931-2.
53.Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chapter 21, Part VII.
54.Jump up ^ James Carroll (2001). Constantine's Sword. page 357. ISBN 0-618-21908-0.
55.Jump up ^ Will & Ariel Durant (1950). The Age of Faith. page 778.
External links[edit]
 Look up heresy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heresy.
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Heresy
Some quotes and information in this article came from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
(French) Cathars of the middle age, Philosophy and History.
What Is Heresy? by Wilbert R. Gawrisch (Lutheran)


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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy












Heresy

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"Heretic" and "Heretical" redirect here. For the website, see Heretical (website). For other uses, see Heretic (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation).



 The Gospel (allegory) triumphs over Heresia and the Serpent. Church of King Gustaf Vasa, Stockholm, Sweden, sculpture by Burchard Precht.


 The burning of adherents of the pantheistic Amalrician sect in 1210, in the presence of King Philip II Augustus. In the background is the Gibbet of Montfaucon and, anachronistically, the Grosse Tour of the Temple. Illumination from the Grandes Chroniques de France, c. 1255-1260.
Heresy is any provocative belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs. A heretic is a proponent of such claims or beliefs.[1] Heresy is distinct from both apostasy, which is the explicit renunciation of one's religion, principles or cause,[2] and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion.[3]
The term is usually used to refer to violations of important religious teachings, but is used also of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas.[4] It is used in particular in reference to Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Marxism.[5]
In certain historical Islamic, Christian, and Jewish cultures, among others, espousing ideas deemed heretical has been and in some cases still is subjected not merely to punishments such as excommunication, but even to the death penalty.


Contents  [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Christianity 2.1 Catholicism
2.2 Eastern Christianity
2.3 Protestantism
2.4 Modern era
3 Islam
4 Judaism 4.1 Orthodox Judaism
5 Other religions
6 Non-religious usage
7 Selected quotations
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links

Etymology[edit]
The term heresy is from Greek αἵρεσις originally meant "choice" or "thing chosen",[6] but it came to mean the "party or school of a man's choice"[7] and also referred to that process whereby a young person would examine various philosophies to determine how to live. The word "heresy" is usually used within a Christian, Jewish, or Islamic context, and implies slightly different meanings in each. The founder or leader of a heretical movement is called a heresiarch, while individuals who espouse heresy or commit heresy are known as heretics. Heresiology is the study of heresy.
Christianity[edit]



 Former German Catholic priest Martin Luther was famously excommunicated as a heretic by Pope Leo X in 1520.
Main article: Heresy in Christianity
According to Titus 3:10 a divisive person should be warned two times before separating from him. The Greek for the phrase "divisive person" became a technical term in the early Church for a type of "heretic" who promoted dissension.[8] In contrast correct teaching is called sound not only because it builds up in the faith, but because it protects against the corrupting influence of false teachers.[9]
The Church Fathers identified Jews and Judaism with heresy. They saw deviations from Orthodox Christianity as heresies that were essentially Jewish in spirit.[10] Tertullian implyed that it was the Jews who most inspired heresy in Christianity: "From the Jew the heretic has accepted guidance in this discussion [that Jesus was not the Christ.]" Saint Peter of Antioch referred to Christians that refused to venerate religious images as having "Jewish minds".[10]
The use of the word "heresy" was given wide currency by Irenaeus in his 2nd century tract Contra Haereses (Against Heresies) to describe and discredit his opponents during the early centuries of the Christian community.[citation needed] He described the community's beliefs and doctrines as orthodox (from ὀρθός, orthos "straight" + δόξα, doxa "belief") and the Gnostics' teachings as heretical.[citation needed] He also pointed out the concept of apostolic succession to support his arguments.[11]
Constantine the Great, who along with Licinius had decreed toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire by what is commonly called the "Edict of Milan",[12] and was the first Roman Emperor baptized, set precedents for later policy. By Roman law the Emperor was Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum) of all recognized religions in ancient Rome. To put an end to the doctrinal debate initiated by Arius, Constantine called the first of what would afterwards be called the ecumenical councils[13] and then enforced orthodoxy by Imperial authority.[14]
The first known usage of the term in a legal context was in AD 380 by the Edict of Thessalonica of Theodosius I,[15] which made Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire. Prior to the issuance of this edict, the Church had no state-sponsored support for any particular legal mechanism to counter what it perceived as "heresy". By this edict the state's authority and that of the Church became somewhat overlapping. One of the outcomes of this blurring of Church and state was the sharing of state powers of legal enforcement with church authorities. This reinforcement of the Church's authority gave church leaders the power to, in effect, pronounce the death sentence upon those whom the church considered heretical.
Within six years of the official criminalization of heresy by the Emperor, the first Christian heretic to be executed, Priscillian, was condemned in 386 by Roman secular officials for sorcery, and put to death with four or five followers.[16][17][18] However, his accusers were excommunicated both by Ambrose of Milan and Pope Siricius,[19] who opposed Priscillian's heresy, but "believed capital punishment to be inappropriate at best and usually unequivocally evil".[16] For some years after the Reformation, Protestant churches were also known to execute those they considered heretics, including Catholics. The last known heretic executed by sentence of the Roman Catholic Church was Spanish schoolmaster Cayetano Ripoll in 1826. The number of people executed as heretics under the authority of the various "ecclesiastical authorities"[note 1] is not known.[note 2]
Catholicism[edit]



 Massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol in 1545.
In the Roman Catholic Church, obstinate and willful manifest heresy is considered to spiritually cut one off from the Church, even before excommunication is incurred. The Codex Justinianus (1:5:12) defines "everyone who is not devoted to the Catholic Church and to our Orthodox holy Faith" a heretic.[20] The Church had always dealt harshly with strands of Christianity that it considered heretical, but before the 11th century these tended to centre around individual preachers or small localised sects, like Arianism, Pelagianism, Donatism, Marcionism and Montanism. The diffusion of the almost Manichaean sect of Paulicians westwards gave birth to the famous 11th and 12th century heresies of Western Europe. The first one was that of Bogomils in modern day Bosnia, a sort of sanctuary between Eastern and Western Christianity. By the 11th century, more organised groups such as the Patarini, the Dulcinians, the Waldensians and the Cathars were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of northern Italy, southern France and Flanders.
In France the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement and the belief was spreading to other areas.[21] The Cathar Crusade was initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar heresy in Languedoc.[22][23] Heresy was a major justification for the Inquisition (Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis, Inquiry on Heretical Perversity) and for the European wars of religion associated with the Protestant Reformation.



Cristiano Banti's 1857 painting Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition.
Galileo Galilei was brought before the Inquisition for heresy, but abjured his views and was sentenced to house arrest, under which he spent the rest of his life. Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy", namely of having held the opinions that the Sun lies motionless at the centre of the universe, that the Earth is not at its centre and moves, and that one may hold and defend an opinion as probable after it has been declared contrary to Holy Scripture. He was required to "abjure, curse and detest" those opinions.[24]
Pope St. Gregory stigmatized Judaism and the Jewish People in many of his writings. He described Jews as enemies of Christ: "The more the Holy Spirit fills the world, the more perverse hatred dominates the souls of the Jews." He labeled all heresy as "Jewish", claiming that Judaism would "pollute [Catholics and] deceive them with sacrilegious seduction."[25] The identification of Jews and heretics in particular occurred several times in Roman-Christian law,[20][26]
Eastern Christianity[edit]
In Eastern Christianity heresy most commonly refers to those beliefs declared heretical by the first seven Ecumenical Councils.[citation needed] Since the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation, various Christian churches have also used the concept in proceedings against individuals and groups those churches deemed heretical. The Orthodox Church also rejects the early Christian heresies such as Arianism, Gnosticism, Origenism, Montanism, Judaism, Marcionism, Docetism, Adoptionism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism and Iconoclasm.
Protestantism[edit]
In his work "On the Jews and Their Lies" (1543), German Reformation leader Martin Luther calls prophet Jeremiah a heretic: "Jeremiah, you wretched heretic, you seducer and false prophet". He claims that Jewish history was "assailed by much heresy", and that Christ the logos swept away the Jewish heresy and goes on to do so, "as it still does daily before our eyes." He stigmatizes Jewish Prayer as being "blasphemous" (sic) and a lie, and vilifies Jews in general as being spiritually "blind" and "surely possessed by all devils." Luther calls the members of the Orthodox Catholic Church "papists" and heretics, and has a special spiritual problem with Jewish circumcision.[27]
In England, the 16th-century European Reformation resulted in a number of executions on charges of heresy. During the thirty-eight years of Henry VIII's reign, about sixty heretics, mainly Protestants, were executed and a rather greater number of Catholics lost their lives on grounds of political offences such as treason, notably Sir Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, for refusing to accept the king's supremacy over the Church in England.[28][29][30] Under Edward VI, the heresy laws were repealed in 1547 only to be reintroduced in 1554 by Mary I; even so two radicals were executed in Edward's reign (one for denying the reality of the incarnation, the other for denying Christ's divinity).[31] Under Mary, around two hundred and ninety people were burned at the stake between 1555 and 1558 after the restoration of papal jurisdiction.[31] When Elizabeth I came to the throne, the concept of heresy was retained in theory but severely restricted by the 1559 Act of Supremacy and the one hundred and eighty or so Catholics who were executed in the forty-five years of her reign were put to death because they were considered members of "...a subversive fifth column."[32] The last execution of a "heretic" in England occurred under James VI and I in 1612.[33] Although the charge was technically one of "blasphemy" there was one later execution in Scotland (still at that date an entirely independent kingdom) when in 1697 Thomas Aikenhead was accused, among other things, of denying the doctrine of the Trinity.[34]
Another example of the persecution of heretics under Protestant rule was the execution of the Boston martyrs in 1659, 1660, and 1661. These executions resulted from the actions of the Anglican Puritans, who at that time wielded political as well as ecclesiastic control in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. At the time, the colony leaders were apparently hoping to achieve their vision of a "purer absolute theocracy" within their colony .[citation needed] As such, they perceived the teachings and practices of the rival Quaker sect as heretical, even to the point where laws were passed and executions were performed with the aim of ridding their colony of such perceived "heresies".[citation needed] It should be noticed that the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox communions generally regard the Puritans themselves as having been heterodox or heretical.
Modern era[edit]
See also: Christian heresy in the modern era
The era of mass persecution and execution of heretics under the banner of Christianity came to an end in 1826 with the last execution of a "heretic", Cayetano Ripoll, by the Catholic Inquisition.
Although less common than in earlier periods, in modern times, formal charges of heresy within Christian churches still occur. Issues in the Protestant churches have included modern biblical criticism and the nature of God. In the Catholic Church, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith criticizes writings for "ambiguities and errors" without using the word "heresy".[35]
Perhaps due to the many modern negative connotations associated with the term heretic, such as the Spanish inquisition, the term is used less often today. The subject of Christian heresy opens up broader questions as to who has a monopoly on spiritual truth, as explored by Jorge Luis Borges in the short story "The Theologians" within the compilation Labyrinths.[36]
Islam[edit]



Mehdiana Sahib: the martyrdom of Bhai Dayala, a Sikh, by Indian Muslims at Chandni Chowk, India in 1675
Main article: Bid‘ah
The Baha'i Faith is considered an Islamic heresy in Iran.[37] To Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Sikhs were heretics.
Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim, regarded the Shia Qizilbash as heretics, reportedly proclaimed that "the killing of one Shiite had as much otherworldly reward as killing 70 Christians."[38]
Starting in medieval times, Muslims began to refer to heretics and those who antagonized Islam as zindiqs, the charge being punishable by death.[39]
In some modern day nations and regions in which Sharia law is ostensibly practiced, heresy remains an offense punishable by death. One example is the 1989 fatwa issued by the government of Iran, offering a substantial bounty for anyone who succeeds in the assassination of author Salman Rushdie, whose writings were declared as "heretical".
Judaism[edit]
Main article: Heresy in Judaism
Orthodox Judaism[edit]
Main article: Heresy in Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism considers views on the part of Jews who depart from traditional Jewish principles of faith heretical. In addition, the more right-wing groups within Orthodox Judaism hold that all Jews who reject the simple meaning of Maimonides's 13 principles of Jewish faith are heretics.[40] As such, most of Orthodox Judaism considers Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism heretical movements, and regards most of Conservative Judaism as heretical. The liberal wing of Modern Orthodoxy is more tolerant of Conservative Judaism, particularly its right wing, as there is some theological and practical overlap between these groups.
Other religions[edit]
Buddhist literature mentions a wrathful conquest of Buddhist heretics (see Padmasambhava) and the existence of a Buddhist theocracy.[41]
Neo-Confucian heresy has been described.[42]
The act of using Church of Scientology techniques in a form different than originally described by Hubbard is referred to within Scientology as "squirreling" and is said by Scientologists to be high treason.[43] The Religious Technology Center has prosecuted breakaway groups that have practiced Scientology outside the official Church without authorization.
Non-religious usage[edit]
The term "heresy" is used not only with regard to religion but also in the context of a political theory such as Marxism.[44][45][46]
In other contexts the term does not necessarily have pejorative overtones and may even be complimentary when used, in areas where innovation is welcome, of ideas that are in fundamental disagreement with the status quo in any practice and branch of knowledge. Scientist/author Isaac Asimov considered heresy as an abstraction,[47] Asimov's views are in Forward: The Role of the Heretic. mentioning religious, political, socioeconomic and scientific heresies. He divided scientific heretics into endoheretics (those from within the scientific community) and exoheretics (those from without). Characteristics were ascribed to both and examples of both kinds were offered. Asimov concluded that science orthodoxy defends itself well against endoheretics (by control of science education, grants and publication as examples), but is nearly powerless against exoheretics. He acknowledged by examples that heresy has repeatedly become orthodoxy.
The revisionist paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, who published his findings as The Dinosaur Heresies, treated the mainstream view of dinosaurs as dogma.[48] "I have enormous respect for dinosaur paleontologists past and present. But on average, for the last fifty years, the field hasn't tested dinosaur orthodoxy severely enough." page 27 "Most taxonomists, however, have viewed such new terminology as dangerously destabilizing to the traditional and well-known scheme..." page 462. This book apparently influenced Jurassic Park. The illustrations by the author show dinosaurs in very active poses, in contrast to the traditional perception of lethargy. He is an example of a recent scientific endoheretic.
Immanuel Velikovsky is an example of a recent scientific exoheretic; he did not have appropriate scientific credentials or did not publish in scientific journals. While the details of his work are in scientific disrepute, the concept of catastrophic change (extinction event and punctuated equilibrium) has gained acceptance in recent decades.
The term heresy is also used as an ideological pigeonhole for contemporary writers because, by definition, heresy depends on contrasts with an established orthodoxy. For example, the tongue-in-cheek contemporary usage of heresy, such as to categorize a "Wall Street heresy" a "Democratic heresy" or a "Republican heresy," are metaphors that invariably retain a subtext that links orthodoxies in geology or biology or any other field to religion. These expanded metaphoric senses allude to both the difference between the person's views and the mainstream and the boldness of such a person in propounding these views.
Selected quotations[edit]
Thomas Aquinas: "Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death." (Summa Theologica, c. 1270)
Isaac Asimov: "Science is in a far greater danger from the absence of challenge than from the coming of any number of even absurd challenges."[47]
Augustine of Hippo: "For it is the wrongdoing of the opposing party which compels the wise man to wage just wars." (City of God, Chapter 7, c. 426)
Gerald Brenan: "Religions are kept alive by heresies, which are really sudden explosions of faith. Dead religions do not produce them." (Thoughts in a Dry Season, 1978)
Geoffrey Chaucer: "Thu hast translated the Romance of the Rose, That is a heresy against my law, And maketh wise folk from me withdraw." (The Prologue to The Legend of Good Women, c. 1386)
G. K. Chesterton: "Truths turn into dogmas the instant that they are disputed. Thus every man who utters a doubt defines a religion." (Heretics, 12th Edition, 1919)
G. K. Chesterton: "But to have avoided [all heresies] has been one whirling adventure; and in my vision the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect." (Orthodoxy, 1908)
Benjamin Franklin: "Many a long dispute among divines may be thus abridged: It is so. It is not. It is so. It is not." (Poor Richard's Almanack, 1879)
Helen Keller: "The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next." (Optimism, 1903)
Lao Tzu: "Those who are intelligent are not ideologues. Those who are ideologues are not intelligent." (Tao Te Ching, Verse 81, 6th century BCE)
James G. March on the relations among madness, heresy, and genius: "... we sometimes find that such heresies have been the foundation for bold and necessary change, but heresy is usually just new ideas that are foolish or dangerous and appropriately rejected or ignored. So while it may be true that great geniuses are usually heretics, heretics are rarely great geniuses."[49]
Montesquieu: "No kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ." (Persian Letters, 1721)
Friedrich Nietzsche: "Whoever has overthrown an existing law of custom has hitherto always first been accounted a bad man: but when, as did happen, the law could not afterwards be reinstated and this fact was accepted, the predicate gradually changed; - history treats almost exclusively of these bad men who subsequently became good men!" (Daybreak, § 20)[50]
See also[edit]
Convention (norm)
Deviationism
Herem
Heterodoxy
Mores
Norm (social)
Schism
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ An "ecclesiastical authority" was initially an assembly of bishops, later the Pope, then an inquisitor (a delegate of the Pope) and later yet the leadership of a Protestant church (which would itself be regarded as heretical by the Pope). The definitions of "state", "cooperation", "suppress" and "heresy" were all subject to change during the past 16 centuries.
2.Jump up ^ Only very fragmentary records have been found of the executions carried out under Christian "heresy laws" during the first millennium. Somewhat more complete records of such executions can be found for the second millennium. To estimate the total number of executions carried out under various Christian "heresy laws" from 385 AD until the last official Roman Catholic "heresy execution" in 1826 AD would require far more complete historical documentation than is currently available. The Roman Catholic Church by no means had a monopoly on the execution of heretics. The charge of heresy was a weapon that could fit many hands. A century and a half after heresy was made a state crime, the Vandals(a heretical Christian Germanic tribe), used the law to prosecute thousands of (orthodox) Catholics with penalties of torture, mutilation, slavery and banishment.[51] The Vandals were overthrown; orthodoxy was restored; "No toleration whatsoever was to be granted to heretics or schismatics."[52] Heretics were not the only casualties. 4000 Roman soldiers were killed by heretical peasants in one campaign.[53] Some lists of heretics and heresies are available. About seven thousand people were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Inquisition, which lasted for nearly seven centuries.[54] From time to time, heretics were burned at the stake by an enraged local populace, in a certain type of "vigilante justice" , without the official participation of the Church or State.[55] Religious Wars slaughtered millions. During these wars, the charge of "heresy" was often leveled by one side against another as a sort of propaganda or rationalization for the undertaking of such wars.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Heresy | Define Heresy at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
2.Jump up ^ "Apostasy | Learn everything there is to know about Apostasy at". Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
3.Jump up ^ "Definitions of "blasphemy" at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
4.Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionaries: heresy
5.Jump up ^ Daryl Glaser, David M. Walker (editors), Twentieth-Century Marxism (Routledge 2007 ISBN 978-1-13597974-4), p. 62
6.Jump up ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Heresy". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
7.Jump up ^ Bruce, F.F. The Spreading Flame, Exeter:Paternoster 1964, p. 249
8.Jump up ^ The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1987—footnote to Titus 3:10
9.Jump up ^ The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1987—footnote to Titus 1:9
10.^ Jump up to: a b Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
11.Jump up ^ W.H.C. Frend (1984). The Rise of Christianity. Chapter 7, The Emergence of Orthodoxy 135-93. ISBN 978-0-8006-1931-2. Appendices provide a timeline of Councils, Schisms, Heresies and Persecutions in the years 193-604. They are described in the text.
12.Jump up ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Milan, Edict of". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13.Jump up ^ Chadwick, Henry. The Early Christian Church, Pelican 1967, pp 129-30
14.Jump up ^ Paul Stephenson (2009). Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor. Chapter 11. ISBN 978-1-59020-324-8. The Emperor established and enforced orthodoxy for domestic tranquility and the efficacy of prayers in support of the empire.
15.Jump up ^ Charles Freeman (2008). A.D. 381 - Heretics, Pagans, and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State. ISBN 978-1-59020-171-8. As Christianity placed its stamp upon the Empire, the Emperor shaped the church for political purposes.
16.^ Jump up to: a b Everett Ferguson (editor), Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-13661158-2), p. 950
17.Jump up ^ John Anthony McGuckin, The Westminister Handbook to Patristic Theology (Westminster John Knox Press 2004 ISBN 978-0-66422396-0), p. 284
18.Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, "Priscillian"
19.Jump up ^ Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church, Pelican, London, 1967. p.171
20.^ Jump up to: a b Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 219. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
21.Jump up ^ "Massacre of the Pure." Time. April 28, 1961.
22.Jump up ^ Joseph Reese Strayer (1992). The Albigensian Crusades. University of Michigan Press. p. 143. ISBN 0-472-06476-2
23.Jump up ^ Will & Ariel Durant (1950). The Age of Faith. Chapter XXVIII, The Early Inquisition: 1000-1300.
24.Jump up ^ Fantoli (2005, p. 139), Finocchiaro (1989, pp. 288–293).
25.Jump up ^ Michael, Robert (2011). A history of Catholic antisemitism : the dark side of the church (1st Palgrave Macmillan pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 76. ISBN 978-0230111318. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
26.Jump up ^ Constitutio Sirmondiana, 6 + 14; Theodosius II - Novella 3; Codex Theodosianus 16:5:44, 16:8:27, 16:8:27; Codex Justinianus 1:3:54, 1:5:12+21, 1:10:2; Justinian, Novellae 37 + 45
27.Jump up ^ Luther, Martin; Rydie, Coleman, ed. (February 18, 2009). On The Jews and Their Lies. lulu.com. ISBN 978-0557050239. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
28.Jump up ^ John A. Wagner, Susan Walters Schmid (editors), Encyclopedia of Tudor England, vol. 1 (ABC-CLIO 2012 ISBN 978-1-59884298-2), p. 221
29.Jump up ^ Ron Christenson, Political Trials in History (Transaction Publishers 1991 ISBN 978-0-88738406-6), p. 302
30.Jump up ^ Oliver O'Donovan, Joan Lockwood O'Donovan, From Irenaeus to Grotius (Eerdmans 1999 ISBN 978-0-80284209-1), p. 558
31.^ Jump up to: a b Dickens, A.G. The English Reformation Fontana/Collins 1967, p.327/p.364
32.Jump up ^ Neill, Stephen. Anglicanism Pelican, pp.96,7
33.Jump up ^ MacCullough, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer Yale 1996, p.477
34.Jump up ^ MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation Penguin 2003, p. 679
35.Jump up ^ An example is the Notification regarding certain writings of Fr. Marciano Vidal, C.Ss.R.
36.Jump up ^ Borges, Jorge Luis (1962). Labyrinths. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation. pp. 119–126. ISBN 978-0-8112-0012-7.
37.Jump up ^ Sanasarian, Eliz (2000). Religious Minorities in Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 0-521-77073-4.
38.Jump up ^ Jalāl Āl Aḥmad (1982). Plagued by the West. Translated by Paul Sprachman. Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University. ISBN 978-0-88206-047-7.[citation needed]
39.Jump up ^ John Bowker. "Zindiq." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997
40.Jump up ^ The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised, by Marc B. Shapiro, ISBN 1-874774-90-0, A book written as a contentious rebuttal to an article written in the Torah u'Maddah Journal.
41.Jump up ^ (Buddhism Five precepts)
42.Jump up ^ John B. Henderson (1998). The construction of orthodoxy and heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, Jewish, and early Christian patterns. ISBN 978-0-7914-3760-5.
43.Jump up ^ Welkos, Robert W.; Sappell, Joel (29 June 1990). "When the Doctrine Leaves the Church". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
44.Jump up ^ Time magazine, "Religion: Anti-Religion"
45.Jump up ^ Ludwig von Mises, Trotsky's Heresy - Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis
46.Jump up ^ International Socialist Review, "Exploring the high moments and small mountain roads of Marxism"
47.^ Jump up to: a b Donald Goldsmith (1977). Scientists Confront Velikovsky. ISBN 0-8014-0961-6.
48.Jump up ^ Robert T. Bakker (1986). The Dinosaur Heresies. ISBN 978-0-8065-2260-9.
49.Jump up ^ Coutou, Diane. Ideas as Art. Harvard Business Review 84 (2006): 83–89.
50.Jump up ^ Daybreak, R.J. Hollingdale trans., Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 18. Available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/37646181/Nietzsche-Daybreak
51.Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chapter 37, Part III.
52.Jump up ^ W.H.C. Frend (1984). The Rise of Christianity. page 833. ISBN 978-0-8006-1931-2.
53.Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chapter 21, Part VII.
54.Jump up ^ James Carroll (2001). Constantine's Sword. page 357. ISBN 0-618-21908-0.
55.Jump up ^ Will & Ariel Durant (1950). The Age of Faith. page 778.
External links[edit]
 Look up heresy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heresy.
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Heresy
Some quotes and information in this article came from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
(French) Cathars of the middle age, Philosophy and History.
What Is Heresy? by Wilbert R. Gawrisch (Lutheran)


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Bruderhof Communities

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 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2013)
The Bruderhof Communities (/ˈbruːdərˌhɔːf/; German: place of brothers) are Christian religious communities with branches in New York, Florida, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, Paraguay, and Australia. They have previously been called The Society of Brothers and were loosely affiliated with the Hutterian Brethren. The group is also known as Church Communities International.


