Infidel

Infidel
For other uses, see Infidel (disambiguation).
"Unbeliever" redirects here. For the fictional character, see The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.
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An infidel (literally "one without faith") is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion - especially in reference to Christianity or Islam.[1][2][3]

Infidel is an ecclesiastical term in Christianity around which the Church developed a body of theology that deals with the concept of infidelity; which makes a clear differentiation between those who were baptized and followed the teachings of the Church vs. those who are outside the faith.[4] The term infidel was used by Christians to describe non-Christians or those perceived as the enemies of Christianity. The usage of the term for non-Christian monotheists distinguishes the term from heathen or pagan.[5] As such, the term infidel has often been applied to atheists, whose disbelief is viewed negatively by both Christianity and Islam.[6][7][8]

After the ancient world the concept of otherness, an exclusionary notion of the outside by societies with more or less coherent cultural boundaries, became associated with the development of the monotheistic and prophetic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The conception of infidelity as a theological condition is a result of their strict conformity to monotheism, as well as their rejection and condemnation of pagan rites.[4]

Contents

Etymology

The origins of the word Infidel date to the late 15th century, deriving from the French "infidèle" or Latin "infidelis", from in- ‘not’ + fidelis ‘faithful’ (from fides ‘faith,’ related to fidere ‘to trust’). The word originally denoted a person of a religion other than one's own, specifically a Christian to a Muslim, a Muslim to a Christian, or a Gentile to a Jew.[3] Later meanings in the 15th century include "unbelieving", "a non-Christian" and "one who does not believe in religion" (1527).

In religious thought

These notions of infidelity by Christians and Muslims are assumed to have formed the cultural context under which the Crusades and various holy wars occurred.

Christian

Christians have historically referred to people outside their religious group as infidels,[9] signifying a distinction between somebody who for whatever reason is ignorant of the Christian message and somebody who has actively rejected the Christian religion. It only became a well established notion in English sometime in the early sixteenth century, when Jews or “Mohammedans,” were described as active opponents to Christianity, and as such infidel was seen as term of contempt. In Catholic doctrine, an infidel is one who does not believe in the doctrine at all and is thus distinct from a heretic, who is one seen as having fallen astray from true doctrine, i.e. by denying the divinity of Jesus. Similarly, the ecclesiastical term was also used by the Methodist Church,[10][11] in reference to those "without faith."[12]

In later usage the term's definition was widened to include other forms of non-belief as well, such as:

  • Deist - believes in a god which fulfills the definition of a "prime mover" but does not act beyond this.
  • Atheist - does not believe that gods exist.
  • Sceptic - believes claims only when there is sufficient evidence for the proposition.
  • Agnostic - does not claim to know whether or not gods exist.


Today, the usage of the term infidel has declined;[13] the current preference is for the terms non-Christians and non-believers (persons without religious affiliations or beliefs), reflecting the commitment of mainstream Christian denominations to engage in dialog with persons of other faiths.[14] Nevertheless, some apologists have argued for the usage of the term, stating that it does not come from a disrespectful perspective, but is similar to using the term orthodox for devout believers.[15]

Moreover, some translations of the Bible, such as the Authorized Version, which is still in vogue today, employ the word infidel, while others supplant the term with nonbeliever; the term is found in two places:

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? —2 Corinthians 6:15 KJV

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. —1 Timothy 5:8 KJV

Islamic

The Arabic word kafir, literally the one who "covers", is usually translated as "disbeliever". For example, in English translations of the Quranic verse, 109:1,[16] the Islamic term is commonly translated into English as infidel.[17][18] In the Islamic doctrinal sense, the term refers to a person who does not recognize the one God (Allah) - atheists and polytheists. Because Islam sees Jews and Christians as fellow believers, they are called "People of the Book (Ahl-e-kitab)" instead.[19][20][21]

Kafir, like infidel, has also come to be regarded as offensive,[22] thus some Muslim scholars discourage its use due to the Quran's command to use kind words.[23] [22] It is even a punishable offense to use this term against a Jew or a Christian, under Islamic law.[22] Some contemporary Muslim extremists, however, have applied the term to all non-Muslims.[19]

Jewish

Judaism has a notion of pagan gentiles who are called acum (an acronym of Ovdei Cohavim u-Mazzaloth or, literally, those who are “star-and-constellation worshippers,”) or idolaters. A Hebrew term, kofer, which is cognate with the Arabic kafir, is however applied only to apostate Jews.[4]

Infidels under Canon Law

Right to rule

In Quid super his, Innocent IV, asked the question "[I]s it licit to invade a land that infidels possess or which belongs to them?" and held that while Infidels had a right to dominium (right to rule themselves and choose their own governments), however the pope, as the Vicar of Christ, de jure possessed the care of their souls and had the right to politically intervene in their affairs if their ruler violated or allowed his subjects to violate a Christian and Euro-centric normative conception of Natural law, such as sexual perversion or idolatry.[24] He also held that he had an obligation to send missionaries to infidel lands, and that if they were prevented from entering or preaching, then the pope was justified in dispatching Christian forces accompanied with missionaries to invade those lands, as Innocent stated simply "If the infidels do not obey, they ought to be compelled by the secular arm and war may be declared upon them by the pope, and nobody else."[25] This was however not a reciprocal right and non-Christian missionaries such as those of Muslims could not be allowed to preach in Europe "because they are in error and we are on a righteous path."[24]

