apostasy
pronunciation
How to pronounce apostasy in British English:
UK [ə'pɒstəsɪ]
How to pronounce apostasy in American English:
US [əˈpɑstəsi]
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- Noun:
- the state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes)
- the act of abandoning a party or cause
Word Origin
- apostasy (n.)
- late 14c., "renunciation, abandonment or neglect of established religion," from Latin apostasia, from later Greek apostasia, from apostasis "revolt, defection," literally "a standing off" (see apostate). General (non-religious) sense is attested from 1570s.
Example
- 1. If you abandon your religion , you commit apostasy .
- 2. A senior saudi government official said on sunday that while it wasn 't yet clear what charges mr. kashgari will face , charges will likely include apostasy , or renunciation of islam .
- 3. The council of ex-muslims of britain , set up by a group of non-believers five years ago , provides refuge for those who have renounced islam and tries to " break the taboo " about apostasy .
- 4. In the nun 's eyes , it was the kind of deformity that protestants were prone to ; it was for anne 's sake , as everyone knew , that henry viii had broken away from rome and plunged his entire nation into the darkness of apostasy .
- 5. Such cases reflect only one part of sharia : the system of corporal and capital punishments such as stoning for adultery , death formurder or apostasy ( abandoning islam ) , whipping for consuming intoxicants or the cutting off of a hand for theft .