Contents  [hide]
1 Beliefs
2 History
3 Present day
4 Businesses
5 Involvement in the wider community
6 Controversy and criticism
7 References
8 Bibliography
9 External links 9.1 Critics


Beliefs[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2013)
The Bruderhof's foundation is faith in Jesus, the Christ and son of God.[1] His teachings are central to Bruderhof life – particularly the command "Love your neighbor as yourself", the Sermon on the Mount, and teachings concerning nonviolence, faithfulness in marriage, and compassion for the poor. Bruderhof members share the beliefs as recorded in the Apostles' Creed and the Didache.
The Bruderhof tries to follow the practices of the first church in Jerusalem as related in the Acts of the Apostles, for example Acts 4:32–37: where the church members were of "one heart and mind, and shared all things in common". Bruderhof members do not hold private property, but rather share everything. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care of all members and for various communal outreach efforts.
The Bruderhof is a peace church whose members do not serve in the armed forces of any country. They claim to model a way of life that removes the social and economic divisions that bring about war. The goal of the Bruderhof is to create a new society where self-interest is yielded for the sake of the common good.
The Bruderhof movement draws inspiration and guidance from a number of historical streams including the early Christians, the Anabaptists and the German Youth Movement.
History[edit]
The Bruderhof was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, a philosophy student and intellectual inspired by the German Youth Movement in post-World War I. In 1920 he rented a house in Sannerz, Germany, and founded a religious community.
When the group outgrew the house at Sannerz, they moved to the nearby Rhön Mountains. While there, Arnold discovered that the Hutterites (an Anabaptist movement he had studied with great interest) were still in existence in North America. In 1930 he traveled to meet the Hutterites and was ordained as a Hutterian minister.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the Rhön community moved its draft-age men and children to Liechtenstein around 1934 because of their conscientious refusal to serve in the armed forces and to accept Nazi teachers. This community became known as the Alm Bruderhof. Continuing pressure from the Nazi government caused others to move to England and found the Cotswold Bruderhof in 1936. On April 14, 1937, secret police surrounded the Rhön Bruderhof, confiscated the property, and gave the remaining community members forty-eight hours to flee the country. By 1938, all the Bruderhof members had reassembled in England.
While in England, the population grew to over 350 members, largely through the addition of young English members seeking an alternative to war. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the community’s German members and its pacifist stance attracted deep suspicion locally resulting in economic boycotts. When confronted with the option of either having all German members interned, or leaving England as a group, the Bruderhof chose the latter, and began to look for refuge abroad. Soon after England entered the war, the Bruderhof emigrated to Paraguay—the only country that would accept a pacifist community of mixed nationalities. This move was assisted and facilitated by the Mennonite Central Committee.[2]
During the first years in Paraguay, starting in the hostile Chaco region, then moving to the eastern part of the country, Bruderhof members founded three settlements as well as a hospital for community members and local Paraguayans. The only clinic in the area, it served tens of thousands for the next two decades. By the early 1960s, the community in Paraguay had grown significantly.
In 1954, the Bruderhof started a settlement known as the Woodcrest Bruderhof in the United States near Rifton, New York, in response to a dramatic increase in the number of American guests. Hundreds of new members joined, many from other communal groups across the country. New communities were also founded in Pennsylvania (1957) and Connecticut (1958). By 1962, all remaining members had relocated from Paraguay to the northeastern United States, or to England, in part as a result of a "crisis of leadership" whereby descendants of the group's founder took decisive control of the group and thereby created a rift among members. Some members were not satisfied with the leadership and either voluntarily left the community or were abandoned in Paraguay with very few resources. While later Bruderhof leadership apologized for these transgressions, emotional wounds remained.[2]
The Forest River colony of Schmiedeleut Hutterites in North Dakota invited Bruderhof members to join them, and about 36 members moved to North Dakota. In 1955, the Schmiedeleut group excluded the Bruderhof and placed the Forest River colony under probation. In 1973, the Bruderhof leadership apologized for the problems among the Forest River colony and in 1974 was reunited with all branches of the Hutterian Church. However, in 1990 the more conservative Dariusleut and Lehrerleut Hutterites excommunicated the Bruderhof, refusing to recognize them as Hutterites because of practices that did not conform to standard Hutterite order including sending children to public schools, the use of musical instruments, and participation in a protest march. In 1990 the Spring Valley Bruderhof was founded adjacent to the New Meadow Run Bruderhof in Farmington, Pennsylvania. In 2002 the Bruderhof purchased the house in Sannerz, Sinntal municipality in Hesse, Germany where the movement started. It is one of two Bruderhof houses in Germany. In 2003 the Bruderhof opened a new community in Inverell, New South Wales, Australia, where they operate the sign-writing business Danthonia Designs.[3]
Present day[edit]
Most contemporary communities have a nursery, kindergarten, school, communal kitchen, laundry, various workshops, and offices. Bruderhof life is built around the family, though there are also many single members. Children are an important part of each community and participate in most communal gatherings. Disabled and elderly members are loved and cared for within the community and participate in daily life and work as much as they are able.
Like the Hutterites, the Bruderhof members do not hold private property individually, but rather share everything in common. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care for all members, and for various communal outreach efforts.
Children of Bruderhof families do not automatically become members, but are encouraged to leave the community and live elsewhere before deciding on their own whether or not to join the community.[4] Numerous guests visit the Bruderhof and all communities are open to guests.[5]
They are estimated to have around 2,600 members world wide.
Businesses[edit]
Community Playthings, a line of classroom furniture and toys, was developed during the 1950s and soon became the Bruderhof’s main source of income.[6] It still provides the community with a livelihood today. Other Bruderhof businesses include Rifton Equipment, which offers mobility and rehabilitation equipment for disabled adults and children,[7] and Clean Sheen Services, which provides cleaning and property management services.
The Bruderhof operated the publishing house Plough Publishing from 1920 to 2005. The community has also published books and periodicals under its own imprint, the Plough. Plough published spiritual classics, inspirational books, and children’s books, many of which are still available as free downloads.[8]
Involvement in the wider community[edit]
Through the Bruderhof Foundation, a charity created to support outreach and service efforts, and through individual members, the Bruderhof remains actively involved in the neighborhoods that surround its communities,[7] and in the world at large. Bruderhof members serve on school boards, volunteer at prisons and hospitals, and work with local social service agencies[which?] to provide food and shelter for those in need of help. The Bruderhof community campaigns actively on social issues, such as the campaign in opposition to the death sentence for the activist Mumia Abu-Jamal who was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer.[9]
Controversy and criticism[edit]
Former members have documented their experiences and criticisms in KIT - the Keep In Touch Newsletter (published 1989–current date). Find KIT in "Critics" section, below. Sociologist Julius Rubin, who compiled a book of ex-members' stories, The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof, did not visit the Bruderhof before publishing the book.[10] John A. Hostetler, the American author and anthropologist at Temple University in Philadelphia whose work focused on Anabaptist groups, was close to the Bruderhofs and wrote articles for the group's magazine, The Plough, but later said he encountered what he called a "militaristic wall of hostility" from the Bruderhof's leadership after he wrote an article that criticised them.[10]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Foundations of our Faith & Calling; The Bruderhof; The Plough Publishing House, Rifton, New York 2012
2.^ Jump up to: a b Christensen & Levinson, Karen & David (2003). Encyclopedia of community: from the village to the virtual world, Volume 3. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications. p. 105. ISBN 0-7619-2598-8.
3.Jump up ^ Richard Torbay. "Hansard Transcript: Bruderhof Community, Inverell". Parliament of New South Wales.
4.Jump up ^ Richard Weizel (1996-12-08). "Of Family, Spirituality and Power". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
5.Jump up ^ Christopher Zimmerman (1996-12-15). "The Bruderhof, Another View". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
6.Jump up ^ "Excerpt from A Future Perfect: The Essentials of Globalization, By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Steve Levin (2000-07-21). "Bruderhof youth festival readied". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
8.Jump up ^ "Plough.com". Retrieved 2013-05-01.
9.Jump up ^ Andres Tapia and Rudy Carrasco (2007-06-21). "A Christian Community Makes Waves, Not War". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Gerald Renner (1995-11-12). "Bruderhof Leader Defends Close-knit Community Against Outside Critics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
Bibliography[edit]
Foundations of our Faith & Calling, The Bruderhof, 2012 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874868883
Against The Wind, Markus Baum, 1998 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869538
A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community, Emmy Arnold, 2007 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869569
No Lasting Home: A Year in the Paraguayan Wilderness, Emmy Barth, 2009 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869453
An Embassy Besieged:The Story of a Christian Community in Nazi Germany, Emmy Barth, 2010 Cascade Books, ISBN 978-1608998791
Cast Out In The World by Miriam Arnold Holmes, ISBN 978-1882260126
Community in Paraguay: A Visit to the Bruderhof, Bob and Shirley Wagoner, ISBN 978-0874860337
Encyclopedia of American Religions (5th edition), J. Gordon Melton, editor, ISBN 978-0787663841
Free from Bondage by Nadine Moonje Pleil, ISBN 978-1882260072
Homage to a Broken Man:The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold, by Peter Mommsen, 2007 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869316
The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy Among The Bruderhof, by Julius H. Rubin, ISBN 978-0195119435
The Joyful Community: An account of the Bruderhof, a communal movement now in its third generation by Benjamin David Zablocki, ISBN 978-0226977492
Torches Extinguished: Memories of a Communal Bruderhof Childhood in Paraguay, Europe and the U. S. by Elizabeth Bohlken-Zumpe, ISBN 978-1882260010
Seeking for the Kingdom of God: Origins of the Bruderhof Communities, Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, ISBN 978-0874861334
Through Streets Broad And Narrow by Belinda Manley, ISBN 978-1882260089
Church community is a gift of the Holy Spirit: The spirituality of the Bruderhof community, Ian M. Randall, Regents Park College, Oxford, ISBN 978-1907600227
External links[edit]
Official website
Index of Bruderhof related websites
Plough Publishing House (Bruderhof Publishing House)
Bruderhof in the Cotswolds, England, entry at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
Critics[edit]
Peregrine Foundation: – A non-profit organization critical of the Bruderhof
Yahoo! Group KIT-exBruderhof-CCI. The KIT Newsletter (Keep In Touch) - A newsletter and contact for ex members of the Bruderhof(CCI)
Archive of KIT Newsletters


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Anabaptists


Background
Protestant Reformation ·
 Radical Reformation ·
 Waldensians ·
 Petr Chelčický ·
 Moravian Church ·
 German mysticism ·
 Zwickau prophets ·
 Congregationalism
 

Movements
Swiss Brethren ·
 Hutterites ·
 Batenburgers ·
 Mennonites ·
 Old Order Mennonites ·
 Conservative Mennonites ·
 Amish ·
 Abecedarian ·
 Schwenkfelders ·
 Schwarzenau Brethren/German Baptists ·
 Brethren in Christ Church ·
 Bruderhof ·
 Apostolic Christian Church ·
 Peace churches
 

History
Ausbund ·
 German Peasants' War ·
 Münster Rebellion ·
 Martyrs Mirror ·
 Schleitheim Confession ·
 Dordrecht Confession of Faith
 

Theology
Theology of Anabaptism ·
 Apostolic succession/Great Apostasy ·
 Separation of church and state/free church ·
 Sola scriptura ·
 Freedom of religion ·
 Pacifism ·
 Nonresistance ·
 Priesthood of all believers ·
 Anarchism ·
 Communalism/Communism ·
 Church discipline ·
 Memorialism
 

Practices
Agape feast/Lovefeast ·
 Believer's baptism ·
 Foot washing ·
 Shunning ·
 Simple living ·
 Headcovering
 

Notable
 Anabaptists
Felix Manz ·
 Conrad Grebel ·
 Pilgram Marpeck ·
 Michael Sattler ·
 Hans Denck ·
 Jacob Hutter ·
 Balthasar Hubmaier ·
 Bernhard Rothmann ·
 Dirk Philips ·
 Menno Simons ·
 Jakob Ammann ·
 Alexander Mack
 

Portal: Anabaptism


  


Categories: Anabaptism
Peace churches
Hutterite communities
Christian denominations founded in Germany
Religious organizations established in 1920
Christian communities
Intentional communities
Nonviolence organizations
Christian new religious movements
1920 establishments in Germany









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Bruderhof Communities

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2013)
The Bruderhof Communities (/ˈbruːdərˌhɔːf/; German: place of brothers) are Christian religious communities with branches in New York, Florida, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, Paraguay, and Australia. They have previously been called The Society of Brothers and were loosely affiliated with the Hutterian Brethren. The group is also known as Church Communities International.


Contents  [hide]
1 Beliefs
2 History
3 Present day
4 Businesses
5 Involvement in the wider community
6 Controversy and criticism
7 References
8 Bibliography
9 External links 9.1 Critics


Beliefs[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2013)
The Bruderhof's foundation is faith in Jesus, the Christ and son of God.[1] His teachings are central to Bruderhof life – particularly the command "Love your neighbor as yourself", the Sermon on the Mount, and teachings concerning nonviolence, faithfulness in marriage, and compassion for the poor. Bruderhof members share the beliefs as recorded in the Apostles' Creed and the Didache.
The Bruderhof tries to follow the practices of the first church in Jerusalem as related in the Acts of the Apostles, for example Acts 4:32–37: where the church members were of "one heart and mind, and shared all things in common". Bruderhof members do not hold private property, but rather share everything. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care of all members and for various communal outreach efforts.
The Bruderhof is a peace church whose members do not serve in the armed forces of any country. They claim to model a way of life that removes the social and economic divisions that bring about war. The goal of the Bruderhof is to create a new society where self-interest is yielded for the sake of the common good.
The Bruderhof movement draws inspiration and guidance from a number of historical streams including the early Christians, the Anabaptists and the German Youth Movement.
History[edit]
The Bruderhof was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, a philosophy student and intellectual inspired by the German Youth Movement in post-World War I. In 1920 he rented a house in Sannerz, Germany, and founded a religious community.
When the group outgrew the house at Sannerz, they moved to the nearby Rhön Mountains. While there, Arnold discovered that the Hutterites (an Anabaptist movement he had studied with great interest) were still in existence in North America. In 1930 he traveled to meet the Hutterites and was ordained as a Hutterian minister.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the Rhön community moved its draft-age men and children to Liechtenstein around 1934 because of their conscientious refusal to serve in the armed forces and to accept Nazi teachers. This community became known as the Alm Bruderhof. Continuing pressure from the Nazi government caused others to move to England and found the Cotswold Bruderhof in 1936. On April 14, 1937, secret police surrounded the Rhön Bruderhof, confiscated the property, and gave the remaining community members forty-eight hours to flee the country. By 1938, all the Bruderhof members had reassembled in England.
While in England, the population grew to over 350 members, largely through the addition of young English members seeking an alternative to war. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the community’s German members and its pacifist stance attracted deep suspicion locally resulting in economic boycotts. When confronted with the option of either having all German members interned, or leaving England as a group, the Bruderhof chose the latter, and began to look for refuge abroad. Soon after England entered the war, the Bruderhof emigrated to Paraguay—the only country that would accept a pacifist community of mixed nationalities. This move was assisted and facilitated by the Mennonite Central Committee.[2]
During the first years in Paraguay, starting in the hostile Chaco region, then moving to the eastern part of the country, Bruderhof members founded three settlements as well as a hospital for community members and local Paraguayans. The only clinic in the area, it served tens of thousands for the next two decades. By the early 1960s, the community in Paraguay had grown significantly.
In 1954, the Bruderhof started a settlement known as the Woodcrest Bruderhof in the United States near Rifton, New York, in response to a dramatic increase in the number of American guests. Hundreds of new members joined, many from other communal groups across the country. New communities were also founded in Pennsylvania (1957) and Connecticut (1958). By 1962, all remaining members had relocated from Paraguay to the northeastern United States, or to England, in part as a result of a "crisis of leadership" whereby descendants of the group's founder took decisive control of the group and thereby created a rift among members. Some members were not satisfied with the leadership and either voluntarily left the community or were abandoned in Paraguay with very few resources. While later Bruderhof leadership apologized for these transgressions, emotional wounds remained.[2]
The Forest River colony of Schmiedeleut Hutterites in North Dakota invited Bruderhof members to join them, and about 36 members moved to North Dakota. In 1955, the Schmiedeleut group excluded the Bruderhof and placed the Forest River colony under probation. In 1973, the Bruderhof leadership apologized for the problems among the Forest River colony and in 1974 was reunited with all branches of the Hutterian Church. However, in 1990 the more conservative Dariusleut and Lehrerleut Hutterites excommunicated the Bruderhof, refusing to recognize them as Hutterites because of practices that did not conform to standard Hutterite order including sending children to public schools, the use of musical instruments, and participation in a protest march. In 1990 the Spring Valley Bruderhof was founded adjacent to the New Meadow Run Bruderhof in Farmington, Pennsylvania. In 2002 the Bruderhof purchased the house in Sannerz, Sinntal municipality in Hesse, Germany where the movement started. It is one of two Bruderhof houses in Germany. In 2003 the Bruderhof opened a new community in Inverell, New South Wales, Australia, where they operate the sign-writing business Danthonia Designs.[3]
Present day[edit]
Most contemporary communities have a nursery, kindergarten, school, communal kitchen, laundry, various workshops, and offices. Bruderhof life is built around the family, though there are also many single members. Children are an important part of each community and participate in most communal gatherings. Disabled and elderly members are loved and cared for within the community and participate in daily life and work as much as they are able.
Like the Hutterites, the Bruderhof members do not hold private property individually, but rather share everything in common. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care for all members, and for various communal outreach efforts.
Children of Bruderhof families do not automatically become members, but are encouraged to leave the community and live elsewhere before deciding on their own whether or not to join the community.[4] Numerous guests visit the Bruderhof and all communities are open to guests.[5]
They are estimated to have around 2,600 members world wide.
Businesses[edit]
Community Playthings, a line of classroom furniture and toys, was developed during the 1950s and soon became the Bruderhof’s main source of income.[6] It still provides the community with a livelihood today. Other Bruderhof businesses include Rifton Equipment, which offers mobility and rehabilitation equipment for disabled adults and children,[7] and Clean Sheen Services, which provides cleaning and property management services.
The Bruderhof operated the publishing house Plough Publishing from 1920 to 2005. The community has also published books and periodicals under its own imprint, the Plough. Plough published spiritual classics, inspirational books, and children’s books, many of which are still available as free downloads.[8]
Involvement in the wider community[edit]
Through the Bruderhof Foundation, a charity created to support outreach and service efforts, and through individual members, the Bruderhof remains actively involved in the neighborhoods that surround its communities,[7] and in the world at large. Bruderhof members serve on school boards, volunteer at prisons and hospitals, and work with local social service agencies[which?] to provide food and shelter for those in need of help. The Bruderhof community campaigns actively on social issues, such as the campaign in opposition to the death sentence for the activist Mumia Abu-Jamal who was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer.[9]
Controversy and criticism[edit]
Former members have documented their experiences and criticisms in KIT - the Keep In Touch Newsletter (published 1989–current date). Find KIT in "Critics" section, below. Sociologist Julius Rubin, who compiled a book of ex-members' stories, The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof, did not visit the Bruderhof before publishing the book.[10] John A. Hostetler, the American author and anthropologist at Temple University in Philadelphia whose work focused on Anabaptist groups, was close to the Bruderhofs and wrote articles for the group's magazine, The Plough, but later said he encountered what he called a "militaristic wall of hostility" from the Bruderhof's leadership after he wrote an article that criticised them.[10]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Foundations of our Faith & Calling; The Bruderhof; The Plough Publishing House, Rifton, New York 2012
2.^ Jump up to: a b Christensen & Levinson, Karen & David (2003). Encyclopedia of community: from the village to the virtual world, Volume 3. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications. p. 105. ISBN 0-7619-2598-8.
3.Jump up ^ Richard Torbay. "Hansard Transcript: Bruderhof Community, Inverell". Parliament of New South Wales.
4.Jump up ^ Richard Weizel (1996-12-08). "Of Family, Spirituality and Power". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
5.Jump up ^ Christopher Zimmerman (1996-12-15). "The Bruderhof, Another View". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
6.Jump up ^ "Excerpt from A Future Perfect: The Essentials of Globalization, By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Steve Levin (2000-07-21). "Bruderhof youth festival readied". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
8.Jump up ^ "Plough.com". Retrieved 2013-05-01.
9.Jump up ^ Andres Tapia and Rudy Carrasco (2007-06-21). "A Christian Community Makes Waves, Not War". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Gerald Renner (1995-11-12). "Bruderhof Leader Defends Close-knit Community Against Outside Critics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
Bibliography[edit]
Foundations of our Faith & Calling, The Bruderhof, 2012 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874868883
Against The Wind, Markus Baum, 1998 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869538
A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community, Emmy Arnold, 2007 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869569
No Lasting Home: A Year in the Paraguayan Wilderness, Emmy Barth, 2009 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869453
An Embassy Besieged:The Story of a Christian Community in Nazi Germany, Emmy Barth, 2010 Cascade Books, ISBN 978-1608998791
Cast Out In The World by Miriam Arnold Holmes, ISBN 978-1882260126
Community in Paraguay: A Visit to the Bruderhof, Bob and Shirley Wagoner, ISBN 978-0874860337
Encyclopedia of American Religions (5th edition), J. Gordon Melton, editor, ISBN 978-0787663841
Free from Bondage by Nadine Moonje Pleil, ISBN 978-1882260072
Homage to a Broken Man:The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold, by Peter Mommsen, 2007 Plough Publishing House, ISBN 978-0874869316
The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy Among The Bruderhof, by Julius H. Rubin, ISBN 978-0195119435
The Joyful Community: An account of the Bruderhof, a communal movement now in its third generation by Benjamin David Zablocki, ISBN 978-0226977492
Torches Extinguished: Memories of a Communal Bruderhof Childhood in Paraguay, Europe and the U. S. by Elizabeth Bohlken-Zumpe, ISBN 978-1882260010
Seeking for the Kingdom of God: Origins of the Bruderhof Communities, Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, ISBN 978-0874861334
Through Streets Broad And Narrow by Belinda Manley, ISBN 978-1882260089
Church community is a gift of the Holy Spirit: The spirituality of the Bruderhof community, Ian M. Randall, Regents Park College, Oxford, ISBN 978-1907600227
External links[edit]
Official website
Index of Bruderhof related websites
Plough Publishing House (Bruderhof Publishing House)
Bruderhof in the Cotswolds, England, entry at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
Critics[edit]
Peregrine Foundation: – A non-profit organization critical of the Bruderhof
Yahoo! Group KIT-exBruderhof-CCI. The KIT Newsletter (Keep In Touch) - A newsletter and contact for ex members of the Bruderhof(CCI)
Archive of KIT Newsletters


