Apostasy

{{bronze}}{{religion}}{{cquote|As anyone who's studied religion knows, in general believers detest apostates far more than unbelievers. After all, unbelievers might still [[Salvation|be made into believers]] and might just be [[Ignorance|ignorant]] of the belief system of the religion. Apostates, on the other hand, were once believers who were fully invested in belief but then actively decided to reject the religion.|||[[Science-Based Medicine]]<ref>https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-journey-to-alternative-and-integrative-medicine-apostasy/</ref>}}

'''Apostasy''' is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of one's [[religion]] — especially if the motive for so doing is deemed unworthy by one's co-religionists. The faithful almost universally condemn apostasy as far worse than simple unbelief, as the '''apostate''' has had the One True Way yet abandoned it.  Some [[Islam]]ic [[nation-state|states]] have made apostasy a [[capital punishment|capital offense]].

Apostasy does not equal [[heresy]], which is essentially keeping with the same religion, but altering the interpretation of it rather than flat-out abandoning it or turning to a different [[faith]]. Nor does apostasy equal [[schism]], which involves a rejection of the power and legitimacy of the established authorities of a given religion, without necessarily disagreeing with them on matters of [[belief]].

The term "apostasy" can also be loosely applied to switching any belief-system,<ref>{{wpa|belief system}}</ref> including political beliefs.<ref group=note>Thus [[Winston Churchill]] apostasized from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party in 1904, then re-apostasized back to the Conservatives in the 1920s. As for [[Donald Trump]]...</ref> Oddly enough for the negative connotations it receives, the word originates from the Greek ''apostatēs'', which roughly translates as "runaway [[Slavery|slave]]".<ref>[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/apostate apostate]</ref><ref group=note>Then again, slave owners have historically 
gotten incredibly butthurt
 expressed severe disapproval over the idea of slaves running away from them.</ref>

==Countries where apostasy is illegal==
[[File:Apostasy laws in 2013.SVG|thumb|right|165px|Worldwide laws against apostasy]]
Other Islamic countries not listed here may have laws that, while not specifically outlawing apostasy, may make it illegal if laws on [[blasphemy]] and "insulting religion" are applied broadly.<ref name="loc">[http://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/apostasy.pdf Laws Criminalizing Apostasy in Selected Jurisdictions] by Hanibal Goitom (May 2014) Library of Congress.</ref> [[Extrajudicial punishment|Extrajudicial measures]] against apostates may also be taken when there is wide support in a country against apostasy, such as in the case of Egypt and Pakistan.<ref name="wapo">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/01/64-percent-of-muslims-in-egypt-and-pakistan-support-the-death-penalty-for-leaving-islam/ Majorities of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan support the death penalty for leaving Islam] by Max Fisher May 1, 2013 ''Washington Post''.</ref>

*[[Afghanistan]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew">[http://www.pewforum.org/2012/11/21/laws-penalizing-blasphemy-apostasy-and-defamation-of-religion-are-widespread/ Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread] November 21, 2012 ''Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life''</ref><ref name="loc"/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/21/afghan.christian/ Death could await Christian convert: U.S. lawmaker: Christian-conversion prosecution 'outrageous'] Wednesday, March 22, 2006; Posted: 1:03 a.m. EST (06:03 GMT) ''CNN''</ref>
*[[Brunei]] &mdash; punishable by death (Section 112(1) of the [[Sharia]] Penal Code)<ref name="loc"/>
*Comoros<ref name="pew"/>
*[[Egypt]] – annulment of marriage in one case, a two-year prison sentence in another,<ref name="loc"/> but 88% of Egyptian Muslims support the death penalty for apostasy<ref name="pew"/>
*[[Iran]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/><ref name="wapo"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Jordan]] – Islamic courts have the power to void a person's marriage and/or inheritance based upon a conviction of apostasy<ref name="loc"/><ref name="pew"/>
*[[Kuwait]] – Apostates can have their marriage and/or inheritance annulled.<ref name="pew"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Malaysia]] – illegal (for ethnic Malays) in 5 of 13 states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)<ref name="pew"/>
*[[:wikipedia:Morocco|Morocco]] – not specifically in the penal code, but "in April 2013, the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars issued a religious decree (''[[fatwa]]'') that Moroccan Muslims who leave Islam must be sentenced to death." The Supreme Council is constitutionally recognized as the sole arbiter on religious matters.<ref name="loc"/>
*[[Maldives]]<ref name="pew"/>
*[[:wikipedia:Mauritania|Mauritania]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="loc"/><ref name="pew"/>
*[[Nigeria]] – illegal in 12 of 37 states (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/>
*[[Pakistan]] – apostates are vulnerable to various legal and extralegal punishments,<ref name="loc"/> but the majority (62%) of Pakistanis support the death penalty<ref name="wapo"/><ref name="pew"/>
*[[Qatar]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Saudi Arabia]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Somalia]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/>
*[[Sudan]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Syria]] – possibly illegal in [[Bashar al-Assad|al-Assad's]] 
fiefdom
 state<ref name="pew"/> but certain death if you're in the [[ISIS]]-controlled area<ref name="loc"/>
*[[United Arab Emirates]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/><ref name="loc"/>
*[[Yemen]] – illegal (death penalty)<ref name="pew"/>
*The United St...nah, we're kidding.  [[Religious Right|For now]].

If one tabulates the populations of the aforementioned countries given directly in the above links, the total number of people living in countries where apostasy is illegal is a little over 772 millions compared to a total world Muslim population of 1,800 millions. That is, a population equal in size to 42.9% of all Muslims are residents of those countries.

==New religious movements and cults==
Adherents are usually free to leave [[new religious movement]]s or [[cult]]s, in part because such movements do not have the power to prevent this. 

Some scholars, like the prominent American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, while acknowledging the diversity in new religious movements and their adherents, make sweeping negative generalizations about the reliability of the testimonies of people who leave new religious movements and criticize them.<ref>For example: "Ex-members, even those with righteous complaints, tend to reconstruct their experiences — ambiguous situations at worst — into totally negative encounters. They tend to demonize the leaders and turn the members into zombielike followers. Harmless comments are recast into sinister threats, group jargon into conspirational fantasies." in  ''Finding Enlightenment : [[Ramtha]]'s School of Ancient Wisdom'' (1998), ISBN 1-885223-61-7, Beyond Words Publishing, p. 164</ref> This false generalization is probably due to their experiences and observations during the great American cult wars during the 1970s and 1980s.

==See also==
*[[Actions which demand the death penalty in the Old Testament]]
*[[Ten Commandments]]
*[[FAQ for the Newly Deconverted]]
*[[Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==External links==
*[http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/ilaw/l5721efc.htm The Penalties for Apostasy in Islam]
*[http://www.maranathacommunity.org.uk/pdf/sept-06-apostasy-overview.pdf Apostasy An Overview] by the Maranatha Community for the UK FCO

[[Category:Religious terms]]

Categories: Religious terms