Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular
religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from
Baptist to
Catholic Christianity or from
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
to
Shi’a Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".
People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs,
secondary conversion,
deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience,
marital conversion, and
forced conversion.
Proselytism is the act of attempting to convert by persuasion another individual from a different religion or belief system.
Apostate is a term used by members of a religion or denomination to refer to someone who has left that religion or denomination.
Abrahamic religions
Baháʼí Faith
In sharing their faith with others, Baháʼís are cautioned to "obtain a hearing" – meaning to make sure the person they are proposing to teach is open to hearing what they have to say. "
Baháʼí pioneers", rather than attempting to supplant the cultural underpinnings of the people in their adopted communities, are encouraged to integrate into the society and apply Baháʼí principles in living and working with their neighbors.
Baháʼís recognize the divine origins of all revealed religion, and believe that these religions occurred sequentially as part of a divine plan (see
Progressive revelation), with each new revelation superseding and fulfilling that of its predecessors. Baháʼís regard their own faith as the most recent (but not the last), and believe its teachings – which are centered around the principle of the oneness of humanity – are most suited to meeting the needs of a global community.
In most countries conversion is a simple matter of filling out a card stating a declaration of belief. This includes acknowledgement of
Bahá'u'llah – the Founder of the Faith – as the Messenger of God for this age, awareness and acceptance of his teachings, and intention to be obedient to the institutions and laws he established.
Conversion to the Baháʼí Faith carries with it an explicit belief in the common foundation of all revealed religion, a commitment to the unity of mankind, and active service to the community at large, especially in areas that will foster unity and concord. Since the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, converts are encouraged to be active in all aspects of community life. Even a recent convert may be elected to serve on a local
Spiritual Assembly – the guiding Baháʼí institution at the community level.
Christianity
Within Christianity conversion refers variously to three different phenomena: a person becoming Christian who was previously not Christian; a Christian moving from one Christian denomination to another; a particular spiritual development, sometimes called the "second conversion", or "the conversion of the baptised".
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. Some Christian sects require full conversion for new members regardless of any history in other Christian sects, or from certain other sects. The exact requirements vary between different churches and
denominations.
Baptism is traditionally seen as a sacrament of admission to Christianity. Christian baptism has some parallels with Jewish immersion by ''
mikvah
Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
Most forms of ritual impurity can be purifi ...
''.
In the
New Testament,
Jesus commanded his disciples in the
Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations" .
Evangelization – sharing the Gospel message or "Good News" in deed and word, is an expectation of Christians.
Comparison between Protestants
This table summarizes three Protestant beliefs.
Latter Day Saint movement
Much of the theology of Latter Day Saint baptism was established during the early
Latter Day Saint movement founded by
Joseph Smith, Jr. According to this theology, baptism must be by
immersion, for the remission of
sins (meaning that through baptism, past sins are forgiven), and occurs after one has shown faith and repentance. Mormon baptism does not purport to remit any sins other than personal ones, as adherents do not believe in
original sin
Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...
. Latter Day Saints baptisms also occur only after an "
age of accountability" which is defined as the age of eight years. The theology thus rejects
infant baptism.
In addition, Latter Day Saint theology requires that baptism may only be performed with one who has been called and ordained by God with
priesthood authority. Because the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement operate under a lay priesthood, children raised in a Mormon family are usually baptized by a father or close male friend or family member who has achieved the office of
priest, which is conferred upon worthy male members at least 16 years old in the LDS Church.
Baptism is seen as symbolic both of
Jesus' death, burial and
resurrection and is also symbolic of the baptized individual putting off of the natural or sinful man and becoming spiritually reborn as a disciple of Jesus.
Membership into a Latter Day Saint church is granted only by baptism whether or not a person has been raised in the church. Latter Day Saint churches do not recognize baptisms of other faiths as valid because they believe baptisms must be performed under the church's unique authority. Thus, all who come into one of the Latter Day Saint faiths as converts are baptized, even if they have previously received baptism in another faith.
When performing a Baptism, Latter Day Saints say the following prayer before performing the ordinance:
Baptisms inside and outside the temples are usually done in a
baptistry
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
, although they can be performed in any body of water in which the person may be completely immersed. The person administering the baptism must recite the prayer exactly, and immerse every part, limb, hair and clothing of the person being baptized. If there are any mistakes, or if any part of the person being baptized is not fully immersed, the baptism must be redone. In addition to the baptizer, two members of the church witness the baptism to ensure that it is performed properly.
Following baptism,
Latter Day Saints receive the
Gift of the Holy Ghost by the
laying on of hands of a
Melchizedek Priesthood holder.
Latter Day Saints hold that one may be baptized after death through the vicarious act of a living individual, and holders of the Melchezidek Priesthood practice baptism for the dead as a missionary ritual. This doctrine answers the question of the righteous non-believer and the unevangelized by providing a post-mortem means of repentance and salvation.
Islam
Converting to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
requires one to declare the ''
shahādah'', the Muslim profession of faith ("there is no god but
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
;
Muhammad is the
messenger
''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoche ...
of Allah"). In the Islamic religion, it is believed that
everyone is Muslim at birth.
In Islam,
circumcision is considered a ''
sunnah
In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
'' custom and is never mentioned in the
Quran.
[; ] The majority of
clerical opinions holds that circumcision is not required upon entering the Muslim faith.
Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is the religious conversion of
non-Jews
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jews, Jew". Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More ra ...
to become members of the
Jewish religion and Jewish
ethnoreligious community.
The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring
denomination. A conversion in accordance with the process of a denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination.
A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be
considered Jews according to
traditional Jewish law.
As late as the 6th century, the Eastern
Roman empire and
Caliph Umar ibn Khattab were issuing decrees against conversion to
Judaism, implying that this was still occurring.
In some cases, a person may forgo a formal conversion to Judaism and adopt some or all beliefs and practices of Judaism. However, without a formal conversion, many highly observant Jews will reject a convert's Jewish status.
Spiritism
There are no rituals or dogmas, nor any sort of procedures in conversion to
Spiritism. The doctrine is first considered as science, then philosophy and lastly as a religion.
Allan Kardec's
codification of Spiritism occurred between the years 1857 and 1868. Currently there are 25 to 60 million people studying Spiritism in various countries, mainly in Brazil, through its
essential books, which include ''
The Spirits Book'', ''
The Book on Mediums'', ''
The Gospel According to Spiritism'', ''
Heaven and Hell'' and ''
The Genesis According to Spiritism''.
Chico Xavier wrote over 490 additional books, which expand on the
spiritualist doctrine.
As explained in the first of