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Anabaptists


Background
Protestant Reformation ·
 Radical Reformation ·
 Waldensians ·
 Petr Chelčický ·
 Moravian Church ·
 German mysticism ·
 Zwickau prophets ·
 Congregationalism
 

Movements
Swiss Brethren ·
 Hutterites ·
 Batenburgers ·
 Mennonites ·
 Old Order Mennonites ·
 Conservative Mennonites ·
 Amish ·
 Abecedarian ·
 Schwenkfelders ·
 Schwarzenau Brethren/German Baptists ·
 Brethren in Christ Church ·
 Bruderhof ·
 Apostolic Christian Church ·
 Peace churches
 

History
Ausbund ·
 German Peasants' War ·
 Münster Rebellion ·
 Martyrs Mirror ·
 Schleitheim Confession ·
 Dordrecht Confession of Faith
 

Theology
Theology of Anabaptism ·
 Apostolic succession/Great Apostasy ·
 Separation of church and state/free church ·
 Sola scriptura ·
 Freedom of religion ·
 Pacifism ·
 Nonresistance ·
 Priesthood of all believers ·
 Anarchism ·
 Communalism/Communism ·
 Church discipline ·
 Memorialism
 

Practices
Agape feast/Lovefeast ·
 Believer's baptism ·
 Foot washing ·
 Shunning ·
 Simple living ·
 Headcovering
 

Notable
 Anabaptists
Felix Manz ·
 Conrad Grebel ·
 Pilgram Marpeck ·
 Michael Sattler ·
 Hans Denck ·
 Jacob Hutter ·
 Balthasar Hubmaier ·
 Bernhard Rothmann ·
 Dirk Philips ·
 Menno Simons ·
 Jakob Ammann ·
 Alexander Mack
 

Portal: Anabaptism


  


Categories: Anabaptism
Peace churches
Hutterite communities
Christian denominations founded in Germany
Religious organizations established in 1920
Christian communities
Intentional communities
Nonviolence organizations
Christian new religious movements
1920 establishments in Germany









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Amish

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Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about Old Order Amish, but also refers to other Amish sects. For other uses, see Amish (disambiguation).
Amish
An Amish family in a horse-drawn square buggy passes a farmhouse, barn and granary; more farms and forest in the distance.
An Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Total population
290,100
 (2014, Old Order Amish)[1]
Founder
Jakob Ammann
Regions with significant populations
United States (notably Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana and New York)
 Canada (notably Ontario)
Religions
Anabaptist
Scriptures
The Bible
Languages
Pennsylvania German, Swiss German, Low Alemannic German, English
The Amish (/ˈɑːmɪʃ/; Pennsylvania Dutch: Amisch, German: Amische) are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann.[2] Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.[3]
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites emigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch," although a dialect of Swiss German is used by Old Order Amish in the Adams County, Indiana area.[4] As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and about 1,500 live in Canada.[5] A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000,[6] and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10 percent in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.[7]
Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It is a requirement for marriage, and once a person has affiliated with the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts average between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons.[8] The rules of the church, the Ordnung, must be observed by every member and cover most aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service.
Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent are excommunicated. In addition to excommunication, members may be shunned,[9] a practice that limits social contacts to shame the wayward member into returning to the church. Almost 90 percent of Amish teenagers choose to be baptized and join the church.[9] During adolescence rumspringa ("running around") in some communities, nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism, may meet with a degree of forbearance.[10] Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world, i.e. American and Canadian society. There is generally a heavy emphasis on church and family relationships. They typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education at grade eight, at age 13/14.[9] They value rural life, manual labor and humility.


Contents  [hide]
1 History
2 Religious practices
3 Way of life 3.1 Language
3.2 Cuisine
4 Population and distribution
5 Ethnicity
6 Health
7 Amish life in the modern world 7.1 Publishing
8 Subgroups of Amish 8.1 Conflicts
9 Similar groups
10 In popular culture
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Bibliography
15 Further reading
16 External links

History[edit]

Cover of "Little Known Facts About The Amish and the Mennonites. A Study of the Social Customs and Habits of Pennsylvania's 'Plain People'. By Ammon Monroe Aurand, Jr. Aurand Press. 1938.

 Cover of The Amish and the Mennonites, 1938
Cemetery filled many small plain headstones with simple inscriptions, and two large bare trees.

 An old Amish cemetery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1941.
The Amish Mennonite movement descends from the 16th century fellowship known as the Swiss Brethren.[11] The Swiss Brethren were Anabaptists, and are often viewed as having been a part of the Radical Reformation. "Anabaptist" means "one who baptizes again"—a reference to those who had been baptized as infants, but later adopted a belief in "believer's baptism", and then let themselves again be baptized as adults. These Swiss Brethren trace their origins to Felix Manz (c. 1498–1527) and Conrad Grebel (c. 1498–1526), who had broken from reformer Huldrych Zwingli.[12]
The Amish movement takes its name from Jakob Ammann (c. 1656–1730), a Swiss Mennonite leader. Ammann believed Mennonites, the peaceful Anabaptists of the Low Countries and Germany, were drifting away from the teachings of Menno Simons and the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith. Ammann favored stronger church discipline, including a more rigid application of shunning, the social exclusion of excommunicated members. Swiss Anabaptists, who were scattered by persecution throughout the Alsace and the Electorate of the Palatinate, never practiced strict shunning as had some lowland Anabaptists.[citation needed] Ammann insisted upon this practice, even to the point of expecting spouses to refuse to eat with each other, until the banned spouse repented.[13] This type of strict literalism, on this issue, as well as others, brought about a division among the Mennonites of Southern Germany, the Alsace and Switzerland in 1693, and led to withdrawal of those who sided with Ammann.
Swiss Anabaptism developed, from this point, in two parallel streams. Those following Ammann became known as Amish or Amish Mennonite. The others eventually formed the basis of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. Because of this common heritage, Amish and Mennonites retain many similarities. Those who leave the Amish fold tend to join various congregations of Conservative Mennonites.[14][15]
Amish Mennonites began migrating to Pennsylvania in the 18th century as part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighboring areas. This migration was a reaction to religious wars, poverty, and religious persecution on the Continent.[citation needed] The first Amish immigrants went to Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved, motivated by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War.[citation needed] Many eventually settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Other groups later settled in, or spread to Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Maine, and Ontario.
The Amish congregations remaining in Europe slowly merged with the Mennonites. The last Amish congregation to merge was the Ixheim Amish congregation, which merged with the neighboring Mennonite Church in 1937. Some Mennonite congregations, including most in Alsace, are descended directly from former Amish congregations.[16]
Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity. The original major split that resulted in the loss of identity occurred in the 1860s. During that decade Dienerversammlungen (ministerial conferences) were held in Wayne County, Ohio, concerning how the Amish should deal with the pressures of modern society. The meetings themselves were a progressive idea; for bishops to assemble to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church.[citation needed] By the first several meetings, the more traditionally minded bishops agreed to boycott the conferences. The more progressive members, comprising approximately two thirds of the group, retained the name Amish Mennonite. Many of these eventually united with the Mennonite Church, and other Mennonite denominations, especially in the early 20th century. The more traditionally minded groups became known as the Old Order Amish.[17]
Religious practices[edit]
Main article: Amish religious practices

A page of ornate old German text. See description.

 A scan of the historical document Diß Lied haben die sieben Brüder im Gefängnüß zu Gmünd gemacht
See description.

 Amish couple in horse-driven buggy in rural Holmes County, Ohio, September 2004
Two key concepts for understanding Amish practices are their rejection of Hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) and the high value they place on Demut (humility) and Gelassenheit (calmness, composure, placidity), often translated as "submission" or "letting-be". Gelassenheit is perhaps better understood as a reluctance to be forward, to be self-promoting, or to assert oneself. The Amish's willingness to submit to the "Will of Jesus", expressed through group norms, is at odds with the individualism so central to the wider American culture. The Amish anti-individualist orientation is the motive for rejecting labor-saving technologies that might make one less dependent on community. Modern innovations like electricity might spark a competition for status goods, or photographs might cultivate personal vanity.[citation needed]
Way of life[edit]
Main article: Amish way of life
Amish lifestyle is dictated by the Ordnung[9] (German, meaning: order), which differs slightly from community to community, and, within a community, from district to district. What is acceptable in one community may not be acceptable in another.
Bearing children, raising them, and socializing with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family. All Amish believe large families are a blessing from God.
Language[edit]
Main article: Pennsylvania German language
Most Old Order Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, and refer to non-Amish as "English", regardless of ethnicity.[9] Some Amish who migrated to the United States in the 1850s speak Bernese German or a Low Alemannic Alsatian dialect. According to one scholar, "today, almost all Amish are functionally bilingual in Pennsylvania Dutch and English; however, domains of usage are sharply separated. Pennsylvania Dutch dominates in most in-group settings, such as the dinner table and preaching in church services. In contrast, English is used for most reading and writing. English is also the medium of instruction in schools and is used in business transactions and often, out of politeness, in situations involving interactions with non-Amish. Finally, the Amish read prayers and sing in Standard German (which, in Pennsylvania Dutch, is called Hochdeitsch[a]) at church services. The distinctive use of three different languages serves as a powerful conveyor of Amish identity.[18] "Although "the English language is being used in more and more situations," Pennsylvania Dutch is "one of a handful of minority languages in the United States that is neither endangered nor supported by continual arrivals of immigrants."[19]
Cuisine[edit]
See also: Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch
Amish cuisine is noted for its simplicity and traditional qualities. Food plays an important part in Amish social life and is served at potlucks, weddings, fundraisers, farewells and other events.[20][21][22][23] Many Amish foods are sold at markets including pies, preserves, bread mixes, pickled produce, desserts and canned goods. Many Amish communities have also established restaurants for visitors.
Population and distribution[edit]
See also: List of U.S. states by Amish population



 Amish family shopping near Niagara Falls, Ontario
Historical population

Year
Pop.
±%

1920
5,000 —    
1928
7,000 +40.0%
1936
9,000 +28.6%
1944
13,000 +44.4%
1952
19,000 +46.2%
1960
28,000 +47.4%
1968
39,000 +39.3%
1976
57,000 +46.2%
1984
84,000 +47.4%
1992
128,145 +52.6%
2008
235,355 +83.7%
2014
290,100 +23.3%
Source: 1992-2013[24]
Because the Amish are usually baptized no earlier than 18 and children are not counted in local congregation numbers, it is hard to estimate their numbers. Rough estimates from various studies placed their numbers at 125,000 in 1992; 166,000 in 2000; and 221,000 in 2008.[25] Thus, from 1992 to 2008, population growth among the Amish in North America was 84 percent (3.6 percent per year). During that time they established 184 new settlements and moved into six new states.[26] In 2000, about 165,620 Old Order Amish resided in the United States, of whom 73,609 were church members.[27][page needed] The Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world, with an average of seven children per family.[28]
In 2010, a few religious bodies, including the Amish, changed the way their adherents were reported to better match the standards of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). When looking at all Amish adherents and not solely Old Order Amish, there were about 241,000 Amish adherents in 28 states in 2010.[29]
There are Old Order communities in 27 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario; Ohio has the largest population (55,000), followed by Pennsylvania (51,000) and Indiana (38,000).[30] The largest Amish settlements are in Holmes County in central Ohio, Lancaster County in south-eastern Pennsylvania, and Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northeast Indiana.[31] The largest concentration of Amish west of the Mississippi River is in Missouri, with other settlements in eastern Iowa and Southeast Minnesota.[32] In addition, there is a population of approximately 10,000 Old Order Amish in West Central Wisconsin.[33] Because of rapid population growth in Amish communities, new settlements are formed to obtain enough farmland. Other reasons for new settlements include locating in isolated areas that support their lifestyle, moving to areas with cultures conducive to their way of life, maintaining proximity to family or other Amish groups, and sometimes to resolve church or leadership conflicts.[26]
A small Beachy Amish congregation associated with Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church exists in the Republic of Ireland.[34]
Ethnicity[edit]
The Amish largely share a German or Swiss-German ancestry.[35] They generally use the term "Amish" only for members of their faith community and not as an ethnic designation. Those who choose to affiliate with the church, or young children raised in Amish homes, but too young to yet be church members, are considered to be Amish. Certain Mennonite churches have a high number of people who were formerly from Amish congregations. Although more Amish immigrated to America in the 19th century than during the 18th century, most of today's Amish descend from 18th-century immigrants. The latter tended to emphasize tradition to a greater extent, and were perhaps more likely to maintain a separate Amish identity.[36] There are a number of Amish Mennonite church groups that had never in their history been associated with the Old Order Amish.[citation needed] The former Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (WOMC) was made up almost entirely of former Amish Mennonites who reunited with the Mennonite Church in Canada.[37] Orland Gingerich's book The Amish of Canada devotes the vast majority of its pages not to the Beachy or Old Order Amish, but to congregations in the former WOMC.
Health[edit]
Amish populations have higher incidences of particular genetic disorders, including dwarfism (Ellis–van Creveld syndrome),[38] Angelman Syndrome,[39] and various metabolic disorders,[40] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[41] Amish represent a collection of different demes or genetically closed communities.[42] Since almost all Amish descend from about 200 18th-century founders, genetic disorders that come out due to inbreeding exist in more isolated districts (an example of the founder effect). Some of these disorders are quite rare, or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders. However, Amish are willing to participate in studies of genetic diseases. Their extensive family histories are useful to researchers investigating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and macular degeneration.

An Amish woman and three children, on a path to a house and six wooden farm buildings, past some farm equipment.

 An Amish farm near Morristown in New York State.
While the Amish are at an increased risk for some genetic disorders, researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) have found their tendency for clean living can lead to better health. Overall cancer rates in the Amish are 60 percent of the age-adjusted rate for Ohio and 56 percent of the national rate. Tobacco-related cancers in Amish adults are 37 percent and non-tobacco-related cancers are 72 percent of the rate for Ohio adults. The Amish are protected against many types of cancer both through their lifestyle—there is very little tobacco or alcohol use and limited sexual partners—and through genes that may reduce their susceptibility to cancer. Dr. Judith Westman, director of human genetics at OSUCCC-James, conducted the study. The findings were reported in a recent issue of the journal Cancer Causes & Control. Even skin cancer rates are lower for Amish, despite the fact many Amish make their living working outdoors where they are exposed to sunlight and UV rays. They are typically covered and dressed to work in the sun by wearing wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves which protect their skin.[43]
The Amish are conscious of the advantages of exogamy. A common bloodline in one community will often be absent in another, and genetic disorders can be avoided by choosing spouses from unrelated communities. For example, the founding families of the Lancaster County Amish are unrelated to the founders of the Perth County, Ontario Amish community. Because of a smaller gene pool, some groups have increased incidences of certain inheritable conditions.[44]
The Old Order Amish do not typically carry private commercial health insurance.[45][46] About two-thirds of the Amish in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County participate in Church Aid, an informal self-insurance plan for helping members with catastrophic medical expenses.[45] A handful of American hospitals, starting in the mid-1990s, created special outreach programs to assist the Amish. The first of these programs was instituted at the Susquehanna Health System in central Pennsylvania by James Huebert. This program has earned national media attention in the United States, and has spread to several surrounding hospitals.[47][48] Treating genetic problems is the mission of Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, which has developed effective treatments for such problems as maple syrup urine disease, a previously fatal disease. The clinic is embraced by most Amish, ending the need for parents to leave the community to receive proper care for their children, an action that might result in shunning.
DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, located in Middlefield, Ohio, has been treating special-needs children with inherited or metabolic disorders since May 2002.[49] The DDC Clinic provides treatment, research, and educational services to Amish and non-Amish children and their families.
Although not forbidden or thought of as immoral, most Amish do not practice any form of birth control. They are against abortion and also find "artificial insemination, genetics, eugenics, and stem cell research" to be "inconsistent with Amish values and beliefs".[50]
People's Helpers is an Amish-organized network of mental health caregivers who help families dealing with mental illness and recommend professional counselors.[51] Suicide rates for the Amish of Lancaster County were 5.5 per 100,000 in 1980, about half that of the general population.[b]
Amish life in the modern world[edit]
Main article: Amish life in the modern world

Horsedrawn grey buggy in multilane auto traffic, with rearview mirrors, directional signals, lights, and reflectors

 Traditional Amish buggy
As time has passed, the Amish have felt pressures from the modern world. Issues such as taxation, education, law and its enforcement, and occasional discrimination and hostility are areas of difficulty.
The Amish way of life in general has increasingly diverged from that of modern society. On occasion, this has resulted in sporadic discrimination and hostility from their neighbors, such as throwing of stones or other objects at Amish horse-drawn carriages on the roads.[52][53][54]
The Amish do not usually educate their children past the eighth grade, believing that the basic knowledge offered up to that point is sufficient to prepare one for the Amish lifestyle. Almost no Amish go to high school and college. In many communities, the Amish operate their own schools, which are typically one-room schoolhouses with teachers (usually young unmarried women) from the Amish community. On May 19, 1972, Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller of the Old Order Amish, and Adin Yutzy of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, were each fined $5 for refusing to send their children, aged 14 and 15, to high school. In Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction,[55] and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this, finding the benefits of universal education were not sufficient justification to overcome scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.[56]
The Amish are subject to sales and property taxes. As they seldom own motor vehicles, they rarely have occasion to pay motor vehicle registration fees or spend money in the purchase of fuel for vehicles.[57] Under their beliefs and traditions, generally the Amish do not agree with the idea of Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance.[58] On this basis, the United States Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1961 that they did not need to pay Social Security-related taxes. In 1965, this policy was codified into law.[59] Self-employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into nor receive benefits from the United States Social Security system. This exemption applies to a religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance, provides a reasonable level of living for its dependent members and has existed continuously since December 31, 1950.[60] The U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 clarified that Amish employers are not exempt, but only those Amish individuals who are self-employed.[61]
Publishing[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2014)
The Old Order Amish support an unofficial publishing house known as Pathway Publishing Company in LaGrange, Indiana, and Aylmer, Ontario. Pathway publishes a number of school text books, general reading books, and periodicals. Some Amish read the Pennsylvania German newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe, and some of them even contribute dialect texts.
Subgroups of Amish[edit]
Main article: Subgroups of Amish
Over the years, the Amish churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes. The largest group, the "Old Order" Amish, a conservative faction that separated from other Amish in the 1860s, are those that have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs. There are as many as eight major subgroups of Amish with most belonging, in ascending order of conservatism, to the Beachy Amish, New Order, Old Order, Andy Weaver and Swartzentruber Amish groups.
Conflicts[edit]
Conflicts between subgroups of Amish have resulted in instances of "beard cutting" attacks on members of the Amish community.[62][63] Due to the cloistered nature of Amish lifestyle, they are often reluctant to bring complaints to local police[64] who describe the attacks as "very rare". In September 2012, a group of 16 Amish men and women from Bergholz, Ohio, were convicted on Federal hate-crime and conspiracy charges, including Samuel Mullet Sr., who did not participate in the five hair- and beard-cutting attacks but was tried as the leader of the campaign.[65] Initially Samuel Mullet Sr. was sentenced to 15 years in prison on February 8, 2013, with fifteen others receiving lighter sentences ranging from one year and one day to seven years;[66][67] after these convictions were overturned in August 2014 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,[68] these sentences were reduced in March 2015.[69]
Similar groups[edit]
Old Order Mennonites, conservative "Russian" Mennonites, Hutterites, Old German Baptist Brethren, Old Order German Baptist Brethren and Old Brethren German Baptists are distinct from the Amish. They all emigrated from Europe, but they arrived with different German dialects, separate cultures, and diverse religious traditions.[70] Particularly, the Hutterites live communally[71] and are generally accepting of modern technology.[72] Noah Hoover Mennonites are so similar in outward aspects to the Old Order Amish (dress, beards, horse and buggy, extreme restrictions on modern technology, Pennsylvania German language), that they are often perceived as Amish and even called Amish.[73][74]
Plain Quakers are similar in manner and lifestyle, including their attitudes toward war, but are unrelated to the Amish.[75] Early Quakers were influenced, to some degree, by the Anabaptists, and in turn influenced the Amish in colonial Pennsylvania. Most modern Quakers have since abandoned their traditional dress.[76]
In popular culture[edit]
Main article: Amish in popular culture
See also[edit]

Portal icon Anabaptism portal
Amish furniture
Amish music
Amish school shooting
Barn raising
Christian views on poverty and wealth
Fancy Dutch
Martyrs Mirror
Northkill Amish Settlement
Ordnung
Plain people
Simple living
The Amish (film) – PBS documentary
Notes[edit]
a.Jump up ^ Hochdeitsch is the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of the Standard German word Hochdeutsch; both words literally mean "High German".
b.Jump up ^ The overall suicide rate in 1980 in the USA was 12.5 per 100,000.[77]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Profile 2014". Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Retrieved October 2014.
2.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, pp. 7–8.
3.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, p. 8.
4.Jump up ^ Zook, Noah and Samuel L Yoder (1998). "Berne, Indiana, Old Order Amish Settlement". Retrieved April 3, 2009.
5.Jump up ^ "The Amish: history, beliefs, practices, etc". Religious tolerance. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
6.Jump up ^ Scolforo, Mark (August 20, 2008). "Amish population nearly doubles in 16 years". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ Scolforo, Mark (July 28, 2010). "Amish Population Growth: Numbers Increasing, Heading West". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
8.Jump up ^ Kraybill 1994, p. 3.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c d e American Experience: The Amish
10.Jump up ^ "Amisch Teenagers Experience the World". National Geographic Television.[dead link][not in citation given]
11.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 25.
12.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 27.
13.Jump up ^ Smith & Krahn 1981, pp. 68–69, 84–85.
14.Jump up ^ Smith & Krahn 1981, pp. 212–4.
15.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000, pp. 63–4.
16.Jump up ^ Nolt 1992.
17.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000, p. 67.
18.Jump up ^ Hurst, Charles E.; McConnell, David L. (2010). An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-8018-9398-4.
19.Jump up ^ Hurst, Charles E.; McConnell, David L. (2010). An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-8018-9398-4.
20.Jump up ^ Simply Delicious Amish Cooking: Recipes and stories from the Amish of Sarasota, Florida by Sherry Gore Zondervan, May 7, 2013 256 pages
21.Jump up ^ "isbn:0740797654 - Google Search". google.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
22.Jump up ^ The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family, and Faith Lovina Eicher 2008
23.Jump up ^ [Traditional Amish Recipes: Homemade Food http://books.google.com/books?isbn=1468901133] Bill Vincent 2012
24.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Trends 1992-2013". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
25.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Change Summary 1992–2008" (PDF). Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
26.^ Jump up to: a b "Population Trends 1992–2008". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
27.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000.
28.Jump up ^ Ericksen, Julia A; Ericksen, Eugene P; Hostetler, John A; Huntington, Gertrude E (July 1979). "Fertility Patterns and Trends among the Old Order Amish". Population Studies (33): 255–76. ISSN 0032-4728. OCLC 39648293.
29.Jump up ^ Manns, Molly. "Indiana's Amish Population". InContext. Indiana Business Research Center. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
30.Jump up ^ "Amish Population by State (2008)". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
31.Jump up ^ "The Twelve Largest Amish Settlements". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. 2008. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
32.Jump up ^ "Amish Population by State". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
33.Jump up ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei (October 18, 2005). "Amish May Be Good Neighbors, but Not Their Horses". The New York Times.
34.Jump up ^ Clifford, Michael (August 6, 2000). "At ease with the alternative Amish way". Sunday Tribune. Ireland.
35.Jump up ^ Hugh F. Gingerich and Rachel W. Kreider, Revised Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies, Morgantown, PA: 2007. This comprehensive volume gives names, dates and places of births and deaths, and relationships of most of the known people of this unique sect from the early 1700s until about 1860 or so. The authors also include a five page "History of the First Amish Communities in America."
36.Jump up ^ Nolt 1992, p. 104.
37.Jump up ^ Gingerich, Orland (1990). "Western Ontario Mennonite Conference". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
38.Jump up ^ "Ellis-van Creveld syndrome and the Amish". Nature Genetics 24 (3). 2000. doi:10.1038/73389. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
39.Jump up ^ Harlalka, GV (2013). "Mutation of HERC2 causes developmental delay with Angelman-like features". Journal of Medical Genetics 50 (2). doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2012-101367. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
40.Jump up ^ Morton, D. Holmes; Morton, Caroline S.; Strauss, Kevin A.; Robinson, Donna L.; Puffenberger, Erik G; Hendrickson, Christine; Kelley, Richard I. (June 27, 2003). "Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania". American Journal of Medical Genetics 121C (1): 5–17. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.20002. PMID 12888982. Retrieved July 2, 2008. "Regional hospitals and midwives routinely send whole-blood filter paper neonatal screens for tandem mass spectrometry and other modern analytical methods to detect 14 of the metabolic disorders found in these populations…"
41.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 330.
42.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 328.
43.Jump up ^ "Amish Have Lower Rates of Cancer, Ohio State Study Shows". Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Medical Center. January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2010.[dead link]
44.Jump up ^ Ruder, Katherine ‘Kate’ (July 23, 2004). "Genomics in Amish Country". Genome News Network.
45.^ Jump up to: a b Rubinkam, Michael (October 5, 2006). "Amish Reluctantly Accept Donations". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
46.Jump up ^ "Amish Studies - Beliefs". Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
47.Jump up ^ Milavsky, Bevin (June 18, 2004). "Doctors make house calls in barn". The Daily Item. Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
48.Jump up ^ "A culture vastly different from the rest of America", The Irish Medical Times, August 3, 2007[dead link]
49.Jump up ^ "DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children". October 7, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
50.Jump up ^ Andrews, Margaret M.; Boyle, Joyceen S. (2002). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Lippincott. p. 455. ISBN 978-0-7817-3680-0. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
51.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, p. 105.
52.Jump up ^ Iseman, David (May 18, 1988). "Trumbull probes attack on woman, Amish buggy". The Vindicator. p. 1. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
53.Jump up ^ "Stone Amish". Painesville Telegraph. September 12, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
54.Jump up ^ "State Police Arrest 25 Boys in Rural Areas". The Vindicator. October 25, 1958. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
55.Jump up ^ Wisconsin v. Yoder, 182 N.W.2d 539 (Wis. 1971).
56.Jump up ^ Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 32 L.Ed.2d 15, 92 S.Ct. 1526 (1972).
57.Jump up ^ "Rumble strips removed after the Amish say they're dangerous". WWMT television news. August 20, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2011. "Dobberteen is one of a growing number of people in St. Joseph County who believes that the Amish shouldn't have a say in what happens with a state road. 'Some people are saying, "Well jeeze, you know the Amish people don't pay taxes for that, why are we filling them in" what do you think about that? We pay our taxes,' said Dobberteen. Roads are paid for largely with gas tax and vehicle registration fees, which the Amish have no reason to pay."[dead link]
58.Jump up ^ Kraybill, Donald. "Top Ten FAQ (about the Amish)". PBS/The American Experience. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
59.Jump up ^ "U.S. Code collection". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
60.Jump up ^ "Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
61.Jump up ^ "U.S. v. Lee, 102 S. Ct. 1051 (1982)". August 20, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2011. "On appeal, the Supreme Court noted that the exemption provided by 26 U.S.C. 1402(g) is available only to self-employed individuals and does not apply to employers or employees. As to the constitutional claim, the court held that, since accommodating the Amish beliefs under the circumstances would unduly interfere with the fulfillment of the overriding governmental interest in assuring mandatory and continuous participation in and contribution to the Social Security system, the limitation on religious liberty involved here was justified. Consequently, in reversing the district court, the Supreme Court held that, unless Congress provides otherwise, the tax imposed on employers to support the Social Security system must be uniformly applicable to all."
62.Jump up ^ "Amish men plead 'not guilty' to hair-cutting attacks". BBC News. January 11, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
63.Jump up ^ "Amish son cuts off father's beard and hair". BBC News. November 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
64.Jump up ^ "Four arrested over hair and beard attacks on Ohio Amish". BBC News. October 9, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
65.Jump up ^ Erik Eckholm (September 20, 2012). "Jury Convicts Amish Group of Hate Crimes". New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
66.Jump up ^ "Amish Sect Leader Gets 15 Years in Beard-Cutting Attacks". New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
67.Jump up ^ "FBI — 16 Sentenced in Amish Beard-Cutting Case". Fbi.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
68.Jump up ^ Caniglia, John (August 27, 2014). "Federal Appeals Court Overturns Amish Beard-cutting Convictions, Citing Erroneous Jury Instructions". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
69.Jump up ^ Heisig, Eric (March 2, 2015). "Judge reduces sentences for Amish beard cuttings". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
70.Jump up ^ "Elizabethtown College — Young Center". Etown. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
71.Jump up ^ "Hutterites". Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
72.Jump up ^ Laverdure, Paul (2006). "Hutterites". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Center. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
73.Jump up ^ "7 News Belize". 7newsbelize.com.
74.Jump up ^ Stauffer Mennonite Church in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
75.Jump up ^ Hamm 2003, p. 101.
76.Jump up ^ Hamm 2003, pp. 103–5.
77.Jump up ^ Kraybill (Autumn 1986), et al, "Suicide Patterns in a Religious Subculture: The Old Order Amish", International Journal of Moral and Social Studies 1
Bibliography[edit]
Hostetler, John (1993), Amish Society (4th ed.), Baltimore, Maryland; London: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-4442-3.
Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt, eds. The Amish (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013), 500 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B (1994), Olshan, Marc A, ed., The Amish Struggle with Modernity, Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, p. 304.
Kraybill, Donald B, The Anabaptist Escalator.
——— (2001) [2000], Anabaptist World USA, Herald Press, ISBN 0-8361-9163-3.
——— (2001), The Riddle of Amish Culture (revised ed.), ISBN 0-8018-6772-X.
Nolt, SM (1992), A History of the Amish, Intercourse: Good Books.
Smith, C Henry; Krahn, Cornelius (1981), Smith's Story of the Mennonites (revised & expanded ed.), Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, pp. 249–356, ISBN 0-87303-069-9.
"Swiss Amish", Amish America, Type pad, archived from the original on March 2, 2009, retrieved March 26, 2009.
Further reading[edit]
Die Botschaft (Lancaster, PA 17608-0807; 717-392-1321). Newspaper for Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites; only Amish may place advertisements.
The Budget (P.O. Box 249, Sugarcreek, OH 44681; 330-852-4634). Weekly newspaper by and for Amish.
The Diary (P.O. Box 98, Gordonville, PA 17529). Monthly newsmagazine by and for Old Order Amish.
Beachy, Leroy. Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish. Millersburg, OH: Goodly Heritage Books, 2011. 996 pp. ISBN 0-9832397-0-3
DeWalt, Mark W. Amish Education in the United States and Canada. Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2006. 224 pp.
Garret, Ottie A and Ruth Irene Garret. True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated and Shunned, Horse Cave, KY: Neu Leben, 1998.
Garret, Ruth Irene. Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Thomas More, 1998.
Gehman Richard. "Plainest of Pennsylvania's Plain People Amish Folk" National Geographic August 1965, pp. 226–253 (30 pictures).
Good, Merle and Phyllis. 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1979.
Hostetler, John A. ed. Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. 319 pp.
Igou, Brad. The Amish in Their Own Words: Amish Writings from 25 Years of Family Life, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1999. 400 pp.
Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 304 pp.
Keim, Albert. Compulsory Education and the Amish: The Right Not to be Modern. Beacon Press, 1976. 211 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. The Amish of Lancaster County. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
Kraybill, Donald B. ed. The Amish and the State. Foreword by Martin E. Marty. 2nd ed.: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. 351 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. 224 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. and Carl D. Bowman. On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. 330pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. and Steven M. Nolt. Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. 286 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher. Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2006. 256 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher. The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2010. 288 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt. The Amish. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. 520 pp.
Luthy, David. Amish Settlements That Failed, 1840–1960. LaGrange, IN: Pathway Publishers, 1991. 555pp.
Nolt, Steven M. A History of the Amish. Rev. and updated ed.: Intercourse, Pa.: Good Books, 2003. 379 pp.
Nolt, Steven M. and Thomas J. Myers. Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. 256 pp.
Schachtman, Tom. Rumspringa: To be or not to be Amish. New York: North Point Press, 2006. 286 pp.
Schlabach, Theron F. Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth-Century America. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988. 415 pp.
Schmidt, Kimberly D., Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Steven D. Reschly, eds. Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. 416 pp.
Scott, Stephen. The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Old Order Communities. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1988. 128pp.
Stevick, Richard A. Growing Up Amish: the Teenage Years. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. 320 pp.
Umble, Diane Zimmerman. Holding the Line: the Telephone in Old Order Mennonite and Amish Life. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 192 pp.
Umble, Diane Zimmerman and David L. Weaver-Zercher, eds. The Amish and the Media. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. 288 pp.
Weaver-Zercher, David L. The Amish in the American Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. 280 pp.
Yoder, Harvey. The Happening: Nickel Mines School Tragedy. Berlin, OH: TGS International, 2007. 173 pp.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amish.
"Amish" in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
"Amish America"
"Amish Studies" at Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College
"The Amish" from the Missouri Folklore Society


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Amish

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This article is about Old Order Amish, but also refers to other Amish sects. For other uses, see Amish (disambiguation).
Amish
An Amish family in a horse-drawn square buggy passes a farmhouse, barn and granary; more farms and forest in the distance.
An Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Total population
290,100
 (2014, Old Order Amish)[1]
Founder
Jakob Ammann
Regions with significant populations
United States (notably Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana and New York)
 Canada (notably Ontario)
Religions
Anabaptist
Scriptures
The Bible
Languages
Pennsylvania German, Swiss German, Low Alemannic German, English
The Amish (/ˈɑːmɪʃ/; Pennsylvania Dutch: Amisch, German: Amische) are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann.[2] Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.[3]
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites emigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch," although a dialect of Swiss German is used by Old Order Amish in the Adams County, Indiana area.[4] As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and about 1,500 live in Canada.[5] A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000,[6] and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10 percent in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.[7]
Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It is a requirement for marriage, and once a person has affiliated with the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts average between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons.[8] The rules of the church, the Ordnung, must be observed by every member and cover most aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service.
Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent are excommunicated. In addition to excommunication, members may be shunned,[9] a practice that limits social contacts to shame the wayward member into returning to the church. Almost 90 percent of Amish teenagers choose to be baptized and join the church.[9] During adolescence rumspringa ("running around") in some communities, nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism, may meet with a degree of forbearance.[10] Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world, i.e. American and Canadian society. There is generally a heavy emphasis on church and family relationships. They typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education at grade eight, at age 13/14.[9] They value rural life, manual labor and humility.


Contents  [hide]
1 History
2 Religious practices
3 Way of life 3.1 Language
3.2 Cuisine
4 Population and distribution
5 Ethnicity
6 Health
7 Amish life in the modern world 7.1 Publishing
8 Subgroups of Amish 8.1 Conflicts
9 Similar groups
10 In popular culture
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Bibliography
15 Further reading
16 External links

History[edit]

Cover of "Little Known Facts About The Amish and the Mennonites. A Study of the Social Customs and Habits of Pennsylvania's 'Plain People'. By Ammon Monroe Aurand, Jr. Aurand Press. 1938.

 Cover of The Amish and the Mennonites, 1938
Cemetery filled many small plain headstones with simple inscriptions, and two large bare trees.

 An old Amish cemetery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1941.
The Amish Mennonite movement descends from the 16th century fellowship known as the Swiss Brethren.[11] The Swiss Brethren were Anabaptists, and are often viewed as having been a part of the Radical Reformation. "Anabaptist" means "one who baptizes again"—a reference to those who had been baptized as infants, but later adopted a belief in "believer's baptism", and then let themselves again be baptized as adults. These Swiss Brethren trace their origins to Felix Manz (c. 1498–1527) and Conrad Grebel (c. 1498–1526), who had broken from reformer Huldrych Zwingli.[12]
The Amish movement takes its name from Jakob Ammann (c. 1656–1730), a Swiss Mennonite leader. Ammann believed Mennonites, the peaceful Anabaptists of the Low Countries and Germany, were drifting away from the teachings of Menno Simons and the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith. Ammann favored stronger church discipline, including a more rigid application of shunning, the social exclusion of excommunicated members. Swiss Anabaptists, who were scattered by persecution throughout the Alsace and the Electorate of the Palatinate, never practiced strict shunning as had some lowland Anabaptists.[citation needed] Ammann insisted upon this practice, even to the point of expecting spouses to refuse to eat with each other, until the banned spouse repented.[13] This type of strict literalism, on this issue, as well as others, brought about a division among the Mennonites of Southern Germany, the Alsace and Switzerland in 1693, and led to withdrawal of those who sided with Ammann.
Swiss Anabaptism developed, from this point, in two parallel streams. Those following Ammann became known as Amish or Amish Mennonite. The others eventually formed the basis of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. Because of this common heritage, Amish and Mennonites retain many similarities. Those who leave the Amish fold tend to join various congregations of Conservative Mennonites.[14][15]
Amish Mennonites began migrating to Pennsylvania in the 18th century as part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighboring areas. This migration was a reaction to religious wars, poverty, and religious persecution on the Continent.[citation needed] The first Amish immigrants went to Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved, motivated by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War.[citation needed] Many eventually settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Other groups later settled in, or spread to Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Maine, and Ontario.
The Amish congregations remaining in Europe slowly merged with the Mennonites. The last Amish congregation to merge was the Ixheim Amish congregation, which merged with the neighboring Mennonite Church in 1937. Some Mennonite congregations, including most in Alsace, are descended directly from former Amish congregations.[16]
Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity. The original major split that resulted in the loss of identity occurred in the 1860s. During that decade Dienerversammlungen (ministerial conferences) were held in Wayne County, Ohio, concerning how the Amish should deal with the pressures of modern society. The meetings themselves were a progressive idea; for bishops to assemble to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church.[citation needed] By the first several meetings, the more traditionally minded bishops agreed to boycott the conferences. The more progressive members, comprising approximately two thirds of the group, retained the name Amish Mennonite. Many of these eventually united with the Mennonite Church, and other Mennonite denominations, especially in the early 20th century. The more traditionally minded groups became known as the Old Order Amish.[17]
Religious practices[edit]
Main article: Amish religious practices

A page of ornate old German text. See description.

 A scan of the historical document Diß Lied haben die sieben Brüder im Gefängnüß zu Gmünd gemacht
See description.

 Amish couple in horse-driven buggy in rural Holmes County, Ohio, September 2004
Two key concepts for understanding Amish practices are their rejection of Hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) and the high value they place on Demut (humility) and Gelassenheit (calmness, composure, placidity), often translated as "submission" or "letting-be". Gelassenheit is perhaps better understood as a reluctance to be forward, to be self-promoting, or to assert oneself. The Amish's willingness to submit to the "Will of Jesus", expressed through group norms, is at odds with the individualism so central to the wider American culture. The Amish anti-individualist orientation is the motive for rejecting labor-saving technologies that might make one less dependent on community. Modern innovations like electricity might spark a competition for status goods, or photographs might cultivate personal vanity.[citation needed]
Way of life[edit]
Main article: Amish way of life
Amish lifestyle is dictated by the Ordnung[9] (German, meaning: order), which differs slightly from community to community, and, within a community, from district to district. What is acceptable in one community may not be acceptable in another.
Bearing children, raising them, and socializing with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family. All Amish believe large families are a blessing from God.
Language[edit]
Main article: Pennsylvania German language
Most Old Order Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, and refer to non-Amish as "English", regardless of ethnicity.[9] Some Amish who migrated to the United States in the 1850s speak Bernese German or a Low Alemannic Alsatian dialect. According to one scholar, "today, almost all Amish are functionally bilingual in Pennsylvania Dutch and English; however, domains of usage are sharply separated. Pennsylvania Dutch dominates in most in-group settings, such as the dinner table and preaching in church services. In contrast, English is used for most reading and writing. English is also the medium of instruction in schools and is used in business transactions and often, out of politeness, in situations involving interactions with non-Amish. Finally, the Amish read prayers and sing in Standard German (which, in Pennsylvania Dutch, is called Hochdeitsch[a]) at church services. The distinctive use of three different languages serves as a powerful conveyor of Amish identity.[18] "Although "the English language is being used in more and more situations," Pennsylvania Dutch is "one of a handful of minority languages in the United States that is neither endangered nor supported by continual arrivals of immigrants."[19]
Cuisine[edit]
See also: Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch
Amish cuisine is noted for its simplicity and traditional qualities. Food plays an important part in Amish social life and is served at potlucks, weddings, fundraisers, farewells and other events.[20][21][22][23] Many Amish foods are sold at markets including pies, preserves, bread mixes, pickled produce, desserts and canned goods. Many Amish communities have also established restaurants for visitors.
Population and distribution[edit]
See also: List of U.S. states by Amish population



 Amish family shopping near Niagara Falls, Ontario
Historical population

Year
Pop.
±%

1920
5,000 —    
1928
7,000 +40.0%
1936
9,000 +28.6%
1944
13,000 +44.4%
1952
19,000 +46.2%
1960
28,000 +47.4%
1968
39,000 +39.3%
1976
57,000 +46.2%
1984
84,000 +47.4%
1992
128,145 +52.6%
2008
235,355 +83.7%
2014
290,100 +23.3%
Source: 1992-2013[24]
Because the Amish are usually baptized no earlier than 18 and children are not counted in local congregation numbers, it is hard to estimate their numbers. Rough estimates from various studies placed their numbers at 125,000 in 1992; 166,000 in 2000; and 221,000 in 2008.[25] Thus, from 1992 to 2008, population growth among the Amish in North America was 84 percent (3.6 percent per year). During that time they established 184 new settlements and moved into six new states.[26] In 2000, about 165,620 Old Order Amish resided in the United States, of whom 73,609 were church members.[27][page needed] The Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world, with an average of seven children per family.[28]
In 2010, a few religious bodies, including the Amish, changed the way their adherents were reported to better match the standards of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). When looking at all Amish adherents and not solely Old Order Amish, there were about 241,000 Amish adherents in 28 states in 2010.[29]
There are Old Order communities in 27 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario; Ohio has the largest population (55,000), followed by Pennsylvania (51,000) and Indiana (38,000).[30] The largest Amish settlements are in Holmes County in central Ohio, Lancaster County in south-eastern Pennsylvania, and Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northeast Indiana.[31] The largest concentration of Amish west of the Mississippi River is in Missouri, with other settlements in eastern Iowa and Southeast Minnesota.[32] In addition, there is a population of approximately 10,000 Old Order Amish in West Central Wisconsin.[33] Because of rapid population growth in Amish communities, new settlements are formed to obtain enough farmland. Other reasons for new settlements include locating in isolated areas that support their lifestyle, moving to areas with cultures conducive to their way of life, maintaining proximity to family or other Amish groups, and sometimes to resolve church or leadership conflicts.[26]
A small Beachy Amish congregation associated with Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church exists in the Republic of Ireland.[34]
Ethnicity[edit]
The Amish largely share a German or Swiss-German ancestry.[35] They generally use the term "Amish" only for members of their faith community and not as an ethnic designation. Those who choose to affiliate with the church, or young children raised in Amish homes, but too young to yet be church members, are considered to be Amish. Certain Mennonite churches have a high number of people who were formerly from Amish congregations. Although more Amish immigrated to America in the 19th century than during the 18th century, most of today's Amish descend from 18th-century immigrants. The latter tended to emphasize tradition to a greater extent, and were perhaps more likely to maintain a separate Amish identity.[36] There are a number of Amish Mennonite church groups that had never in their history been associated with the Old Order Amish.[citation needed] The former Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (WOMC) was made up almost entirely of former Amish Mennonites who reunited with the Mennonite Church in Canada.[37] Orland Gingerich's book The Amish of Canada devotes the vast majority of its pages not to the Beachy or Old Order Amish, but to congregations in the former WOMC.
Health[edit]
Amish populations have higher incidences of particular genetic disorders, including dwarfism (Ellis–van Creveld syndrome),[38] Angelman Syndrome,[39] and various metabolic disorders,[40] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[41] Amish represent a collection of different demes or genetically closed communities.[42] Since almost all Amish descend from about 200 18th-century founders, genetic disorders that come out due to inbreeding exist in more isolated districts (an example of the founder effect). Some of these disorders are quite rare, or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders. However, Amish are willing to participate in studies of genetic diseases. Their extensive family histories are useful to researchers investigating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and macular degeneration.

An Amish woman and three children, on a path to a house and six wooden farm buildings, past some farm equipment.

