Disengagement from religion

thumb|Fanciful 16th-century fresco in the Sala Regia (Vatican)|Sala Regia, by [[Giorgio Vasari, depicting Pope Gregory IX excommunicating Frederick II. Since few details were provided to the artist, Vasari chose to paint an excommunication scene generically. In the traditional excommunication procedure, the pope and his priests would hurl burning candles on the ground and stamp them out. The painter however here chose to show the pope personally stepping on the emperor.]] Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious c

Apostasy (, ; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who undertakes apostasy is known as an apostate. Undertaking apostasy is called apostatizing (or apostasizing – also spelled apostacizing). The term apostasy is used by sociologists to mean the renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense, with no pejorative connotation.

The word anathema has two main meanings. One is something or someone hated or avoided. The other is something or someone that has been formally excommunicated by a church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where an anathema was a person or thing cursed or condemned by God. In the Old Testament, an anathema was something or someone cursed and separated from God because of sin.

Repudiation of Islam

American organization dedicated to separation of church and state

atheism as practiced by people who are ethnically and culturally Jewish

award given to individuals that raised public consciousness of atheism

American nonprofit organization

gradual process of replacement of Buddhism in India, ended around the 12th century

Catholic person who is non-practicing

Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that seeks to dissuade someone from "strongly held convictions" such as religious beliefs. Deprogramming purports to assist a person who holds a particular belief system—of a kind considered harmful by those initiating the deprogramming—to change those beliefs and sever connections to the group associated with them. Typically, people identifying themselves as deprogrammers are hired by a person's relatives, often parents of adult children. The subject of the deprogramming is usually forced to undergo the procedure, which might last days or weeks, against

Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rules. It differs from, but may be associated with, excommunication. The social rejection occurs when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all members of the group as a form of solidarity. Sh

unofficial observance

act of leaving a religious group

1949 Catholic Church document

repudiation of the Christian faith

international associatio formed in 1976

congregation discipline as practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses