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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #484329; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#484329"><b>Preach to the choir</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Religion</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#c9c69d;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Religion" title="Category:Religion"><img alt="Icon religion.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/b/b7/Icon_religion.svg/100px-Icon_religion.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/b/b7/Icon_religion.svg/150px-Icon_religion.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/b/b7/Icon_religion.svg/200px-Icon_religion.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#484329; text-align:center;"><b>Crux of the matter</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#c9c69d;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Judaism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sikhism" title="Sikhism">Sikhism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jainism" title="Jainism">Jainism</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#484329; text-align:center;"><b>Speak of the devil</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#c9c69d;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Satanism" title="Satanism">Satanism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atheism" title="Atheism">Atheism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antitheism" title="Antitheism">Antitheism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agnosticism" title="Agnosticism">Agnosticism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deism" title="Deism">Deism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secularism" class="mw-redirect" title="Secularism">Secularism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Humanism" title="Humanism">Humanism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paganism" title="Paganism">Paganism</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#484329; text-align:center;"><b>An act of faith</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#c9c69d;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Jack_Mormon" title="Jack Mormon">Jack Mormon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Word_of_Wisdom" title="Word of Wisdom">Word of Wisdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sect" title="Sect">Sect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Miracle" title="Miracle">Miracle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abrahamic_religious_glossary" title="Abrahamic religious glossary">Abrahamic religious glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_moderacy" title="Religious moderacy">Religious moderacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tithe" title="Tithe">Tithe</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Religion" title="Template:Religion">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Religion" title="Template talk:Religion">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Religion&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>As anyone who's studied religion knows, in general believers detest apostates far more than unbelievers. After all, unbelievers might still <a href="/wiki/Salvation" title="Salvation">be made into believers</a> and might just be <a href="/wiki/Ignorance" title="Ignorance">ignorant</a> 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.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Science-Based_Medicine" title="Science-Based Medicine">Science-Based Medicine</a><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Apostasy</b> is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of one's <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a> — 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 <b>apostate</b> has had the One True Way yet abandoned it. Some <a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islamic</a> <a href="/wiki/Nation-state" title="Nation-state">states</a> have made apostasy a <a href="/wiki/Capital_punishment" title="Capital punishment">capital offense</a>. </p><p>Apostasy does not equal <a href="/wiki/Heresy" title="Heresy">heresy</a>, 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 <a href="/wiki/Faith" title="Faith">faith</a>. Nor does apostasy equal <a href="/wiki/Schism" title="Schism">schism</a>, 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 <a href="/wiki/Belief" title="Belief">belief</a>. </p><p>The term "apostasy" can also be loosely applied to switching any belief-system,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> including political beliefs.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[note 1]</a></sup> Oddly enough for the negative connotations it receives, the word originates from the Greek <i>apostatēs</i>, which roughly translates as "runaway <a href="/wiki/Slavery" title="Slavery">slave</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[note 2]</a></sup> </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Countries_where_apostasy_is_illegal"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Countries where apostasy is illegal</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#New_religious_movements_and_cults"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">New religious movements and cults</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Countries_where_apostasy_is_illegal">Countries where apostasy is illegal</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Countries where apostasy is illegal">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg/165px-Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="165" height="85" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg/248px-Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg/330px-Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="863" data-file-height="443" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Apostasy_laws_world_map.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Worldwide laws against apostasy</div></div></div> <p>Other Islamic countries not listed here may have laws that, while not specifically outlawing apostasy, may make it illegal if laws on <a href="/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemy</a> and "insulting religion" are applied broadly.<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Extrajudicial_punishment" title="Extrajudicial punishment">Extrajudicial measures</a> 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.<sup id="cite_ref-wapo_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wapo-7">[5]</a></sup> </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[7]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brunei" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> — punishable by death (Section 112(1) of the <a href="/wiki/Sharia" title="Sharia">Sharia</a> Penal Code)<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li>Comoros<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> – annulment of marriage in one case, a two-year prison sentence in another,<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup> but 88% of Egyptian Muslims support the death penalty for apostasy<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wapo_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wapo-7">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> – Islamic courts have the power to void a person's marriage and/or inheritance based upon a conviction of apostasy<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> – Apostates can have their marriage and/or inheritance annulled.<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> – illegal (for ethnic Malays) in 5 of 13 states (fine, imprisonment, and flogging)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Morocco" rel="nofollow">Morocco</a> – not specifically in the penal code, but "in April 2013, the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars issued a religious decree (<i><a href="/wiki/Fatwa" title="Fatwa">fatwa</a></i>) that Moroccan Muslims who leave Islam must be sentenced to death." The Supreme Council is constitutionally recognized as the sole arbiter on religious matters.<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a><sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Mauritania" rel="nofollow">Mauritania</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nigeria" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> – illegal in 12 of 37 states (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> – apostates are vulnerable to various legal and extralegal punishments,<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup> but the majority (62%) of Pakistanis support the death penalty<sup id="cite_ref-wapo_7-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wapo-7">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> – possibly illegal in <a href="/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad" title="Bashar al-Assad">al-Assad's</a> <s>fiefdom</s> state<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup> but certain death if you're in the <a href="/wiki/ISIS" class="mw-redirect" title="ISIS">ISIS</a>-controlled area<sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-loc_6-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-loc-6">[4]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yemen" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> – illegal (death penalty)<sup id="cite_ref-pew_8-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pew-8">[6]</a></sup></li> <li>The United St...nah, we're kidding. <a href="/wiki/Religious_Right" title="Religious Right">For now</a>.</li></ul> <p>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. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="New_religious_movements_and_cults">New religious movements and cults</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: New religious movements and cults">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Adherents are usually free to leave <a href="/wiki/New_religious_movement" class="mw-redirect" title="New religious movement">new religious movements</a> or <a href="/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cults</a>, in part because such movements do not have the power to prevent this. </p><p>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.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[8]</a></sup> This false generalization is probably due to their experiences and observations during the great American cult wars during the 1970s and 1980s. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Actions_which_demand_the_death_penalty_in_the_Old_Testament" class="mw-redirect" title="Actions which demand the death penalty in the Old Testament">Actions which demand the death penalty in the Old Testament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ten_Commandments" title="Ten Commandments">Ten Commandments</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/FAQ_for_the_Newly_Deconverted" title="FAQ for the Newly Deconverted">FAQ for the Newly Deconverted</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mariam_Yahia_Ibrahim_Ishag" title="Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag">Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-journey-to-alternative-and-integrative-medicine-apostasy/">https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-journey-to-alternative-and-integrative-medicine-apostasy/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/belief_system" class="extiw" title="wp:belief system" rel="nofollow">belief system</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/apostate">apostate</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-loc-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-0">4.00</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-1">4.01</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-2">4.02</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-3">4.03</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-4">4.04</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-5">4.05</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-6">4.06</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-7">4.07</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-8">4.08</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-9">4.09</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-10">4.10</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-11">4.11</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-12">4.12</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-13">4.13</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-loc_6-14">4.14</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/apostasy.pdf">Laws Criminalizing Apostasy in Selected Jurisdictions</a> by Hanibal Goitom (May 2014) Library of Congress.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-wapo-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-wapo_7-0">5.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-wapo_7-1">5.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-wapo_7-2">5.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="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</a> by Max Fisher May 1, 2013 <i>Washington Post</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-pew-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-0">6.00</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-1">6.01</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-2">6.02</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-3">6.03</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-4">6.04</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-5">6.05</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-6">6.06</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-7">6.07</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-8">6.08</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-9">6.09</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-10">6.10</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-11">6.11</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-12">6.12</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-13">6.13</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-14">6.14</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-15">6.15</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-16">6.16</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pew_8-17">6.17</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="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</a> November 21, 2012 <i>Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/21/afghan.christian/">Death could await Christian convert: U.S. lawmaker: Christian-conversion prosecution 'outrageous'</a> Wednesday, March 22, 2006; Posted: 1:03 a.m. EST (06:03 GMT) <i>CNN</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">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 <i>Finding Enlightenment : <a href="/wiki/Ramtha" title="Ramtha">Ramtha</a>'s School of Ancient Wisdom</i> (1998), ISBN 1-885223-61-7, Beyond Words Publishing, p. 164</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Thus <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> apostasized from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party in 1904, then re-apostasized back to the Conservatives in the 1920s. As for <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>...</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Then again, slave owners have historically <s>gotten incredibly butthurt</s> expressed severe disapproval over the idea of slaves running away from them.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/ilaw/l5721efc.htm">The Penalties for Apostasy in Islam</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.maranathacommunity.org.uk/pdf/sept-06-apostasy-overview.pdf">Apostasy An Overview</a> by the Maranatha Community for the UK FCO</li></ul>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&oldid=2619600">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Apostasy&oldid=2619600</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Bronze-level_articles" title="Category:Bronze-level articles">Bronze-level articles</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Religion" title="Category:Religion">Religion</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Religious_terms" title="Category:Religious terms">Religious terms</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden category: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_DynamicPageList_parser_function" title="Category:Pages using DynamicPageList parser 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