 An Amish farm near Morristown in New York State.
While the Amish are at an increased risk for some genetic disorders, researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) have found their tendency for clean living can lead to better health. Overall cancer rates in the Amish are 60 percent of the age-adjusted rate for Ohio and 56 percent of the national rate. Tobacco-related cancers in Amish adults are 37 percent and non-tobacco-related cancers are 72 percent of the rate for Ohio adults. The Amish are protected against many types of cancer both through their lifestyle—there is very little tobacco or alcohol use and limited sexual partners—and through genes that may reduce their susceptibility to cancer. Dr. Judith Westman, director of human genetics at OSUCCC-James, conducted the study. The findings were reported in a recent issue of the journal Cancer Causes & Control. Even skin cancer rates are lower for Amish, despite the fact many Amish make their living working outdoors where they are exposed to sunlight and UV rays. They are typically covered and dressed to work in the sun by wearing wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves which protect their skin.[43]
The Amish are conscious of the advantages of exogamy. A common bloodline in one community will often be absent in another, and genetic disorders can be avoided by choosing spouses from unrelated communities. For example, the founding families of the Lancaster County Amish are unrelated to the founders of the Perth County, Ontario Amish community. Because of a smaller gene pool, some groups have increased incidences of certain inheritable conditions.[44]
The Old Order Amish do not typically carry private commercial health insurance.[45][46] About two-thirds of the Amish in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County participate in Church Aid, an informal self-insurance plan for helping members with catastrophic medical expenses.[45] A handful of American hospitals, starting in the mid-1990s, created special outreach programs to assist the Amish. The first of these programs was instituted at the Susquehanna Health System in central Pennsylvania by James Huebert. This program has earned national media attention in the United States, and has spread to several surrounding hospitals.[47][48] Treating genetic problems is the mission of Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, which has developed effective treatments for such problems as maple syrup urine disease, a previously fatal disease. The clinic is embraced by most Amish, ending the need for parents to leave the community to receive proper care for their children, an action that might result in shunning.
DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, located in Middlefield, Ohio, has been treating special-needs children with inherited or metabolic disorders since May 2002.[49] The DDC Clinic provides treatment, research, and educational services to Amish and non-Amish children and their families.
Although not forbidden or thought of as immoral, most Amish do not practice any form of birth control. They are against abortion and also find "artificial insemination, genetics, eugenics, and stem cell research" to be "inconsistent with Amish values and beliefs".[50]
People's Helpers is an Amish-organized network of mental health caregivers who help families dealing with mental illness and recommend professional counselors.[51] Suicide rates for the Amish of Lancaster County were 5.5 per 100,000 in 1980, about half that of the general population.[b]
Amish life in the modern world[edit]
Main article: Amish life in the modern world

Horsedrawn grey buggy in multilane auto traffic, with rearview mirrors, directional signals, lights, and reflectors

 Traditional Amish buggy
As time has passed, the Amish have felt pressures from the modern world. Issues such as taxation, education, law and its enforcement, and occasional discrimination and hostility are areas of difficulty.
The Amish way of life in general has increasingly diverged from that of modern society. On occasion, this has resulted in sporadic discrimination and hostility from their neighbors, such as throwing of stones or other objects at Amish horse-drawn carriages on the roads.[52][53][54]
The Amish do not usually educate their children past the eighth grade, believing that the basic knowledge offered up to that point is sufficient to prepare one for the Amish lifestyle. Almost no Amish go to high school and college. In many communities, the Amish operate their own schools, which are typically one-room schoolhouses with teachers (usually young unmarried women) from the Amish community. On May 19, 1972, Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller of the Old Order Amish, and Adin Yutzy of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, were each fined $5 for refusing to send their children, aged 14 and 15, to high school. In Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction,[55] and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this, finding the benefits of universal education were not sufficient justification to overcome scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.[56]
The Amish are subject to sales and property taxes. As they seldom own motor vehicles, they rarely have occasion to pay motor vehicle registration fees or spend money in the purchase of fuel for vehicles.[57] Under their beliefs and traditions, generally the Amish do not agree with the idea of Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance.[58] On this basis, the United States Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1961 that they did not need to pay Social Security-related taxes. In 1965, this policy was codified into law.[59] Self-employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into nor receive benefits from the United States Social Security system. This exemption applies to a religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance, provides a reasonable level of living for its dependent members and has existed continuously since December 31, 1950.[60] The U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 clarified that Amish employers are not exempt, but only those Amish individuals who are self-employed.[61]
Publishing[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2014)
The Old Order Amish support an unofficial publishing house known as Pathway Publishing Company in LaGrange, Indiana, and Aylmer, Ontario. Pathway publishes a number of school text books, general reading books, and periodicals. Some Amish read the Pennsylvania German newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe, and some of them even contribute dialect texts.
Subgroups of Amish[edit]
Main article: Subgroups of Amish
Over the years, the Amish churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes. The largest group, the "Old Order" Amish, a conservative faction that separated from other Amish in the 1860s, are those that have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs. There are as many as eight major subgroups of Amish with most belonging, in ascending order of conservatism, to the Beachy Amish, New Order, Old Order, Andy Weaver and Swartzentruber Amish groups.
Conflicts[edit]
Conflicts between subgroups of Amish have resulted in instances of "beard cutting" attacks on members of the Amish community.[62][63] Due to the cloistered nature of Amish lifestyle, they are often reluctant to bring complaints to local police[64] who describe the attacks as "very rare". In September 2012, a group of 16 Amish men and women from Bergholz, Ohio, were convicted on Federal hate-crime and conspiracy charges, including Samuel Mullet Sr., who did not participate in the five hair- and beard-cutting attacks but was tried as the leader of the campaign.[65] Initially Samuel Mullet Sr. was sentenced to 15 years in prison on February 8, 2013, with fifteen others receiving lighter sentences ranging from one year and one day to seven years;[66][67] after these convictions were overturned in August 2014 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,[68] these sentences were reduced in March 2015.[69]
Similar groups[edit]
Old Order Mennonites, conservative "Russian" Mennonites, Hutterites, Old German Baptist Brethren, Old Order German Baptist Brethren and Old Brethren German Baptists are distinct from the Amish. They all emigrated from Europe, but they arrived with different German dialects, separate cultures, and diverse religious traditions.[70] Particularly, the Hutterites live communally[71] and are generally accepting of modern technology.[72] Noah Hoover Mennonites are so similar in outward aspects to the Old Order Amish (dress, beards, horse and buggy, extreme restrictions on modern technology, Pennsylvania German language), that they are often perceived as Amish and even called Amish.[73][74]
Plain Quakers are similar in manner and lifestyle, including their attitudes toward war, but are unrelated to the Amish.[75] Early Quakers were influenced, to some degree, by the Anabaptists, and in turn influenced the Amish in colonial Pennsylvania. Most modern Quakers have since abandoned their traditional dress.[76]
In popular culture[edit]
Main article: Amish in popular culture
See also[edit]

Portal icon Anabaptism portal
Amish furniture
Amish music
Amish school shooting
Barn raising
Christian views on poverty and wealth
Fancy Dutch
Martyrs Mirror
Northkill Amish Settlement
Ordnung
Plain people
Simple living
The Amish (film) – PBS documentary
Notes[edit]
a.Jump up ^ Hochdeitsch is the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of the Standard German word Hochdeutsch; both words literally mean "High German".
b.Jump up ^ The overall suicide rate in 1980 in the USA was 12.5 per 100,000.[77]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Profile 2014". Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Retrieved October 2014.
2.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, pp. 7–8.
3.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, p. 8.
4.Jump up ^ Zook, Noah and Samuel L Yoder (1998). "Berne, Indiana, Old Order Amish Settlement". Retrieved April 3, 2009.
5.Jump up ^ "The Amish: history, beliefs, practices, etc". Religious tolerance. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
6.Jump up ^ Scolforo, Mark (August 20, 2008). "Amish population nearly doubles in 16 years". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ Scolforo, Mark (July 28, 2010). "Amish Population Growth: Numbers Increasing, Heading West". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
8.Jump up ^ Kraybill 1994, p. 3.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c d e American Experience: The Amish
10.Jump up ^ "Amisch Teenagers Experience the World". National Geographic Television.[dead link][not in citation given]
11.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 25.
12.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 27.
13.Jump up ^ Smith & Krahn 1981, pp. 68–69, 84–85.
14.Jump up ^ Smith & Krahn 1981, pp. 212–4.
15.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000, pp. 63–4.
16.Jump up ^ Nolt 1992.
17.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000, p. 67.
18.Jump up ^ Hurst, Charles E.; McConnell, David L. (2010). An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-8018-9398-4.
19.Jump up ^ Hurst, Charles E.; McConnell, David L. (2010). An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-8018-9398-4.
20.Jump up ^ Simply Delicious Amish Cooking: Recipes and stories from the Amish of Sarasota, Florida by Sherry Gore Zondervan, May 7, 2013 256 pages
21.Jump up ^ "isbn:0740797654 - Google Search". google.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
22.Jump up ^ The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family, and Faith Lovina Eicher 2008
23.Jump up ^ [Traditional Amish Recipes: Homemade Food http://books.google.com/books?isbn=1468901133] Bill Vincent 2012
24.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Trends 1992-2013". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
25.Jump up ^ "Amish Population Change Summary 1992–2008" (PDF). Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
26.^ Jump up to: a b "Population Trends 1992–2008". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
27.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2000.
28.Jump up ^ Ericksen, Julia A; Ericksen, Eugene P; Hostetler, John A; Huntington, Gertrude E (July 1979). "Fertility Patterns and Trends among the Old Order Amish". Population Studies (33): 255–76. ISSN 0032-4728. OCLC 39648293.
29.Jump up ^ Manns, Molly. "Indiana's Amish Population". InContext. Indiana Business Research Center. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
30.Jump up ^ "Amish Population by State (2008)". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
31.Jump up ^ "The Twelve Largest Amish Settlements". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. 2008. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
32.Jump up ^ "Amish Population by State". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
33.Jump up ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei (October 18, 2005). "Amish May Be Good Neighbors, but Not Their Horses". The New York Times.
34.Jump up ^ Clifford, Michael (August 6, 2000). "At ease with the alternative Amish way". Sunday Tribune. Ireland.
35.Jump up ^ Hugh F. Gingerich and Rachel W. Kreider, Revised Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies, Morgantown, PA: 2007. This comprehensive volume gives names, dates and places of births and deaths, and relationships of most of the known people of this unique sect from the early 1700s until about 1860 or so. The authors also include a five page "History of the First Amish Communities in America."
36.Jump up ^ Nolt 1992, p. 104.
37.Jump up ^ Gingerich, Orland (1990). "Western Ontario Mennonite Conference". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
38.Jump up ^ "Ellis-van Creveld syndrome and the Amish". Nature Genetics 24 (3). 2000. doi:10.1038/73389. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
39.Jump up ^ Harlalka, GV (2013). "Mutation of HERC2 causes developmental delay with Angelman-like features". Journal of Medical Genetics 50 (2). doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2012-101367. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
40.Jump up ^ Morton, D. Holmes; Morton, Caroline S.; Strauss, Kevin A.; Robinson, Donna L.; Puffenberger, Erik G; Hendrickson, Christine; Kelley, Richard I. (June 27, 2003). "Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania". American Journal of Medical Genetics 121C (1): 5–17. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.20002. PMID 12888982. Retrieved July 2, 2008. "Regional hospitals and midwives routinely send whole-blood filter paper neonatal screens for tandem mass spectrometry and other modern analytical methods to detect 14 of the metabolic disorders found in these populations…"
41.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 330.
42.Jump up ^ Hostetler 1993, p. 328.
43.Jump up ^ "Amish Have Lower Rates of Cancer, Ohio State Study Shows". Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Medical Center. January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2010.[dead link]
44.Jump up ^ Ruder, Katherine ‘Kate’ (July 23, 2004). "Genomics in Amish Country". Genome News Network.
45.^ Jump up to: a b Rubinkam, Michael (October 5, 2006). "Amish Reluctantly Accept Donations". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
46.Jump up ^ "Amish Studies - Beliefs". Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
47.Jump up ^ Milavsky, Bevin (June 18, 2004). "Doctors make house calls in barn". The Daily Item. Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
48.Jump up ^ "A culture vastly different from the rest of America", The Irish Medical Times, August 3, 2007[dead link]
49.Jump up ^ "DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children". October 7, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
50.Jump up ^ Andrews, Margaret M.; Boyle, Joyceen S. (2002). Transcultural concepts in nursing care. Lippincott. p. 455. ISBN 978-0-7817-3680-0. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
51.Jump up ^ Kraybill 2001, p. 105.
52.Jump up ^ Iseman, David (May 18, 1988). "Trumbull probes attack on woman, Amish buggy". The Vindicator. p. 1. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
53.Jump up ^ "Stone Amish". Painesville Telegraph. September 12, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
54.Jump up ^ "State Police Arrest 25 Boys in Rural Areas". The Vindicator. October 25, 1958. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
55.Jump up ^ Wisconsin v. Yoder, 182 N.W.2d 539 (Wis. 1971).
56.Jump up ^ Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 32 L.Ed.2d 15, 92 S.Ct. 1526 (1972).
57.Jump up ^ "Rumble strips removed after the Amish say they're dangerous". WWMT television news. August 20, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2011. "Dobberteen is one of a growing number of people in St. Joseph County who believes that the Amish shouldn't have a say in what happens with a state road. 'Some people are saying, "Well jeeze, you know the Amish people don't pay taxes for that, why are we filling them in" what do you think about that? We pay our taxes,' said Dobberteen. Roads are paid for largely with gas tax and vehicle registration fees, which the Amish have no reason to pay."[dead link]
58.Jump up ^ Kraybill, Donald. "Top Ten FAQ (about the Amish)". PBS/The American Experience. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
59.Jump up ^ "U.S. Code collection". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
60.Jump up ^ "Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
61.Jump up ^ "U.S. v. Lee, 102 S. Ct. 1051 (1982)". August 20, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2011. "On appeal, the Supreme Court noted that the exemption provided by 26 U.S.C. 1402(g) is available only to self-employed individuals and does not apply to employers or employees. As to the constitutional claim, the court held that, since accommodating the Amish beliefs under the circumstances would unduly interfere with the fulfillment of the overriding governmental interest in assuring mandatory and continuous participation in and contribution to the Social Security system, the limitation on religious liberty involved here was justified. Consequently, in reversing the district court, the Supreme Court held that, unless Congress provides otherwise, the tax imposed on employers to support the Social Security system must be uniformly applicable to all."
62.Jump up ^ "Amish men plead 'not guilty' to hair-cutting attacks". BBC News. January 11, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
63.Jump up ^ "Amish son cuts off father's beard and hair". BBC News. November 11, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
64.Jump up ^ "Four arrested over hair and beard attacks on Ohio Amish". BBC News. October 9, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
65.Jump up ^ Erik Eckholm (September 20, 2012). "Jury Convicts Amish Group of Hate Crimes". New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
66.Jump up ^ "Amish Sect Leader Gets 15 Years in Beard-Cutting Attacks". New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
67.Jump up ^ "FBI — 16 Sentenced in Amish Beard-Cutting Case". Fbi.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
68.Jump up ^ Caniglia, John (August 27, 2014). "Federal Appeals Court Overturns Amish Beard-cutting Convictions, Citing Erroneous Jury Instructions". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
69.Jump up ^ Heisig, Eric (March 2, 2015). "Judge reduces sentences for Amish beard cuttings". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
70.Jump up ^ "Elizabethtown College — Young Center". Etown. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
71.Jump up ^ "Hutterites". Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
72.Jump up ^ Laverdure, Paul (2006). "Hutterites". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Center. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
73.Jump up ^ "7 News Belize". 7newsbelize.com.
74.Jump up ^ Stauffer Mennonite Church in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
75.Jump up ^ Hamm 2003, p. 101.
76.Jump up ^ Hamm 2003, pp. 103–5.
77.Jump up ^ Kraybill (Autumn 1986), et al, "Suicide Patterns in a Religious Subculture: The Old Order Amish", International Journal of Moral and Social Studies 1
Bibliography[edit]
Hostetler, John (1993), Amish Society (4th ed.), Baltimore, Maryland; London: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-4442-3.
Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt, eds. The Amish (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013), 500 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B (1994), Olshan, Marc A, ed., The Amish Struggle with Modernity, Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, p. 304.
Kraybill, Donald B, The Anabaptist Escalator.
——— (2001) [2000], Anabaptist World USA, Herald Press, ISBN 0-8361-9163-3.
——— (2001), The Riddle of Amish Culture (revised ed.), ISBN 0-8018-6772-X.
Nolt, SM (1992), A History of the Amish, Intercourse: Good Books.
Smith, C Henry; Krahn, Cornelius (1981), Smith's Story of the Mennonites (revised & expanded ed.), Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, pp. 249–356, ISBN 0-87303-069-9.
"Swiss Amish", Amish America, Type pad, archived from the original on March 2, 2009, retrieved March 26, 2009.
Further reading[edit]
Die Botschaft (Lancaster, PA 17608-0807; 717-392-1321). Newspaper for Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites; only Amish may place advertisements.
The Budget (P.O. Box 249, Sugarcreek, OH 44681; 330-852-4634). Weekly newspaper by and for Amish.
The Diary (P.O. Box 98, Gordonville, PA 17529). Monthly newsmagazine by and for Old Order Amish.
Beachy, Leroy. Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish. Millersburg, OH: Goodly Heritage Books, 2011. 996 pp. ISBN 0-9832397-0-3
DeWalt, Mark W. Amish Education in the United States and Canada. Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2006. 224 pp.
Garret, Ottie A and Ruth Irene Garret. True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated and Shunned, Horse Cave, KY: Neu Leben, 1998.
Garret, Ruth Irene. Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Thomas More, 1998.
Gehman Richard. "Plainest of Pennsylvania's Plain People Amish Folk" National Geographic August 1965, pp. 226–253 (30 pictures).
Good, Merle and Phyllis. 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1979.
Hostetler, John A. ed. Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. 319 pp.
Igou, Brad. The Amish in Their Own Words: Amish Writings from 25 Years of Family Life, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1999. 400 pp.
Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 304 pp.
Keim, Albert. Compulsory Education and the Amish: The Right Not to be Modern. Beacon Press, 1976. 211 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. The Amish of Lancaster County. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
Kraybill, Donald B. ed. The Amish and the State. Foreword by Martin E. Marty. 2nd ed.: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. 351 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. 224 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. and Carl D. Bowman. On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. 330pp.
Kraybill, Donald B. and Steven M. Nolt. Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. 286 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher. Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2006. 256 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher. The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2010. 288 pp.
Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt. The Amish. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. 520 pp.
Luthy, David. Amish Settlements That Failed, 1840–1960. LaGrange, IN: Pathway Publishers, 1991. 555pp.
Nolt, Steven M. A History of the Amish. Rev. and updated ed.: Intercourse, Pa.: Good Books, 2003. 379 pp.
Nolt, Steven M. and Thomas J. Myers. Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. 256 pp.
Schachtman, Tom. Rumspringa: To be or not to be Amish. New York: North Point Press, 2006. 286 pp.
Schlabach, Theron F. Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth-Century America. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988. 415 pp.
Schmidt, Kimberly D., Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Steven D. Reschly, eds. Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. 416 pp.
Scott, Stephen. The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Old Order Communities. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1988. 128pp.
Stevick, Richard A. Growing Up Amish: the Teenage Years. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. 320 pp.
Umble, Diane Zimmerman. Holding the Line: the Telephone in Old Order Mennonite and Amish Life. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 192 pp.
Umble, Diane Zimmerman and David L. Weaver-Zercher, eds. The Amish and the Media. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. 288 pp.
Weaver-Zercher, David L. The Amish in the American Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. 280 pp.
Yoder, Harvey. The Happening: Nickel Mines School Tragedy. Berlin, OH: TGS International, 2007. 173 pp.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amish.
"Amish" in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
"Amish America"
"Amish Studies" at Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College
"The Amish" from the Missouri Folklore Society


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Annihilationism

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Annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism[1]) is a Christian belief that apart from salvation the final punishment of human beings results in their total destruction rather than their everlasting torment. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists (e.g. Seventh-day Adventists) believe God's love is scripturally described as an all-consuming fire[2] and that sinful creatures cannot exist in God's presence. Thus those who elect to reject salvation through their free will are eternally destroyed because of the inherent incompatibility of sin with God's holy character. Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses posit that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin. It stands in contrast to the traditional and long standing belief in eternal torture in the lake of fire, and the belief that everyone will be saved (universal reconciliation or simply "universalism").
The belief is in the minority, although it has appeared throughout Christian history.[3] Since 1800 the alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians.[4]
It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott[5] were prepared to argue that it could be held sincerely as a legitimate interpretation of biblical texts (alternative to the more traditional interpretation of them), by those who give supreme authority to scripture. Earlier in the 20th century, some theologians at the University of Cambridge including Basil Atkinson supported the belief. 20th-century English theologians who favor annihilation include Bishop Charles Gore (1916),[6] William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury (1924);[7] Oliver Chase Quick, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1933),[8] Ulrich Ernst Simon (1964),[9] and G. B. Caird (1966).[10]
Some Christian denominations which are annihilationist were influenced by the Millerite/Adventist movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Christadelphians and the various Advent Christian churches. Additionally, the Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in 1995 that "[h]ell is not eternal torment", but "non-being". Some Protestant and Anglican writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines.
Annihilationists base the doctrine on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writing, historical criticism of the doctrine of hell, and the concept of God as too loving to torment his creations forever. They claim that the popular conceptions of hell stem from Jewish speculation during the intertestamental period,[11] belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians, and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry. Contrasting beliefs include universal reconciliation, where all souls are seen as immortal and eventually receive salvation, and special salvation, where a positive afterlife is exclusively held by just some souls.


Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Bible references
1.2 Church fathers and later
1.3 Anglicanism
1.4 Millerite and Adventist movement 1.4.1 Seventh-day Adventist Church
1.4.2 Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference
1.4.3 Others
1.5 1900s onwards
1.6 Conditional immortality
2 Justifications 2.1 Literal interpretation of scripture
2.2 Cited texts
2.3 Opposing texts
2.4 Incompatibility with God's love
2.5 Hellenic origins
3 People 3.1 Advocates
3.2 Agnostics
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

History[edit]
Bible references[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. (September 2010)
Proponents of annihilationism cite Old Testament texts such as Ezekiel 18:4 saying that "the soul that sins shall die", and New Testament texts including Matthew 10:28 where Christ speaks of the wicked being destroyed "both body and soul" in fiery hell, John 11:11 "our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep", and 1 Thessalonians 4:15 "we shall not precede those who have fallen asleep". Annihilationists believe that mankind is mortal, and the soul is in a dormant state having no concept of the passing of time when the body dies. Annihilationists furthermore believe that the dead in Christ are awaiting the resurrection of the dead mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. The ancient Hebrews, according to some modern scholars, had no concept of the eternal soul. The afterlife was simply Sheol, the abode of the dead, a bleak end to existence akin to the Greek Hades.
Those who oppose annihilationism generally refer to the New Testament, especially the story of Rich man and Lazarus. By the time of Christ, the Jews largely believed in a future resurrection of the dead.[12] Some annihilationists take these references to portray the temporary suffering of those who will be destroyed.[citation needed] The parable shows the rich man suffering in the fiery part of Hades (en to hade), where however he could see Abraham and Lazarus and converse with Abraham. Although, the parable of Lazarus could also be interpreted in the sense that it states "being in hades he lifted up his eyes", meaning that the Rich Man was in hades and was then resurrected ("lifted up his eyes"), therefore stating that at the time of the torment described and conversing with Abraham, he was no-longer in hades, but facing the lake of fire.[citation needed]
Church fathers and later[edit]
A majority of Christian writers, from Tertullian to Luther, have held to traditional notions of hell, especially Latin writers. However, the annihilationist position is not without some historical warrant. Early forms of conditional immortality can be found in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch[13] (d. 108), Justin Martyr[14] (d. 165), and Irenaeus[15] (d. 202). However, the teachings of Arnobius (d. 330) are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly. One quote in particular stands out in Arnobius' second book of Against the Heathen:

