Crypto-religiosity

A Nicodemite () is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs. The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant who lived in a Catholic country and escaped persecution by concealing their Protestantism.

Crypto-paganism is the secret adherence to paganism while publicly professing to be of another faith. In historical context, a crypto-pagan (from the Greek kryptos – , "hidden") was most likely to maintain the pretense of believing in an Abrahamic religion, while continuing to observe their own religious practices in private. Hiding one's true religious faith may be in response to a perceived danger of rejection by society, or else to formalized persecution by an established government or religious organization.

Crypto-Hinduism is the secret adherence to Hinduism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Hindus" (from Greek kryptos - κρυπτός, 'hidden'). Crypto-Hinduism was observed during a period of forced religious conversions in South Asia, as well as suspected against Hindus who were forcibly converted to the religion of the invaders or colonizers. Many crypto-Hindus were arrested for practicing Hinduism after professing to have converted to Christianity, some sentenced to death for being a crypto-Hindu such as in colonial Portuguese Goa.