Conversion

views updated

Conversion

In the simplest terms, religious conversion is changing from one religion to another or from no religion to any religion. Conversion away from a religion is usually termed "apostasy" by adherents of that religion. In practice, however, conversion is an intricate process that is difficult to comprehend and to define.

Judaism uses the word "proselyte" to refer to converts. In some periods of history, such as the Second Temple period, large numbers of individuals have converted to Judaism. But in the main, Judaism has not placed much emphasis on conversion. This is due in part to the unique status of Judaism as not only a religion but also a national identity.

Becoming a proselyte is a process that entails a period of study. The proselyte learns about Jewish ceremony and ritual as well as Jewish history. Some branches of Judaism will actively discourage proselytes in an attempt to determine their sincerity. During the period of study, proselytes must answer questions about their reasons for becoming Jews. Converts could gain admittance into the community for any number of reasons—to enter into marriage with a Jew, for example—but the preferred reason for converting has always been religious or spiritual conviction. In addition to study, proselytes must undergo a ceremonial baptism by immersion. Men must also be circumcised. If the man is already circumcised, there is a ritual drawing of the "blood of circumcision." Proselytes during the Temple period had to make a sacrifice, but this requirement was dropped when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and sacrifices became impossible.

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church in Europe forced Jews to attend an annual sermon designed to encourage them to convert to Christianity. Frequently, social and economic benefits would accompany the conversion of Jews living in a Christian society. In some countries of Europe, especially Spain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Jews had to convert under threat of death. Some of these Jews hoped to be able to return to their faith and continued to adhere to their Jewish traditions in secret.

Conversion in Christianity has as many variations as Christianity has individual expressions. The churches that practice pedobaptism place comparatively little emphasis on conversion. The primary means of growth in these churches is through family growth. This is not to say that the churches make no allowance for conversion or that they do not actively recruit new members, but merely to say that in general they place less emphasis on conversion than churches that do not baptize infants.

It is among the evangelical churches in the United States that conversion receives the greatest emphasis. Evangelical and fundamentalist churches make conversion a high priority in their ministries. They spend a good deal of time and money in an ongoing attempt to "win lost souls to Jesus Christ." Usually some evidence of a changed life must accompany conversion. Converts often must make some public statement, called "giving one's testimony," that demonstrates the changes that "a relationship with Jesus Christ" has wrought in the life of the convert.

The emphasis on conversion is typical of the Arminian theology that has been a hallmark of evangelicalism since early in the nineteenth century, although Arminianism itself is much older. In Arminian theology the individual has a high degree of choice. One can choose to enter a relationship with God. Evangelicals do not believe that individuals are able to "save" themselves, but they do believe that individuals are able, on some level, to initiate the salvific process. This is in contrast to Calvinism, which had dominated religion in America. Calvinists believed that salvation is God's choice alone, that individuals have nothing to do with effecting their own salvation. Arminianism brought a tremendous change in the ways that churches spread the message of salvation.

The development of Arminianism brought mass revivals, camp meetings, and new measures. The evangelists who worked during the first third of the nineteenth century, such as the Methodist circuit riders and, most notably, the Presbyterian preacher Charles Grandison Finney, preached that conversion was necessary to salvation and that people had a hand in their own conversion.

In the twentieth century, evangelical emphasis on conversion has become even more important. Revivalists have crisscrossed the country spreading the evangelical gospel. Evangelists such as Billy Graham have preached to millions of potential converts, always with the intent of leading their audiences toward conversion.

Conversion has even played a role in politics. In part, Jimmy Carter was able to win the 1976 presidential election because of his willingness to state publicly that he had been "born again." This is a reference to the language used by Jesus in the third chapter of the gospel of John in the New Testament. Evangelicals adopted the phrase to refer to the conversion experience. Since that election—which saw the emergence of evangelicalism after a half century of self-imposed exile from politics—religious conversion, or at least the language of religious conversion, has played a role in many national, state, and local elections.

Conversion in Islam is essentially a matter of sincerely repeating and meaning the shahadah, which states, "There is only one God (Allah), and Muhammad is his Prophet." This is the first "pillar" of Islam. The remaining pillars are salat, which is praying five times daily; zakat, or almsgiving; sawm, which is daily fasting during the pilgrimage month of Ramadan; and hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, a pilgrimage that all Muslims are to make at least once in their lives if it is possible. Once Muslims have made the shahadah, they live in submission to the teachings of Allah, as given through the words of the Qur'an. In the first centuries of Islam, Muslims believed that only Arabs could become Muslim. There was therefore little emphasis on conversion. Muslims allowed conquered nations to carry on their own religious traditions as long as the conquered peoples had some form of written scriptures. As time passed, however, more people wanted to become Muslim, often for political, social, and economic reasons as well as for religious reasons.

In the twentieth century, Islam has spread far beyond the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is growing at a rapid pace in the United States today. Islam, which has developed a more aggressive stance in attempting to convert non-Muslims, has found an especially receptive audience among African Americans.