Your interests are in jeopardy,-the salvation, I mean, of your souls; and unless you give yourselves to seek to know the Supreme God, a cruel death awaits you when freed from the bonds of body, not bringing sudden annihilation, but destroying by the bitterness of its grievous and long-protracted punishment.[16]
Eternal hell/torment has been "the semiofficial position of the church since approximately the sixth century", according to Pinnock.[17]
Additionally, at least one of John Wesley's recorded sermons are often reluctantly understood as implying annihilationism. Contrarily, the denominations of Methodism which arose through his influence typically do not agree with annihilationism.[18]
Anglicanism[edit]
Although the Church of England has through most of its history been closer to John Calvin's doctrine of conscious continuation of the immortal soul, rather than Martin Luther's "soul sleep," the doctrine of annihilation of the "wicked" following a judgment day at a literal return of Christ has had a following in the Anglican communion. In 1945 a report by the Archbishops' Commission on Evangelism, Towards the conversion of England, caused controversy with statements including that "Judgment is the ultimate separation of the evil from the good, with the consequent destruction of all that opposes itself to God's will."[19]
Millerite and Adventist movement[edit]
Recently the doctrine has been most often associated with groups descended from or with influences from the Millerite movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of God (7th day) - Salem Conference, the Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the followers of Herbert Armstrong, and the various Advent Christian churches. (The Millerite movement consisted of 50,000 to 100,000 people in the United States who eagerly expected the soon return of Jesus, and originated around William Miller).
George Storrs introduced the belief to the Millerites. He had been a Methodist minister and antislavery advocate. He was introduced to annihilationism when in 1837 he read a pamphlet by Henry Grew. He published tracts in 1841 and 1842 arguing for conditionalism and annihilation.[20] He became a Millerite, and started the Bible Examiner in 1843 to promote these doctrines.[21] However most leaders of the movement rejected these beliefs, other than Charles Fitch who accepted conditionalism.[22] Still, in 1844 the movement officially decided these issues were not essential points of belief.[23]
The Millerites expected Jesus to return around 1843 or 1844, based on Bible texts including Daniel 8:14, and one Hebrew Calendar. When the most expected date of Jesus' return (October 22, 1844) passed uneventfully, the "Great Disappointment" resulted. Followers met in 1845 to discuss the future direction of the movement, and were henceforth known as "Adventists". However they split on the issues of conditionalism and annihilation. The dominant group, which published the Advent Herald, adopted the traditional position of the immortal soul, and became the American Evangelical Adventist Conference. On the other hand, groups behind the Bible Advocate and Second Advent Watchman adopted conditionalism. Later, the main advocate of conditionalism became the World's Crisis publication, which started in the early 1850s, and played a key part in the origin of the Advent Christian Church. Storrs came to believe the wicked would never be resurrected. He and like-minded others formed the Life and Advent Union in 1863.[23]
Seventh-day Adventist Church[edit]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church formed from a small group of Millerite Adventists who kept the Saturday Sabbath, and today forms the most prominent "Adventist" group.
Ellen G. White rejected the immortal soul concept in 1843. Her husband James White, along with Joseph Bates, formerly belonged to the conditionalist Christian Connection, and hinted at this belief in early publications. Together, the three constitute the primary founders of the church.
Articles appeared in the primary magazine of the movement in the 1850s, and two books were published.[24] Annihilationism was apparently established in the sect by the middle of that decade.[23] (In the 1860s, the group adopted the name "Seventh-day Adventist" and organized more formally.) D. M. Canright and Uriah Smith produced later books.[23][25][26]
A publication with noticeable impact in the wider Christian world was The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers (2 vols, 1965–1966) by Le Roy Froom.[27] It has been described as "a classic defense of conditionalism" by Clark Pinnock.[28][29] It is a lengthy historical work, documenting the supporters throughout history.
Robert Brinsmead, an Australian and former Seventh-day Adventist best known for his Present Truth Magazine, originally sponsored Edward Fudge to write The Fire that Consumes.[30]
Samuele Bacchiocchi, best known for his study From Sabbath to Sunday, has defended annihilation.[31] Pinnock wrote the foreword.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilation.[32]
Seventh-day Adventists believe that the wicked will be punished in the lake of fire, before ultimately being destroyed. Their reading of biblical texts that are used in support of the traditional doctrine of hell is that these texts can be harmonized with this particular annihilationist understanding of hell. They see the verses in scripture such as (cf. John 3:16), which says, God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, as part of many verses that show the wicked shall perish. The Seventh-day Adventists believe that these biblical texts refer to the destructive forces that are employed and the results of this punishment as being eternal, and not that the wicked specifically experience conscious torment throughout eternity.[33]
Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference[edit]
According to the Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference, the dead are unconscious in their graves and immortality is conditional. when God formed Adam, out of the dust of the ground, and before Adam could live, God breathed the breath of life into his body: "And man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). See also Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Psalm 146:4 says, "His (man's) breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth (dust); in that very day his thoughts perish." No man has ascended to heaven except Jesus Christ (John 3:13).[34]
Others[edit]
Other supporters have included Charles Frederic Hudson (1860), Edward White (1878), Emmanuel Petavel-Olliff (1836–1910, in 1889) and others.[35]
1900s onwards[edit]
Annihilationism seems to be gaining as a legitimate minority opinion within modern, conservative Protestant theology since the 1960s, and particularly since the 1980s. It has found support and acceptance among some British evangelicals, although viewed with greater suspicion by their American counterparts. Recently, a handful of evangelical theologians, including the prominent evangelical Anglican author John Stott, have offered at least tentative support for the doctrine, touching off a heated debate within mainstream evangelical Christianity.[36]
The subject really gained attention in the late 1980s, from publications by two evangelical Anglicans, John Stott and Philip Hughes.[37] Stott advocated annihilationism in the 1988 book Essentials: A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue with liberal David Edwards, the first time he publicly did so.[38] However 5 years later he said that he had been an annihilationist for around fifty years.[39] Stott wrote, "Well, emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterising their feelings or cracking under the strain."[40] Yet he considers emotions unreliable, and affords supreme authority to the Bible.[41] Stott supports annihilation, yet cautions, "I do not dogmatise about the position to which I have come. I hold it tentatively... I believe that the ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a legitimate, biblically founded alternative to their eternal conscious torment."[42] Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989, which has been called "[o]ne of the most significant books" in the debate.[30] A portion deals with this issue in particular.[43]
John Wenham's 1974 book The Goodness of God contained a chapter which challenged the traditional church doctrine, and was the first book from an evangelical publishing house to do so.[30][44] It was republished later as The Enigma of Evil.[45] He contributed a chapter on conditionalism in the 1992 book Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell.[46] He later published Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996, which explores the doctrine through an autobiographical approach.[47] His interest in the topic stemmed from the 1930s as a student at the University of Cambridge, where he was influenced by Basil Atkinson. (Wenham is best known for his The Elements of New Testament Greek, which has been a standard textbook for students). He wrote:
"I feel that the time has come when I must declare my mind honestly. I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine which has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel. I should indeed be happy if, before I die, I could help in sweeping it away. Most of all I should rejoice to see a number of theologians ... joining ... in researching this great topic with all its ramifications."[48]
The Fire that Consumes was published in 1982 by Edward Fudge of the Churches of Christ.[49] It was described as "the best book" by Clark Pinnock, as of a decade later.[50] John Gerstner called it "the ablest critique of hell by a believer in the inspiration of the Bible."[51] Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College has defended annihilation.[52] Earlier, Atkinson had self-published the book Life and Immortality.[53] Theologians from Cambridge have been influential in supporting the annihilationist position, particularly Atkinson.[54]
Annihilationism is also the belief of some liberal Christians within mainstream denominations.
There have been individual supporters earlier. Pentecostal healing evangelist William Branham promoted annihilationism in the last few years before his death in 1965.[55]
The Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in February 1995 that Hell is not eternal torment. The report, entitled "The Mystery of Salvation" states, "Christians have professed appalling theologies which made God into a sadistic monster. ... Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being."[56] The British Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report (published in 2000) states the doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".[57] A 2011 study of British evangelicals showed 19% disagreed a little or a lot with eternal conscious torment, and 31% were unsure.[58]
Several evangelical reactions to annihilationism were published.[59] Another critique was by Paul Helm in 1989.[60] In 1990, J. I. Packer delivered several lectures supporting the traditional doctrine of eternal torture. The reluctance of many evangelicals is illustrated by the fact that proponents of annihilationism have had trouble publishing their doctrines with evangelical publishing houses, with Wenham's 1973 book being the first.[30][37]
Some well respected authors have remained neutral. F. F. Bruce wrote, "annihilation is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the relevant New Testament passages ... For myself, I remain agnostic. Eternal conscious torment is incompatible with the revealed character of God."[61] Comparatively, C. S. Lewis did not systematize his own beliefs.[62] He rejected traditional pictures of the "tortures" of hell, as in The Great Divorce where he pictured it as a drab "grey town". Yet in The Problem of Pain, "Lewis sounds much like an annihilationist."[63] He wrote:
"But I notice that Our Lord, while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasises the idea not of duration but of finality. Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story—not as the beginning of a new story. That the lost soul is eternally fixed in its diabolical attitude we cannot doubt: but whether this eternal fixity implies endless duration—or duration at all—we cannot say."[64]
The 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (1992) describes hell as 'eternal death' (para 1861) and elsewhere states that 'the chief punishment of hell is that of eternal separation from God' (para 1035). What does 'eternal' mean in this context? St Thomas Aquinas, following Boethius, states that 'eternity is the full, perfect and simultaneous possession of unending life' (Summa Theologica I, question 10), so apparently eternal separation from God is a 'negative eternity', a complete and permanent separation from God. In the Collect (opening prayer) for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Tridentine missal, we find the words 'qui sine te esse non possumus', meaning 'we who without Thee cannot be (or exist)'. Putting these two citations together in a literal sense would seem to suggest annihilationism, which, however, is contrary to Catholic teaching.
It is interesting to note that the Collect mentioned above found its way into the Anglican prayer-book, as the collect for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, but mistranslated so that it reads 'we who cannot do anything that is good without Thee'. Perhaps the Anglican translators (in the 16th century) feared that a correct translation of the Latin text might undermine the doctrine of everlasting torment in hell. In the modern ordinary form of the Mass of the Catholic Church, in the collect is included again, used on Thursday in the first week of Lent.[65]
Conditional immortality[edit]
Main article: Christian conditionalism
The doctrine is often, although not always, bound up with the notion of "conditional immortality", a belief that the soul is not innately immortal. They are related yet distinct.[66] At death, both the wicked and righteous will pass into non-existence, only to be resurrected at the final judgment. God, who alone is immortal, passes on the gift of immortality to the righteous, who will live forever in heaven or on an idyllic earth or World to Come, while the wicked will ultimately face a second death.[Rev 2:11][20:6][20:14][21:8]
Those who describe and/or those who believe in this doctrine may not use "annihilationist" to define the belief, and the terms "mortalist" and "conditionalist" are often used. Edward Fudge (1982)[67] uses "annihilationist" to refer to the both "mortalists" and "conditionalists" who believe in a universal resurrection, as well as those groups which hold that not all the wicked will rise to face the New Testament's "resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust".
Justifications[edit]
Literal interpretation of scripture[edit]
Some annihilationists ask the question: why would God choose the words like "destroy, destruction, perish, death" to signify something other than their plain meaning? While this does not require denial of the existence of hell, the suffering of the souls that inhabit it is terminated by their destruction. Adventists, and perhaps others, then understand the term "hell" to refer to the process of destruction, not a permanently existing process.
Psalm 1:6 ... but the way of the ungodly shall perish
Psalm 37:20 But the wicked shall perish... they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psalm 92:7 ... shall be destroyed forever
Matthew 10:28b Rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
John 3:16 ... whosoever believeth in him should not perish (Greek: destroyed) ...
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death …
Philippians 3:19 whose end is "destruction" ...
2 Thessalonians 1:9 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction ...
Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition (Greek: destruction); but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
James 4:12a There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.
Revelation 20:14 This is the second death...
Annihilationists understand there will be suffering in the death process, but ultimately the wages of sin is death, not eternal existence. Many affirm that Jesus taught limited conscious physical sufferings upon the guilty:
"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. (Luke 12:47–48)
The adjectives "many" and "few" in Luke 12 could not be used if eternal conscious torment was what Jesus was teaching. He would have used "heavier" and "lighter" if the duration of conscious sufferings were eternal because when the "few" stripes were over there could be no more suffering. By very definition "few" and "many" declare not unlimited (or eternal) sufferings.
Annihilationists declare eternal existence and life is a gift gotten only from believing the gospel; (John 3:16) Paul calls this gift (immortality) an integral part of the gospel message. "...who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and 'immortality' to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10). If all souls are born immortal, then why is humanity encouraged to seek it by Paul? "To them who by patient continuance in well doing 'seek' for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:" (Romans 2:7) And also, why would Jesus offer humanity an opportunity to "live forever", if all live forever? …"if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever:" (John 6:51).
Annihilationism is based on passages that speak of the unsaved as perishing (John 3:16) or being destroyed (Matthew 10:28). Annihilationists believe that verses speaking of the second death refer to ceasing to exist. Opponents of annihilationism argue that the second death is the spiritual death (separation from God) that occurs after physical death (separation of soul and body). Annihilationists are quick to point out that spiritual death happens the moment one sins and that it is illogical to believe further separation from God can take place. In addition, annihilationists claim that complete separation from God conflicts the doctrine of omnipresence in which God is present everywhere, including hell. Some annihilationists accept the position that hell is a separation from God by taking the position that God sustains the life of his creations: when separated from God, one simply ceases to exist.
Opponents of annihilationism often argue that ceasing to exist is not eternal punishment and therefore conflicts with passages such as Matthew 25:46: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life." This argument uses a definition of the word "punishment" that must include some form of suffering. However, in common usage, punishment might be described as "an authorized imposition of deprivations—of freedom or privacy or other goods to which the person otherwise has a right, or the imposition of special burdens—because the person has been found guilty of some criminal violation, typically (though not invariably) involving harm to the innocent" (according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). By this definition, annihilationism is a form of punishment in which deprivation of existence occurs, and the punishment is eternal.
We may note that the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (1992), para. 1472, states that 'grave sin deprives us of communion with God, and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the 'eternal punishment' of sin.'
Cited texts[edit]
Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT Hellfire will consume the wicked.
2 Peter 3:7 Ungodly will be destroyed.
Romans 2:7 God will make only righteous immortal.
Genesis 3:19 We came from dust and to dust we will return.
Psalm 146:4 Our thoughts/plans perish and spirit departs upon death.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die.
2 Chronicles 28:3 Jeremiah 19:5 Burning one's offspring in the Valley of Ben Hinnom (which is where concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from[68]) is NOT a commandment of God nor did it even enter His Mind.
Malachi 4:1–3 God will "burn up" the wicked at the judgment, and they will be ashes under the sole of the feet of the righteous. "For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch...they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts"
Matthew 10:28 Both body and soul are destroyed in hell. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
John 3:16 People who don't believe in Jesus shall perish and not receive eternal life.
John 6:51 Jesus offer... to "live forever" would make no sense apart from the fact that not all will live or exist forever.
2Thessalonians 1:9 Everlasting destruction is having been destroyed and having no way to undo that.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death.
1Corinthians 15:12–49 Only those who belong to Christ will be raised with imperishable, immortal bodies, all others perish as a man of dust.
2Peter 2:6 God made Sodom and Gomorrah an example of what is coming to the wicked, specifically by reducing Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes: "and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly"
Revelation 20:14–15 The wicked will suffer a second death, the same fate that death itself suffers (and death will be abolished—1 Corinthians 15:26): "And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire."
John Wenham has classified the New Testament texts on the fate of the lost:
10 texts (4%) "Gehenna"
26 (10%) to "burning up"
59 (22%) to "destruction, perdition, utter loss or ruin"
20 (8%) to "separation from God"
25 (10%) to "death in its finality" or "the second death"
108 (41%) to "unforgiven sin", where the precise consequence is not stated
15 (6%) to "anguish"
Wenham claims that just a single verse (Revelation 14:11) sounds like eternal torment. This is out of a total of 264 references.[69] Ralph Bowles argues the word order of the verse was chosen to fit a chiastic structure, and does not support eternal punishment.[70]
Opposing texts[edit]
Proponents of the traditional Christian doctrine of hell, such as Millard Erickson,[71] identify the following biblical texts in support of this doctrine:
Psalm 52:5 "Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living."
Psalm 78:66 "He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame."
Isaiah 33:14 "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?'"
Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Jeremiah 23:40 "I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."
Jeremiah 25:9 "...I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin."
Daniel 12:2 "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
Matthew 8:12 "...where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 10:15 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment.."
Matthew 11:24 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you"
Matthew 18:8 "...It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire."
Matthew 22:13 "...where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Same as Matt 8:12
Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
Mark 9:46–48 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."
Revelation 20:10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
These Christians point to biblical references to eternal punishment, as well as eternal elements of this punishment, such as the unquenchable fire, the everlasting shame, the "worm" that never dies, and the smoke that rises forever, as consistent with the traditional doctrine of eternal, conscious torment of the non-believers and/or sinners in hell, although annihilationists have written credible responses to these scriptures.
Christians who belief in universal reconciliation have also criticized annihilationism using Biblical references. Books of the Bible argued to possibly support the idea of full reconciliation include the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The sections of 1 Corinthians 15:22, "As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ", and 1 Corinthians 15:28, "God will be all in all", are cited.[72][73] Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include Lamentations 3:31–33 (NIV), "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love",[74] and 1 Timothy 4:10 (NIV), "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."[75]
Incompatibility with God's love[edit]


