noun

• The abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle.

  ‘the execution of their leader for apostasy brought widespread criticism’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Any verbal denial of any principle of Muslim belief is considered apostasy.’
  • ‘This refrain must be one of the most lyrical expressions of political apostasy ever written.’
  • ‘However, the reintroduction of true gospel doctrine into those periods of apostasy required a belief in continued divine revelation.’
  • ‘As the prosecutor called for the death penalty, accusing the editor of apostasy, the abandonment of the faith, the sentence appeared to have been a compromise.’
  • ‘It's not so much God versus Satan as a war between faith and doubt, between belief and apostasy.’
  • ‘They accuse him of apostasy - the renouncement of belief.’
  • ‘On the contrary, they clearly conflict on issues of intra-group dissent such as proselytization, apostasy, heresy, and mandatory education.’
  • ‘He imposed quotas on imported Japanese cars and saved Detroit, though he was denounced for apostasy and heresy.’
  • ‘When lack of assent begins to appear, it may not indicate heresy or apostasy, but herald dramatic development.’
  • ‘Anyone seeking to leave the movement was declared an enemy of God and threatened with death for apostasy and desertion.’
  • ‘It is very difficult to find discussion of heresy or apostasy or even of dissent in Asian thought and literature.’
  • ‘After discovering the manipulation of my passions for political ends, I committed apostasy and left my evangelical church.’
  • ‘The state's criminalisation of apostasy is always subject to political manipulation and indicates an absolute negation of individual rights and freedom.’
  • ‘I do not accept the charge of apostasy, because I have never in my adult life affirmed any belief, and what one has not affirmed one cannot be said to have apostasized from.’
  • ‘Many fear how this law [on apostasy and deviations], if passed and implemented, might be interpreted and applied by overzealous officials.’
  • ‘No more death sentences for blasphemy or apostasy.’
  • ‘To return to Tom's original point: his lamenting my apostasy now implies that I once indeed had the gift of salvation.’
  • ‘To believe something with a perfect faith, to be incapable of apostasy, is a sign of fidelity to the group and loyalty to the cause.’
  • ‘Excommunication would mean the church is getting rid of me, but when a Catholic decides to leave, it's called apostasy.’
  • ‘You may inform the Church that you are no longer a member by writing a letter of apostasy and sending it to the priest at the church where you were baptized.’

  Synonyms

  renunciation of belief, abandonment of belief, recantation

  View synonyms