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Typical of the annihilationist position are notions of divine justice and love.[1John 4:16] Some Annihilationists[who?] claim that the idea of an eternal place of torment is morally repugnant, and an unfair punishment for allegedly finite sins. How can this accurately reflect God's ultimate victory over suffering and evil, they argue, when it permanently installs a place of suffering in the final, eternal order? They also question how can the saved live in blissful joy knowing that some of their loved ones suffer forever in hell, in spite of the Bible showing what seems to be a joyful chorus of the saved because of the condemnation of the Devil,[Revelation 19:1–3] which takes place along with the non-saved[Revelation 14:9–12] Opponents of this argument respond that only God is qualified to determine divine justice,[citation needed] and raise suspicions that Annihilationists may be succumbing to modern cultural pressures and worldliness. Also the Bible In response to the suggestion that unrepentant sinners aren't deserving of eternal punishment, advocates of the sola scriptura doctrine also believe in the concept of grace, i.e. that the people who receive salvation receive it even though they don't deserve it.
The traditional doctrine of eternal torment in hell could seem to suggest that torment, or torture, is a legitimate form of punishment, since God Himself employs it, but it's clearly stated in Christian Scriptures that only God is liable to do this.[Romans 12:19][Hebrews 10:30] Also, the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (paras 2297–8) states that 'torture, which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity'. Admitting and regretting that the Church did in the past sometimes tolerate the use of torture, the Catechism continues: 'it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate rights of the human person...it is necessary to work for their abolition.' However, any punishment inflicts some sort of pain (or it would not be punishment), and the Catechism does not more than give the Church's stand about what punishments are to be inflicted by temporal powers, who do not punish sins as infinite offenses.
Besides, in argumenting against suicide St. Thomas teaches that “everything naturally loves itself, the result being that everything naturally keeps itself in being, and resists corruptions so far as it can.”[76] Thus it might seem that although the damned themselves may by bad judgment prefer their own non-existence, on the objective side annihilation be a far greater, not lesser punishment. If this is true, Divine Goodness and Mercy is no argument for, but against annihilationism; the problem of hell remains but is treated elsewhere.
Hellenic origins[edit]
Many annihilationists[who?] believe that the concept of an immortal soul separate from the body comes from Greek philosophy, particularly from Plato. For example, Plato's Myth of Er depicts disembodied souls being sent underground to be punished after death. Hellenistic culture had a significant influence on the early Christian church, see also Hellenistic Judaism. By this scenario, the soul does not appear in the Bible and is seen there only by those taught to assume that the soul exists in the first place.[citation needed]
People[edit]
Advocates[edit]
British:
John Stott
John Wenham
Michael Green[77]
Philip Edgecumbe Hughes
Roger Forster
North American:
Clark Pinnock
Edward Fudge
Greg Boyd
Harold Camping
Homer Hailey
E. Earle Ellis
Agnostics[edit]
Others have remained "agnostic", not taking a stand on the issue of hell. The two listed are also British:
F. F. Bruce, who described himself as "agnostic" on this issue
N. T. Wright rejects eternal torment, universalism, and apparently also annihilation; but believes those who reject God will become dehumanized, and no longer be in the image of God[78]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Problem of Hell
Christian conditionalism (or "conditional immortality")
Universal reconciliation ("Universalism" in a Christian context)
Oblivion (eternal)
Soul death
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Christian faith and life, Volumes 16–17, 1913 (Google eBook) p.118
2.Jump up ^ Hebrews 12:29; Song of Solomon 8:6
3.Jump up ^ L. E. Froom, The Condionalist Faith of our Fathers (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1965–1966).[page needed]
4.Jump up ^ Richard Bauckham "Universalism: a historical survey" (@ theologicalstudies.org.uk), Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54. "Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortality')." "Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment.3 Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as destruction seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians."
5.Jump up ^ Edwards, D. L. & Stott, J. Essentials : A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1988, pp. 313–320.
6.Jump up ^ Gore, The Religion of the Church Oxford: Mowbray, 1916, pp. 91f.
7.Jump up ^ Temple, W., Christus Veritas London: Macmillan, 1924, p. 209
8.Jump up ^ Quick O.C., Doctrines of the Creed London: Nisbet, 1933, pp. 257f.
9.Jump up ^ Simon U., The End is Not Yet Welwyn: Nisbet, 1964, pp. 206f.
10.Jump up ^ Caird G. B., The Revelation of St John the Divine London: A. and C. Black., 1966, pp. 186f., 260
11.Jump up ^ Crockett, Four Views on Hell, p52–53 (he accepts the traditional view)[page needed]
12.Jump up ^ James H. Charlesworth, Casey Deryl Elledge, J. L. Crenshaw Resurrection: the origin and future of a Biblical doctrine 2006 p37 "One may ask, however, How widespread was early belief in the resurrection? ... These sources allege that both Pharisees and Essenes held strong support for the afterlife, while Sadducees refused to"
13.Jump up ^ St. Ignatius: Epistle to the Magnesians – http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0105.htm
14.Jump up ^ St. Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho (Chapter V) – http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html
15.Jump up ^ St. Irenaeus: Against Heresies: Book II, Chapter 34 – http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103234.htm
16.Jump up ^ Arnobius, Against the Heathen: Book II, paragraph 61, last sentence.
17.Jump up ^ Pinnock, "Fire then Nothing", p40
18.Jump up ^ Furthermore, it should be noted that this comment was made in regard to Calvinism and their insistence that some were pre-destined to receive Christ, and others to be eternally punished. How much weight this statement of Wesley's should be placed on his idea of eternal condemnation remains debated. Actually, the terminology "being destroyed body and soul in hell" is from the lips of Jesus. Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." However, the word "destroy" in the original Greek (apollumi) does not necessarily mean to annihilate or cause to become non-existent. This word has the idea of ruin as to its useful original purpose. SERMON 128, Preached at Bristol, in the year 1740 – http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/serm-128.stm
19.Jump up ^ Towards the conversion of England Church of England Commission on evangelism – 1946 "... but gives the idea that ' ' everyone goes to heaven when he dies. ' ' 198 During their earlier years children have to learn how to discriminate between the world of experience and the world of imagination. "
20.Jump up ^ An Inquiry; Are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal? In Three Letters, 1841. Six Sermons on the Inquiry: Is there Immortality in Sin and Suffering?, 1842; followed by several later versions; reprint
21.Jump up ^ It had the motto "No immortality, or endless life except through Jesus Christ alone." Sources: Lest We Forget 1:4 (1991). "George Storrs: 1796–1879: A Biographical Sketch". HarvestHerald.com. Retrieved June 2010.
22.Jump up ^ Letter from Fitch to Storrs, January 25, 1844
23.^ Jump up to: a b c d Gary Land, "Conditional Immortality" entry in Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-day Adventists. Scarecrow, 2005, p68–69
24.Jump up ^ Roswell F. Cottrell, Review and Herald 1853 – the first clear statement. James White, "Destruction of the Wicked" series, Review and Herald 1854 [1]?. D. P. Hall, articles in 1854, republished as the book Man Not Immortal, 1854. J. N. Loughborough series; republished as Is the Soul Immortal?, 1856
25.Jump up ^ D. M. Canright, History of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul, 1871.[page needed]
26.Jump up ^ Uriah Smith, Man's Nature and Destiny, 1884[page needed]
27.Jump up ^ Le Roy Froom [and team], The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers, 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1965–66; online link. See also article series in the Review. One pair of reviews is Alfred-Félix Vaucher, "The History of Conditionalism". Andrews University Seminary Studies 4:2 (July 1966), p193–200 [Vol. II]. He considers it of "greatest use" to theologians and other readers, and presents only "few reservations" for such a "voluminous work". It is aimed at English readers, and thus focuses on Great Britain and America; Vaucher expounds on continental European supporters. He disagrees with the inclusion of the Waldenses as conditionalists, and other descriptions of their history. Vaucher, review in Andrews University Seminary Studies 5 (1967), p202–204 [Vol. I]. Vaucher praises Froom's "erudition"; a "monumental work" without "rival". He questions whether several individuals should be claimed for conditionalism, or that the Pharisees taught an immortal soul. He challenged the preaching tone of books, and related artwork
28.Jump up ^ Clark Pinnock, "The Conditional View", p147 footnote 21; in William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992
29.Jump up ^ Vaucher, Alfred-Félix (1966). "The History of Conditionalism". Andrews University Seminary Studies 4: 193–200. ISSN 0003-2980.
30.^ Jump up to: a b c d Brian P. Phillips, "Annihilation or endless torment?". Ministry 69:8 (August 1996), p15,17–18
31.Jump up ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?" chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection?. Biblical Perspectives, 1997; ISBN 1-930987-12-9, ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8[page needed]
32.Jump up ^ "Fundamental Beliefs" (1980) webpage from the official church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium and the End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism
33.Jump up ^ The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (2000) from the Commentary Reference Series[page needed]
34.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofgod-7thday.org/Publications/Doctrinal%20Points%20Final%20Proof.pdf[full citation needed]
35.Jump up ^ White, Edward (1878). Life in Christ: A Study of the Scripture Doctrine On the Nature of Man, the Object of the Divine Incarnation, and the Conditions of Human Immortality.. White does posit an intermediate conscious state of the soul pace the standard conditional immortality belief that the dead are unconscious. Petavel, Emmanuel (1892). The Problem of Immortality. Petavel, Emmanuel (1889). The Extinction of Evil: Three Theological Essays. Three early essays from one of the classical advocates of conditional immortality, a French author. See especially "Appendix 1: Answers to Objections Urged Against the Doctrine of the Gradual Extinction of Obdurate Sinners," beginning on page 147 of the book. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1857). Debt and Grace as Related to a Doctrine of the Future Life. See Hudson's book Christ Our Life below for an expanded biblical defense. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1860). Christ Our Life: The Scriptural Argument for Immortality Through Christ Alone.
36.Jump up ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley-Smith, p353
37.^ Jump up to: a b J. I. Packer (Spring 1997). Evangelical Annihilationism in Review (PDF). Reformation & Revival 6 (2). pp. 37–51.
38.Jump up ^ Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue by David L. Edwards with a response from John Stott. 1988, p314 [313–320]
39.Jump up ^ In 1993. John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
40.Jump up ^ Essentials, p314
41.Jump up ^ Essentials, p314–15
42.Jump up ^ Essentials, p320
43.Jump up ^ Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; and Leicester, United Kingdom: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989, p398-407. As cited by Packer (and Pinnock)
44.Jump up ^ John Wenham, The Goodness of God. London: InterVarsity Press, 1974
45.Jump up ^ John Wenham, The Enigma of Evil, Britain: InterVarsity Press, 1985; a 2nd edition. A new edition with an extended chapter on the debate was published by Eagle books in 1994, from Guilford, England. As cited by Phillips
46.Jump up ^ Wenham, "The Case for Conditional Immortality" in N. M. S. Cameron, ed., Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. A report on the Fourth Edinburgh Conference on Christian Dogmatics
47.Jump up ^ John Wenham, Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996. Paternoster Press: 1998
48.Jump up ^ Wenham in Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell, p190,191; as quoted by Phillips
49.Jump up ^ Edward W. Fudge, The Fire that Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment. Houston: Providential, 1982. Author's webpage. Fudge is a member of the Churches of Christ
50.Jump up ^ Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
51.Jump up ^ As cited by Phillips
52.Jump up ^ An early article was Pinnock, "Fire, then Nothing". Christianity Today (March 20, 1987), p40–41. He lists the evangelical authors who persuaded him as: Stott, Fudge, Hughes, and Green (as cited elsewhere in this article), and Stephen Travis, I Believe in the Second Coming of Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982, p196–199. Listed in Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
53.Jump up ^ Basil F. C. Atkinson, Life and Immortality: An Examination of the Nature and Meaning of Life and Death as They Are Revealed in the Scriptures. Taunton, England: printed by E. Goodman, 196–?. As cited by Phillips, and WorldCat
54.Jump up ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry, p353
55.Jump up ^ An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages (1965), 133–135; The Revelation of the Seven Seals (1967), 487
56.Jump up ^ Church of England, "The Mystery of Salvation: The Doctrine Commission of the General Synod" (1995), p199; published by Church House Publishing, London, 1995; copyrighted by The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England, 1995, ISBN 0-7151-3778-6
57.Jump up ^ Evangelical Alliance; Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals (2000). "Conclusions and Recommendations". In Hilborn, David. The Nature of Hell. London: Paternoster Publishing. pp. 130–5. ISBN 978-0-9532992-2-5.
58.Jump up ^ 21st Century Evangelicals: A snapshot of the beliefs and habits of evangelical Christians in the UK. Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research, 2011, p9
59.Jump up ^ Eryl Davies, The Wrath of God, Evangelical Movement of Wales.W. G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment, was reissued by Banner of Truth Trust. As cited by Phillips
60.Jump up ^ Paul Helm, The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Banner of Truth, 1989
61.Jump up ^ Letter from F. F. Bruce to John Stott in 1989, as quoted in John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
62.Jump up ^ According to F. F. Bruce, in his foreword to Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes, p.viii
63.Jump up ^ Pinnock, "The Conditional View", in Crockett; p150 incl. footnote 28
64.Jump up ^ C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1940, p114–115; emphasis in original
65.Jump up ^ Zühlsdorf, Fr. John. WDTPRS: Thursday in the 1st Week of Lent. Posted on 17 March 2011.
66.Jump up ^ Essentials, p316
67.Jump up ^ Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment (Houston: Providential Press, 1982).
68.Jump up ^ Crockett, William V. (1992). Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
69.Jump up ^ chapter 6, "Hell: Not Endless" in The Enigma of Evil by John Wenham, p68–92; esp. 81–83. Quotations are Wenham's terms, not the Bible's necessarily. The first edition of the book was titled, The Goodness of God, but contained little or none of this discussion
70.Jump up ^ Bowles, Ralph G. (2000). "Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment? Examining a Proof-text on Hell" (PDF). Evangelical Quarterly 73 (1): 21–36.
71.Jump up ^ Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), pp1242–1244.
72.Jump up ^ Richard Bauckham, "Universalism: a historical survey", Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54.
73.Jump up ^ Fisher, David A. (December 2011). "The Question of Universal Salvation: Will All Be Saved?" (PDF). The Maronite Voice, Volume VII, Issue No. XI. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
74.Jump up ^ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+3%3A31-33&version=NIV
75.Jump up ^ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+4%3A10&version=NIV
76.Jump up ^ S. th. II/II 64 V
77.Jump up ^ Michael Green, Evangelism Through the Local Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990, p69–70
78.Jump up ^ N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, chapter 11 "Purgatory, Paradise, Hell"; preview; as cited elsewhere
Further reading[edit]
Various doctrines about hell:
William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell
Edward Fudge and Robert Peterson, Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000
Neusner, Jacob; Avery-Peck, Alan Jeffery (2000). Judaism in Late Antiquity: Part Four: Death, Life-After-Death, Resurrection and the World-To-Come in the Judaisms of Antiquity. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. p. 342. ISBN 90-04-11262-6.
Advocates of annihilationism:
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1997). Immortality or Resurrection? A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny (PDF). Berrien Springs, Michigan: Biblical Perspectives. ISBN 1-930987-12-9. OCLC 38849060.
Clark Pinnock, "The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent". Criswell Theological Review 4:2 (1990), p243–259. Reprinted in A Journal from the Radical Reformation 2:1 (Fall 1992), p4–21
Critics of annihilationism:
Stanley Grenz, "Directions: Is Hell Forever?" Christianity Today 42:11 (October 5, 1998), p?
Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment. Zondervan, 2004; ISBN 0-310-24041-7, ISBN 978-0-310-24041-9
Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment. P&R Publishing, 1995; ISBN 0-87552-372-2, ISBN 978-0-87552-372-9
External links[edit]
 Look up annihilationism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
SupportiveRethinkingHell.com Exploring evangelical conditionalism
Afterlife.co.nz The Conditional Immortality Association of New Zealand Inc. is a non-profit organization established to promote a Biblical understanding of human nature, life, death and eternity as taught throughout Scripture.
"Hell Truth – Does Hell Burn Forever?" Comprehensive site covering the topic of hell and annihilationism, Amazing Facts
Jewish not Greek Shows how Biblical hermeneutics proves "annihilationism" and not the Greek philosophical belief in innate immortality.
Critical"Hell – Eternity of Hell" in Catholic Encyclopedia
Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell – Part 1, Part 2 by Alan W. Gomes. (Note the article incorrectly states Edward Fudge is from the Adventist tradition)
"Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire" by Robert A. Peterson. Christianity Today 44:12 (October 23, 2000)
  


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Annihilationism

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Annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism[1]) is a Christian belief that apart from salvation the final punishment of human beings results in their total destruction rather than their everlasting torment. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists (e.g. Seventh-day Adventists) believe God's love is scripturally described as an all-consuming fire[2] and that sinful creatures cannot exist in God's presence. Thus those who elect to reject salvation through their free will are eternally destroyed because of the inherent incompatibility of sin with God's holy character. Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses posit that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin. It stands in contrast to the traditional and long standing belief in eternal torture in the lake of fire, and the belief that everyone will be saved (universal reconciliation or simply "universalism").
The belief is in the minority, although it has appeared throughout Christian history.[3] Since 1800 the alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians.[4]
It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott[5] were prepared to argue that it could be held sincerely as a legitimate interpretation of biblical texts (alternative to the more traditional interpretation of them), by those who give supreme authority to scripture. Earlier in the 20th century, some theologians at the University of Cambridge including Basil Atkinson supported the belief. 20th-century English theologians who favor annihilation include Bishop Charles Gore (1916),[6] William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury (1924);[7] Oliver Chase Quick, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1933),[8] Ulrich Ernst Simon (1964),[9] and G. B. Caird (1966).[10]
Some Christian denominations which are annihilationist were influenced by the Millerite/Adventist movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Christadelphians and the various Advent Christian churches. Additionally, the Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in 1995 that "[h]ell is not eternal torment", but "non-being". Some Protestant and Anglican writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines.
Annihilationists base the doctrine on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writing, historical criticism of the doctrine of hell, and the concept of God as too loving to torment his creations forever. They claim that the popular conceptions of hell stem from Jewish speculation during the intertestamental period,[11] belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians, and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry. Contrasting beliefs include universal reconciliation, where all souls are seen as immortal and eventually receive salvation, and special salvation, where a positive afterlife is exclusively held by just some souls.


Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Bible references
1.2 Church fathers and later
1.3 Anglicanism
1.4 Millerite and Adventist movement 1.4.1 Seventh-day Adventist Church
1.4.2 Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference
1.4.3 Others
1.5 1900s onwards
1.6 Conditional immortality
2 Justifications 2.1 Literal interpretation of scripture
2.2 Cited texts
2.3 Opposing texts
2.4 Incompatibility with God's love
2.5 Hellenic origins
3 People 3.1 Advocates
3.2 Agnostics
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

History[edit]
Bible references[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. (September 2010)
Proponents of annihilationism cite Old Testament texts such as Ezekiel 18:4 saying that "the soul that sins shall die", and New Testament texts including Matthew 10:28 where Christ speaks of the wicked being destroyed "both body and soul" in fiery hell, John 11:11 "our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep", and 1 Thessalonians 4:15 "we shall not precede those who have fallen asleep". Annihilationists believe that mankind is mortal, and the soul is in a dormant state having no concept of the passing of time when the body dies. Annihilationists furthermore believe that the dead in Christ are awaiting the resurrection of the dead mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. The ancient Hebrews, according to some modern scholars, had no concept of the eternal soul. The afterlife was simply Sheol, the abode of the dead, a bleak end to existence akin to the Greek Hades.
Those who oppose annihilationism generally refer to the New Testament, especially the story of Rich man and Lazarus. By the time of Christ, the Jews largely believed in a future resurrection of the dead.[12] Some annihilationists take these references to portray the temporary suffering of those who will be destroyed.[citation needed] The parable shows the rich man suffering in the fiery part of Hades (en to hade), where however he could see Abraham and Lazarus and converse with Abraham. Although, the parable of Lazarus could also be interpreted in the sense that it states "being in hades he lifted up his eyes", meaning that the Rich Man was in hades and was then resurrected ("lifted up his eyes"), therefore stating that at the time of the torment described and conversing with Abraham, he was no-longer in hades, but facing the lake of fire.[citation needed]
Church fathers and later[edit]
A majority of Christian writers, from Tertullian to Luther, have held to traditional notions of hell, especially Latin writers. However, the annihilationist position is not without some historical warrant. Early forms of conditional immortality can be found in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch[13] (d. 108), Justin Martyr[14] (d. 165), and Irenaeus[15] (d. 202). However, the teachings of Arnobius (d. 330) are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly. One quote in particular stands out in Arnobius' second book of Against the Heathen:

Your interests are in jeopardy,-the salvation, I mean, of your souls; and unless you give yourselves to seek to know the Supreme God, a cruel death awaits you when freed from the bonds of body, not bringing sudden annihilation, but destroying by the bitterness of its grievous and long-protracted punishment.[16]
Eternal hell/torment has been "the semiofficial position of the church since approximately the sixth century", according to Pinnock.[17]
Additionally, at least one of John Wesley's recorded sermons are often reluctantly understood as implying annihilationism. Contrarily, the denominations of Methodism which arose through his influence typically do not agree with annihilationism.[18]
Anglicanism[edit]
Although the Church of England has through most of its history been closer to John Calvin's doctrine of conscious continuation of the immortal soul, rather than Martin Luther's "soul sleep," the doctrine of annihilation of the "wicked" following a judgment day at a literal return of Christ has had a following in the Anglican communion. In 1945 a report by the Archbishops' Commission on Evangelism, Towards the conversion of England, caused controversy with statements including that "Judgment is the ultimate separation of the evil from the good, with the consequent destruction of all that opposes itself to God's will."[19]
Millerite and Adventist movement[edit]
Recently the doctrine has been most often associated with groups descended from or with influences from the Millerite movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of God (7th day) - Salem Conference, the Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the followers of Herbert Armstrong, and the various Advent Christian churches. (The Millerite movement consisted of 50,000 to 100,000 people in the United States who eagerly expected the soon return of Jesus, and originated around William Miller).
George Storrs introduced the belief to the Millerites. He had been a Methodist minister and antislavery advocate. He was introduced to annihilationism when in 1837 he read a pamphlet by Henry Grew. He published tracts in 1841 and 1842 arguing for conditionalism and annihilation.[20] He became a Millerite, and started the Bible Examiner in 1843 to promote these doctrines.[21] However most leaders of the movement rejected these beliefs, other than Charles Fitch who accepted conditionalism.[22] Still, in 1844 the movement officially decided these issues were not essential points of belief.[23]
The Millerites expected Jesus to return around 1843 or 1844, based on Bible texts including Daniel 8:14, and one Hebrew Calendar. When the most expected date of Jesus' return (October 22, 1844) passed uneventfully, the "Great Disappointment" resulted. Followers met in 1845 to discuss the future direction of the movement, and were henceforth known as "Adventists". However they split on the issues of conditionalism and annihilation. The dominant group, which published the Advent Herald, adopted the traditional position of the immortal soul, and became the American Evangelical Adventist Conference. On the other hand, groups behind the Bible Advocate and Second Advent Watchman adopted conditionalism. Later, the main advocate of conditionalism became the World's Crisis publication, which started in the early 1850s, and played a key part in the origin of the Advent Christian Church. Storrs came to believe the wicked would never be resurrected. He and like-minded others formed the Life and Advent Union in 1863.[23]
Seventh-day Adventist Church[edit]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church formed from a small group of Millerite Adventists who kept the Saturday Sabbath, and today forms the most prominent "Adventist" group.
Ellen G. White rejected the immortal soul concept in 1843. Her husband James White, along with Joseph Bates, formerly belonged to the conditionalist Christian Connection, and hinted at this belief in early publications. Together, the three constitute the primary founders of the church.
Articles appeared in the primary magazine of the movement in the 1850s, and two books were published.[24] Annihilationism was apparently established in the sect by the middle of that decade.[23] (In the 1860s, the group adopted the name "Seventh-day Adventist" and organized more formally.) D. M. Canright and Uriah Smith produced later books.[23][25][26]
A publication with noticeable impact in the wider Christian world was The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers (2 vols, 1965–1966) by Le Roy Froom.[27] It has been described as "a classic defense of conditionalism" by Clark Pinnock.[28][29] It is a lengthy historical work, documenting the supporters throughout history.
Robert Brinsmead, an Australian and former Seventh-day Adventist best known for his Present Truth Magazine, originally sponsored Edward Fudge to write The Fire that Consumes.[30]
Samuele Bacchiocchi, best known for his study From Sabbath to Sunday, has defended annihilation.[31] Pinnock wrote the foreword.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilation.[32]
Seventh-day Adventists believe that the wicked will be punished in the lake of fire, before ultimately being destroyed. Their reading of biblical texts that are used in support of the traditional doctrine of hell is that these texts can be harmonized with this particular annihilationist understanding of hell. They see the verses in scripture such as (cf. John 3:16), which says, God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, as part of many verses that show the wicked shall perish. The Seventh-day Adventists believe that these biblical texts refer to the destructive forces that are employed and the results of this punishment as being eternal, and not that the wicked specifically experience conscious torment throughout eternity.[33]
Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference[edit]
According to the Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference, the dead are unconscious in their graves and immortality is conditional. when God formed Adam, out of the dust of the ground, and before Adam could live, God breathed the breath of life into his body: "And man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). See also Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Psalm 146:4 says, "His (man's) breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth (dust); in that very day his thoughts perish." No man has ascended to heaven except Jesus Christ (John 3:13).[34]
Others[edit]
Other supporters have included Charles Frederic Hudson (1860), Edward White (1878), Emmanuel Petavel-Olliff (1836–1910, in 1889) and others.[35]
1900s onwards[edit]
Annihilationism seems to be gaining as a legitimate minority opinion within modern, conservative Protestant theology since the 1960s, and particularly since the 1980s. It has found support and acceptance among some British evangelicals, although viewed with greater suspicion by their American counterparts. Recently, a handful of evangelical theologians, including the prominent evangelical Anglican author John Stott, have offered at least tentative support for the doctrine, touching off a heated debate within mainstream evangelical Christianity.[36]
The subject really gained attention in the late 1980s, from publications by two evangelical Anglicans, John Stott and Philip Hughes.[37] Stott advocated annihilationism in the 1988 book Essentials: A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue with liberal David Edwards, the first time he publicly did so.[38] However 5 years later he said that he had been an annihilationist for around fifty years.[39] Stott wrote, "Well, emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterising their feelings or cracking under the strain."[40] Yet he considers emotions unreliable, and affords supreme authority to the Bible.[41] Stott supports annihilation, yet cautions, "I do not dogmatise about the position to which I have come. I hold it tentatively... I believe that the ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a legitimate, biblically founded alternative to their eternal conscious torment."[42] Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989, which has been called "[o]ne of the most significant books" in the debate.[30] A portion deals with this issue in particular.[43]
John Wenham's 1974 book The Goodness of God contained a chapter which challenged the traditional church doctrine, and was the first book from an evangelical publishing house to do so.[30][44] It was republished later as The Enigma of Evil.[45] He contributed a chapter on conditionalism in the 1992 book Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell.[46] He later published Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996, which explores the doctrine through an autobiographical approach.[47] His interest in the topic stemmed from the 1930s as a student at the University of Cambridge, where he was influenced by Basil Atkinson. (Wenham is best known for his The Elements of New Testament Greek, which has been a standard textbook for students). He wrote:
"I feel that the time has come when I must declare my mind honestly. I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine which has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel. I should indeed be happy if, before I die, I could help in sweeping it away. Most of all I should rejoice to see a number of theologians ... joining ... in researching this great topic with all its ramifications."[48]
The Fire that Consumes was published in 1982 by Edward Fudge of the Churches of Christ.[49] It was described as "the best book" by Clark Pinnock, as of a decade later.[50] John Gerstner called it "the ablest critique of hell by a believer in the inspiration of the Bible."[51] Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College has defended annihilation.[52] Earlier, Atkinson had self-published the book Life and Immortality.[53] Theologians from Cambridge have been influential in supporting the annihilationist position, particularly Atkinson.[54]
Annihilationism is also the belief of some liberal Christians within mainstream denominations.
There have been individual supporters earlier. Pentecostal healing evangelist William Branham promoted annihilationism in the last few years before his death in 1965.[55]
The Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in February 1995 that Hell is not eternal torment. The report, entitled "The Mystery of Salvation" states, "Christians have professed appalling theologies which made God into a sadistic monster. ... Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being."[56] The British Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report (published in 2000) states the doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".[57] A 2011 study of British evangelicals showed 19% disagreed a little or a lot with eternal conscious torment, and 31% were unsure.[58]
Several evangelical reactions to annihilationism were published.[59] Another critique was by Paul Helm in 1989.[60] In 1990, J. I. Packer delivered several lectures supporting the traditional doctrine of eternal torture. The reluctance of many evangelicals is illustrated by the fact that proponents of annihilationism have had trouble publishing their doctrines with evangelical publishing houses, with Wenham's 1973 book being the first.[30][37]
Some well respected authors have remained neutral. F. F. Bruce wrote, "annihilation is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the relevant New Testament passages ... For myself, I remain agnostic. Eternal conscious torment is incompatible with the revealed character of God."[61] Comparatively, C. S. Lewis did not systematize his own beliefs.[62] He rejected traditional pictures of the "tortures" of hell, as in The Great Divorce where he pictured it as a drab "grey town". Yet in The Problem of Pain, "Lewis sounds much like an annihilationist."[63] He wrote:
"But I notice that Our Lord, while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasises the idea not of duration but of finality. Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story—not as the beginning of a new story. That the lost soul is eternally fixed in its diabolical attitude we cannot doubt: but whether this eternal fixity implies endless duration—or duration at all—we cannot say."[64]
The 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (1992) describes hell as 'eternal death' (para 1861) and elsewhere states that 'the chief punishment of hell is that of eternal separation from God' (para 1035). What does 'eternal' mean in this context? St Thomas Aquinas, following Boethius, states that 'eternity is the full, perfect and simultaneous possession of unending life' (Summa Theologica I, question 10), so apparently eternal separation from God is a 'negative eternity', a complete and permanent separation from God. In the Collect (opening prayer) for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Tridentine missal, we find the words 'qui sine te esse non possumus', meaning 'we who without Thee cannot be (or exist)'. Putting these two citations together in a literal sense would seem to suggest annihilationism, which, however, is contrary to Catholic teaching.
It is interesting to note that the Collect mentioned above found its way into the Anglican prayer-book, as the collect for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, but mistranslated so that it reads 'we who cannot do anything that is good without Thee'. Perhaps the Anglican translators (in the 16th century) feared that a correct translation of the Latin text might undermine the doctrine of everlasting torment in hell. In the modern ordinary form of the Mass of the Catholic Church, in the collect is included again, used on Thursday in the first week of Lent.[65]
Conditional immortality[edit]
Main article: Christian conditionalism
The doctrine is often, although not always, bound up with the notion of "conditional immortality", a belief that the soul is not innately immortal. They are related yet distinct.[66] At death, both the wicked and righteous will pass into non-existence, only to be resurrected at the final judgment. God, who alone is immortal, passes on the gift of immortality to the righteous, who will live forever in heaven or on an idyllic earth or World to Come, while the wicked will ultimately face a second death.[Rev 2:11][20:6][20:14][21:8]
Those who describe and/or those who believe in this doctrine may not use "annihilationist" to define the belief, and the terms "mortalist" and "conditionalist" are often used. Edward Fudge (1982)[67] uses "annihilationist" to refer to the both "mortalists" and "conditionalists" who believe in a universal resurrection, as well as those groups which hold that not all the wicked will rise to face the New Testament's "resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust".
Justifications[edit]
Literal interpretation of scripture[edit]
Some annihilationists ask the question: why would God choose the words like "destroy, destruction, perish, death" to signify something other than their plain meaning? While this does not require denial of the existence of hell, the suffering of the souls that inhabit it is terminated by their destruction. Adventists, and perhaps others, then understand the term "hell" to refer to the process of destruction, not a permanently existing process.
Psalm 1:6 ... but the way of the ungodly shall perish
Psalm 37:20 But the wicked shall perish... they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psalm 92:7 ... shall be destroyed forever
Matthew 10:28b Rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
John 3:16 ... whosoever believeth in him should not perish (Greek: destroyed) ...
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death …
Philippians 3:19 whose end is "destruction" ...
2 Thessalonians 1:9 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction ...
Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition (Greek: destruction); but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
James 4:12a There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.
Revelation 20:14 This is the second death...
Annihilationists understand there will be suffering in the death process, but ultimately the wages of sin is death, not eternal existence. Many affirm that Jesus taught limited conscious physical sufferings upon the guilty:
"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. (Luke 12:47–48)
The adjectives "many" and "few" in Luke 12 could not be used if eternal conscious torment was what Jesus was teaching. He would have used "heavier" and "lighter" if the duration of conscious sufferings were eternal because when the "few" stripes were over there could be no more suffering. By very definition "few" and "many" declare not unlimited (or eternal) sufferings.
Annihilationists declare eternal existence and life is a gift gotten only from believing the gospel; (John 3:16) Paul calls this gift (immortality) an integral part of the gospel message. "...who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and 'immortality' to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10). If all souls are born immortal, then why is humanity encouraged to seek it by Paul? "To them who by patient continuance in well doing 'seek' for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:" (Romans 2:7) And also, why would Jesus offer humanity an opportunity to "live forever", if all live forever? …"if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever:" (John 6:51).
Annihilationism is based on passages that speak of the unsaved as perishing (John 3:16) or being destroyed (Matthew 10:28). Annihilationists believe that verses speaking of the second death refer to ceasing to exist. Opponents of annihilationism argue that the second death is the spiritual death (separation from God) that occurs after physical death (separation of soul and body). Annihilationists are quick to point out that spiritual death happens the moment one sins and that it is illogical to believe further separation from God can take place. In addition, annihilationists claim that complete separation from God conflicts the doctrine of omnipresence in which God is present everywhere, including hell. Some annihilationists accept the position that hell is a separation from God by taking the position that God sustains the life of his creations: when separated from God, one simply ceases to exist.
Opponents of annihilationism often argue that ceasing to exist is not eternal punishment and therefore conflicts with passages such as Matthew 25:46: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life." This argument uses a definition of the word "punishment" that must include some form of suffering. However, in common usage, punishment might be described as "an authorized imposition of deprivations—of freedom or privacy or other goods to which the person otherwise has a right, or the imposition of special burdens—because the person has been found guilty of some criminal violation, typically (though not invariably) involving harm to the innocent" (according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). By this definition, annihilationism is a form of punishment in which deprivation of existence occurs, and the punishment is eternal.
We may note that the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (1992), para. 1472, states that 'grave sin deprives us of communion with God, and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the 'eternal punishment' of sin.'
Cited texts[edit]
Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT Hellfire will consume the wicked.
2 Peter 3:7 Ungodly will be destroyed.
Romans 2:7 God will make only righteous immortal.
Genesis 3:19 We came from dust and to dust we will return.
Psalm 146:4 Our thoughts/plans perish and spirit departs upon death.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die.
2 Chronicles 28:3 Jeremiah 19:5 Burning one's offspring in the Valley of Ben Hinnom (which is where concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from[68]) is NOT a commandment of God nor did it even enter His Mind.
Malachi 4:1–3 God will "burn up" the wicked at the judgment, and they will be ashes under the sole of the feet of the righteous. "For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch...they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts"
Matthew 10:28 Both body and soul are destroyed in hell. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
John 3:16 People who don't believe in Jesus shall perish and not receive eternal life.
John 6:51 Jesus offer... to "live forever" would make no sense apart from the fact that not all will live or exist forever.
2Thessalonians 1:9 Everlasting destruction is having been destroyed and having no way to undo that.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death.
1Corinthians 15:12–49 Only those who belong to Christ will be raised with imperishable, immortal bodies, all others perish as a man of dust.
2Peter 2:6 God made Sodom and Gomorrah an example of what is coming to the wicked, specifically by reducing Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes: "and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly"
Revelation 20:14–15 The wicked will suffer a second death, the same fate that death itself suffers (and death will be abolished—1 Corinthians 15:26): "And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire."
John Wenham has classified the New Testament texts on the fate of the lost:
10 texts (4%) "Gehenna"
26 (10%) to "burning up"
59 (22%) to "destruction, perdition, utter loss or ruin"
20 (8%) to "separation from God"
25 (10%) to "death in its finality" or "the second death"
108 (41%) to "unforgiven sin", where the precise consequence is not stated
15 (6%) to "anguish"
Wenham claims that just a single verse (Revelation 14:11) sounds like eternal torment. This is out of a total of 264 references.[69] Ralph Bowles argues the word order of the verse was chosen to fit a chiastic structure, and does not support eternal punishment.[70]
Opposing texts[edit]
Proponents of the traditional Christian doctrine of hell, such as Millard Erickson,[71] identify the following biblical texts in support of this doctrine:
Psalm 52:5 "Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living."
Psalm 78:66 "He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame."
Isaiah 33:14 "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?'"
Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Jeremiah 23:40 "I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."
Jeremiah 25:9 "...I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin."
Daniel 12:2 "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
Matthew 8:12 "...where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 10:15 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment.."
Matthew 11:24 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you"
Matthew 18:8 "...It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire."
Matthew 22:13 "...where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Same as Matt 8:12
Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
Mark 9:46–48 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."
Revelation 20:10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
These Christians point to biblical references to eternal punishment, as well as eternal elements of this punishment, such as the unquenchable fire, the everlasting shame, the "worm" that never dies, and the smoke that rises forever, as consistent with the traditional doctrine of eternal, conscious torment of the non-believers and/or sinners in hell, although annihilationists have written credible responses to these scriptures.
Christians who belief in universal reconciliation have also criticized annihilationism using Biblical references. Books of the Bible argued to possibly support the idea of full reconciliation include the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The sections of 1 Corinthians 15:22, "As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ", and 1 Corinthians 15:28, "God will be all in all", are cited.[72][73] Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include Lamentations 3:31–33 (NIV), "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love",[74] and 1 Timothy 4:10 (NIV), "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."[75]
Incompatibility with God's love[edit]


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Typical of the annihilationist position are notions of divine justice and love.[1John 4:16] Some Annihilationists[who?] claim that the idea of an eternal place of torment is morally repugnant, and an unfair punishment for allegedly finite sins. How can this accurately reflect God's ultimate victory over suffering and evil, they argue, when it permanently installs a place of suffering in the final, eternal order? They also question how can the saved live in blissful joy knowing that some of their loved ones suffer forever in hell, in spite of the Bible showing what seems to be a joyful chorus of the saved because of the condemnation of the Devil,[Revelation 19:1–3] which takes place along with the non-saved[Revelation 14:9–12] Opponents of this argument respond that only God is qualified to determine divine justice,[citation needed] and raise suspicions that Annihilationists may be succumbing to modern cultural pressures and worldliness. Also the Bible In response to the suggestion that unrepentant sinners aren't deserving of eternal punishment, advocates of the sola scriptura doctrine also believe in the concept of grace, i.e. that the people who receive salvation receive it even though they don't deserve it.
The traditional doctrine of eternal torment in hell could seem to suggest that torment, or torture, is a legitimate form of punishment, since God Himself employs it, but it's clearly stated in Christian Scriptures that only God is liable to do this.[Romans 12:19][Hebrews 10:30] Also, the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' (paras 2297–8) states that 'torture, which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity'. Admitting and regretting that the Church did in the past sometimes tolerate the use of torture, the Catechism continues: 'it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate rights of the human person...it is necessary to work for their abolition.' However, any punishment inflicts some sort of pain (or it would not be punishment), and the Catechism does not more than give the Church's stand about what punishments are to be inflicted by temporal powers, who do not punish sins as infinite offenses.
Besides, in argumenting against suicide St. Thomas teaches that “everything naturally loves itself, the result being that everything naturally keeps itself in being, and resists corruptions so far as it can.”[76] Thus it might seem that although the damned themselves may by bad judgment prefer their own non-existence, on the objective side annihilation be a far greater, not lesser punishment. If this is true, Divine Goodness and Mercy is no argument for, but against annihilationism; the problem of hell remains but is treated elsewhere.
Hellenic origins[edit]
Many annihilationists[who?] believe that the concept of an immortal soul separate from the body comes from Greek philosophy, particularly from Plato. For example, Plato's Myth of Er depicts disembodied souls being sent underground to be punished after death. Hellenistic culture had a significant influence on the early Christian church, see also Hellenistic Judaism. By this scenario, the soul does not appear in the Bible and is seen there only by those taught to assume that the soul exists in the first place.[citation needed]
People[edit]
Advocates[edit]
British:
John Stott
John Wenham
Michael Green[77]
Philip Edgecumbe Hughes
Roger Forster
North American:
Clark Pinnock
Edward Fudge
Greg Boyd
Harold Camping
Homer Hailey
E. Earle Ellis
Agnostics[edit]
Others have remained "agnostic", not taking a stand on the issue of hell. The two listed are also British:
F. F. Bruce, who described himself as "agnostic" on this issue
N. T. Wright rejects eternal torment, universalism, and apparently also annihilation; but believes those who reject God will become dehumanized, and no longer be in the image of God[78]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Problem of Hell
Christian conditionalism (or "conditional immortality")
Universal reconciliation ("Universalism" in a Christian context)
Oblivion (eternal)
Soul death
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Christian faith and life, Volumes 16–17, 1913 (Google eBook) p.118
2.Jump up ^ Hebrews 12:29; Song of Solomon 8:6
3.Jump up ^ L. E. Froom, The Condionalist Faith of our Fathers (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1965–1966).[page needed]
4.Jump up ^ Richard Bauckham "Universalism: a historical survey" (@ theologicalstudies.org.uk), Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54. "Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortality')." "Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment.3 Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as destruction seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians."
5.Jump up ^ Edwards, D. L. & Stott, J. Essentials : A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1988, pp. 313–320.
6.Jump up ^ Gore, The Religion of the Church Oxford: Mowbray, 1916, pp. 91f.
7.Jump up ^ Temple, W., Christus Veritas London: Macmillan, 1924, p. 209
8.Jump up ^ Quick O.C., Doctrines of the Creed London: Nisbet, 1933, pp. 257f.
9.Jump up ^ Simon U., The End is Not Yet Welwyn: Nisbet, 1964, pp. 206f.
10.Jump up ^ Caird G. B., The Revelation of St John the Divine London: A. and C. Black., 1966, pp. 186f., 260
11.Jump up ^ Crockett, Four Views on Hell, p52–53 (he accepts the traditional view)[page needed]
12.Jump up ^ James H. Charlesworth, Casey Deryl Elledge, J. L. Crenshaw Resurrection: the origin and future of a Biblical doctrine 2006 p37 "One may ask, however, How widespread was early belief in the resurrection? ... These sources allege that both Pharisees and Essenes held strong support for the afterlife, while Sadducees refused to"
13.Jump up ^ St. Ignatius: Epistle to the Magnesians – http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0105.htm
14.Jump up ^ St. Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho (Chapter V) – http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html
15.Jump up ^ St. Irenaeus: Against Heresies: Book II, Chapter 34 – http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103234.htm
16.Jump up ^ Arnobius, Against the Heathen: Book II, paragraph 61, last sentence.
17.Jump up ^ Pinnock, "Fire then Nothing", p40
18.Jump up ^ Furthermore, it should be noted that this comment was made in regard to Calvinism and their insistence that some were pre-destined to receive Christ, and others to be eternally punished. How much weight this statement of Wesley's should be placed on his idea of eternal condemnation remains debated. Actually, the terminology "being destroyed body and soul in hell" is from the lips of Jesus. Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." However, the word "destroy" in the original Greek (apollumi) does not necessarily mean to annihilate or cause to become non-existent. This word has the idea of ruin as to its useful original purpose. SERMON 128, Preached at Bristol, in the year 1740 – http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/serm-128.stm
19.Jump up ^ Towards the conversion of England Church of England Commission on evangelism – 1946 "... but gives the idea that ' ' everyone goes to heaven when he dies. ' ' 198 During their earlier years children have to learn how to discriminate between the world of experience and the world of imagination. "
20.Jump up ^ An Inquiry; Are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal? In Three Letters, 1841. Six Sermons on the Inquiry: Is there Immortality in Sin and Suffering?, 1842; followed by several later versions; reprint
21.Jump up ^ It had the motto "No immortality, or endless life except through Jesus Christ alone." Sources: Lest We Forget 1:4 (1991). "George Storrs: 1796–1879: A Biographical Sketch". HarvestHerald.com. Retrieved June 2010.
22.Jump up ^ Letter from Fitch to Storrs, January 25, 1844
23.^ Jump up to: a b c d Gary Land, "Conditional Immortality" entry in Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-day Adventists. Scarecrow, 2005, p68–69
24.Jump up ^ Roswell F. Cottrell, Review and Herald 1853 – the first clear statement. James White, "Destruction of the Wicked" series, Review and Herald 1854 [1]?. D. P. Hall, articles in 1854, republished as the book Man Not Immortal, 1854. J. N. Loughborough series; republished as Is the Soul Immortal?, 1856
25.Jump up ^ D. M. Canright, History of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul, 1871.[page needed]
26.Jump up ^ Uriah Smith, Man's Nature and Destiny, 1884[page needed]
27.Jump up ^ Le Roy Froom [and team], The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers, 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1965–66; online link. See also article series in the Review. One pair of reviews is Alfred-Félix Vaucher, "The History of Conditionalism". Andrews University Seminary Studies 4:2 (July 1966), p193–200 [Vol. II]. He considers it of "greatest use" to theologians and other readers, and presents only "few reservations" for such a "voluminous work". It is aimed at English readers, and thus focuses on Great Britain and America; Vaucher expounds on continental European supporters. He disagrees with the inclusion of the Waldenses as conditionalists, and other descriptions of their history. Vaucher, review in Andrews University Seminary Studies 5 (1967), p202–204 [Vol. I]. Vaucher praises Froom's "erudition"; a "monumental work" without "rival". He questions whether several individuals should be claimed for conditionalism, or that the Pharisees taught an immortal soul. He challenged the preaching tone of books, and related artwork
28.Jump up ^ Clark Pinnock, "The Conditional View", p147 footnote 21; in William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992
29.Jump up ^ Vaucher, Alfred-Félix (1966). "The History of Conditionalism". Andrews University Seminary Studies 4: 193–200. ISSN 0003-2980.
30.^ Jump up to: a b c d Brian P. Phillips, "Annihilation or endless torment?". Ministry 69:8 (August 1996), p15,17–18
31.Jump up ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?" chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection?. Biblical Perspectives, 1997; ISBN 1-930987-12-9, ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8[page needed]
32.Jump up ^ "Fundamental Beliefs" (1980) webpage from the official church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium and the End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism
33.Jump up ^ The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (2000) from the Commentary Reference Series[page needed]
34.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofgod-7thday.org/Publications/Doctrinal%20Points%20Final%20Proof.pdf[full citation needed]
35.Jump up ^ White, Edward (1878). Life in Christ: A Study of the Scripture Doctrine On the Nature of Man, the Object of the Divine Incarnation, and the Conditions of Human Immortality.. White does posit an intermediate conscious state of the soul pace the standard conditional immortality belief that the dead are unconscious. Petavel, Emmanuel (1892). The Problem of Immortality. Petavel, Emmanuel (1889). The Extinction of Evil: Three Theological Essays. Three early essays from one of the classical advocates of conditional immortality, a French author. See especially "Appendix 1: Answers to Objections Urged Against the Doctrine of the Gradual Extinction of Obdurate Sinners," beginning on page 147 of the book. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1857). Debt and Grace as Related to a Doctrine of the Future Life. See Hudson's book Christ Our Life below for an expanded biblical defense. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1860). Christ Our Life: The Scriptural Argument for Immortality Through Christ Alone.
36.Jump up ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley-Smith, p353
37.^ Jump up to: a b J. I. Packer (Spring 1997). Evangelical Annihilationism in Review (PDF). Reformation & Revival 6 (2). pp. 37–51.
38.Jump up ^ Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue by David L. Edwards with a response from John Stott. 1988, p314 [313–320]
39.Jump up ^ In 1993. John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
40.Jump up ^ Essentials, p314
41.Jump up ^ Essentials, p314–15
42.Jump up ^ Essentials, p320
43.Jump up ^ Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; and Leicester, United Kingdom: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989, p398-407. As cited by Packer (and Pinnock)
44.Jump up ^ John Wenham, The Goodness of God. London: InterVarsity Press, 1974
45.Jump up ^ John Wenham, The Enigma of Evil, Britain: InterVarsity Press, 1985; a 2nd edition. A new edition with an extended chapter on the debate was published by Eagle books in 1994, from Guilford, England. As cited by Phillips
46.Jump up ^ Wenham, "The Case for Conditional Immortality" in N. M. S. Cameron, ed., Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. A report on the Fourth Edinburgh Conference on Christian Dogmatics
47.Jump up ^ John Wenham, Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996. Paternoster Press: 1998
48.Jump up ^ Wenham in Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell, p190,191; as quoted by Phillips
49.Jump up ^ Edward W. Fudge, The Fire that Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment. Houston: Providential, 1982. Author's webpage. Fudge is a member of the Churches of Christ
50.Jump up ^ Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
51.Jump up ^ As cited by Phillips
52.Jump up ^ An early article was Pinnock, "Fire, then Nothing". Christianity Today (March 20, 1987), p40–41. He lists the evangelical authors who persuaded him as: Stott, Fudge, Hughes, and Green (as cited elsewhere in this article), and Stephen Travis, I Believe in the Second Coming of Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982, p196–199. Listed in Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
53.Jump up ^ Basil F. C. Atkinson, Life and Immortality: An Examination of the Nature and Meaning of Life and Death as They Are Revealed in the Scriptures. Taunton, England: printed by E. Goodman, 196–?. As cited by Phillips, and WorldCat
54.Jump up ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry, p353
55.Jump up ^ An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages (1965), 133–135; The Revelation of the Seven Seals (1967), 487
56.Jump up ^ Church of England, "The Mystery of Salvation: The Doctrine Commission of the General Synod" (1995), p199; published by Church House Publishing, London, 1995; copyrighted by The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England, 1995, ISBN 0-7151-3778-6
57.Jump up ^ Evangelical Alliance; Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals (2000). "Conclusions and Recommendations". In Hilborn, David. The Nature of Hell. London: Paternoster Publishing. pp. 130–5. ISBN 978-0-9532992-2-5.
58.Jump up ^ 21st Century Evangelicals: A snapshot of the beliefs and habits of evangelical Christians in the UK. Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research, 2011, p9
59.Jump up ^ Eryl Davies, The Wrath of God, Evangelical Movement of Wales.W. G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment, was reissued by Banner of Truth Trust. As cited by Phillips
60.Jump up ^ Paul Helm, The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Banner of Truth, 1989
61.Jump up ^ Letter from F. F. Bruce to John Stott in 1989, as quoted in John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
62.Jump up ^ According to F. F. Bruce, in his foreword to Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes, p.viii
63.Jump up ^ Pinnock, "The Conditional View", in Crockett; p150 incl. footnote 28
64.Jump up ^ C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1940, p114–115; emphasis in original
65.Jump up ^ Zühlsdorf, Fr. John. WDTPRS: Thursday in the 1st Week of Lent. Posted on 17 March 2011.
66.Jump up ^ Essentials, p316
67.Jump up ^ Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment (Houston: Providential Press, 1982).
68.Jump up ^ Crockett, William V. (1992). Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
69.Jump up ^ chapter 6, "Hell: Not Endless" in The Enigma of Evil by John Wenham, p68–92; esp. 81–83. Quotations are Wenham's terms, not the Bible's necessarily. The first edition of the book was titled, The Goodness of God, but contained little or none of this discussion
70.Jump up ^ Bowles, Ralph G. (2000). "Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment? Examining a Proof-text on Hell" (PDF). Evangelical Quarterly 73 (1): 21–36.
71.Jump up ^ Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), pp1242–1244.
72.Jump up ^ Richard Bauckham, "Universalism: a historical survey", Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54.
73.Jump up ^ Fisher, David A. (December 2011). "The Question of Universal Salvation: Will All Be Saved?" (PDF). The Maronite Voice, Volume VII, Issue No. XI. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
74.Jump up ^ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+3%3A31-33&version=NIV
75.Jump up ^ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+4%3A10&version=NIV
76.Jump up ^ S. th. II/II 64 V
77.Jump up ^ Michael Green, Evangelism Through the Local Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990, p69–70
78.Jump up ^ N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, chapter 11 "Purgatory, Paradise, Hell"; preview; as cited elsewhere
Further reading[edit]
Various doctrines about hell:
William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell
Edward Fudge and Robert Peterson, Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000
Neusner, Jacob; Avery-Peck, Alan Jeffery (2000). Judaism in Late Antiquity: Part Four: Death, Life-After-Death, Resurrection and the World-To-Come in the Judaisms of Antiquity. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. p. 342. ISBN 90-04-11262-6.
Advocates of annihilationism:
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1997). Immortality or Resurrection? A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny (PDF). Berrien Springs, Michigan: Biblical Perspectives. ISBN 1-930987-12-9. OCLC 38849060.
Clark Pinnock, "The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent". Criswell Theological Review 4:2 (1990), p243–259. Reprinted in A Journal from the Radical Reformation 2:1 (Fall 1992), p4–21
Critics of annihilationism:
Stanley Grenz, "Directions: Is Hell Forever?" Christianity Today 42:11 (October 5, 1998), p?
Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment. Zondervan, 2004; ISBN 0-310-24041-7, ISBN 978-0-310-24041-9
Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment. P&R Publishing, 1995; ISBN 0-87552-372-2, ISBN 978-0-87552-372-9
External links[edit]
 Look up annihilationism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
SupportiveRethinkingHell.com Exploring evangelical conditionalism
Afterlife.co.nz The Conditional Immortality Association of New Zealand Inc. is a non-profit organization established to promote a Biblical understanding of human nature, life, death and eternity as taught throughout Scripture.
"Hell Truth – Does Hell Burn Forever?" Comprehensive site covering the topic of hell and annihilationism, Amazing Facts
Jewish not Greek Shows how Biblical hermeneutics proves "annihilationism" and not the Greek philosophical belief in innate immortality.
Critical"Hell – Eternity of Hell" in Catholic Encyclopedia
Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell – Part 1, Part 2 by Alan W. Gomes. (Note the article incorrectly states Edward Fudge is from the Adventist tradition)
"Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire" by Robert A. Peterson. Christianity Today 44:12 (October 23, 2000)
  


Categories: Bible Student movement
Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
Seventh-day Adventist theology
Annihilationism















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