A long line of Papal hierocratic canonists, most notably those who adhered to Alanus Anglicus's influential arguments of the Crusading-era, denied Infidel dominium, and asserted Rome's universal jurisdictional authority over the earth, and the right to authorize pagan conquests solely on the basis of non-belief because of their rejection of the Christian god.[26] In the extreme hierocractic canonical discourse of the mid-twelfth century such as that espoused by Bernard of Clairvaux, the mystic leader of the Cisertcians, legitimized German colonial expansion and practice of forceful Christianisation in the Slavic territories as a holy war against the Wends, arguing that infidels should be killed wherever they posed a menace to Christians.[27] When Frederick the II unilaterally arrogated papal authority, he took on the mantle to "destroy convert, and subjugate all barbarian nations." A power in papal doctrine reserved for the pope. Hostiensis, a student of Innocent, in accord with Alanus, also asserted "... by law infidels should be subject to the faithful." and the heretical quasi-Donatist John Wyclif, regarded as the forefather of English Reformation, also held that valid dominium rested on a state of grace.[27]

The Teutonic Knights were one of the by-products of this papal hierocratic and German discourse. After the Crusades in the Levant, they moved to crusading activities in the infidel Baltics.[28] Their crusades against the Lithuanians and Poles however precipitated the Lithuanian Controversy, and the Council of Constance, following the condemnation of Wyclif, found Hostiensis's views no longer acceptable and ruled against the knights. Future Church doctrine was then firmly aligned with Innocents IV's position.[28]

The development of counter arguments later on the validity of Papal authority, the rights of infidels and the primacy of natural law, led to various treatises such as those by Hugo Grotius, John Locke, Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes, which in turn led to the transformation of international law's treatment of the relationship between Christian and non-Christian societies and the development of human rights.

Colonization of the Americas

During the Age of discovery, the Papal Bulls such as Romanus Pontifex and more importantly inter caetera (1493), implicitly removed dominium from infidels and granted them to the Spanish Empire and Portugal with the charter of guaranteeing the safety of missionaries.[29] Subsequent English and French rejections of the bull refuted the Popes authority to exclude other Christian princes. As independent authorities such as the Head of the Church of England, they drew up charters for their own colonial missions based on the temporal right for care of infidel souls in language echoing the inter caetera.[29] The charters and papal bulls would form the legal basis of future negotiations and consideration of claims as title deeds in the emerging Law of nations in the European colonization of the Americas.[29]

The rights bestowed by Romanus Pontifex and inter caetera have never fallen from use, serving as the basis for legal arguments over the centuries. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1823 case Johnson v. M'Intosh that as a result of European discovery and assumption of ultimate dominion, Native Americans had only a right to occupancy of native lands, not the right of title. This decision was upheld in the 1831 case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, giving Georgia authority to extend state laws over Cherokees within the state, and famously describing Native American tribes as "domestic dependent nations." This decision was modified in Worcester v. Georgia, which stated that the U.S. federal government, and not individual states, had authority in Indian affairs, but it maintained the loss of right to title upon discovery by Europeans.

Native American groups including the Taíno and Onondaga have called on the Vatican to revoke the bulls of 1452, 1453, and 1493.[citation needed]

Marriage

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the church views Marriage as forbidden and null when conducted between the faithful (Christians) and infidels, unless a dispensation has been granted.[30] This is because marriage is a sacrament of the Catholic Church, which infidels are deemed incapable of receiving.[30]

As a philosophical tradition

Some philosophers such as Thomas Paine, David Hume, George Holyoake, Charles Bradlaugh, Voltaire and Rousseau earned the label of Infidel or freethinkers, both personally and for their respective traditions of thought because of their attacks on religion and opposition to the Church. They established and participated in a distinctly labeled, Infidel movement or tradition of thought, that sought to reform their societies which were steeped in Christian thought, practice, laws and culture. The Infidel tradition was distinct from parallel anti-Christian, Sceptic or Deist movements, in that it was anti-theistic and also synonymous with Atheism. These traditions also sought to set up various independent model communities, as well as societies, whose traditions then gave rise to various other socio-political movements such as Secularism in 1851, as well as developing close philosophical ties to some contemporary political movements such as Socialism and the French Revolution.[31]

Towards the early twentieth century, these movements sought to move away from the tag "infidel" because of its associate negative connotation in Christian thought, and is attributed to George Holyoake's coining the term 'secularism' in an attempt to bridge the gap with other theist and Christian liberal reform movements.[31]

In 1793, Immaneul Kant's Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, reflected the Enlightenment periods' philosophical development, one which differentiated between the moral and rational and substituted rational/irrational for the original true believer/infidel distinction.[4]

Implications upon medieval civil law

Laws passed by the Catholic Church governed not just the laws between Christians and Infidels in matters of religious affairs, but also civil affairs. They were prohibited from participating or aiding in infidel religious rites, such as circumcisions or wearing images of non-Christian religious significance.[30]

In the Early Middle Ages, based on the idea of the superiority of Christians to infidels, regulations came into place such as those forbidding Jews from possessing Christian slaves; the laws of the decretals further forbade Christians from entering the service of Jews, for Christian women to act as their nurses or midwives; forbidding Christians from employing Jewish physicians when ill; restricting Jews to definite quarters of the towns into which they were admitted and to wear a dress by which they might be recognized.[30]

Later during the Victorian era, testimony of either self declared, or those accused of being Infidels or Atheists, was not accepted in a court of law because it was felt that they had no moral imperative to not lie under oath because they did not believe in god, or heaven and hell.[31]

These rules have now given way to modern legislation and Catholics, in civil life, are no longer governed by ecclesiastical law.[30]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Infidel", The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company. "An unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam".
  2. ^ "Infidel", Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, 2006.
  3. ^ a b ""infidel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009.". Oxford University Press. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-infidel.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  4. ^ a b c d ""Infidels." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008". MacMillan Library Reference. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045301127.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  5. ^ "Infidel denotes one who is not Christian or opposes Christianity; it is used by Christians especially to designate monotheists (as Muslim) who do not subscribe to the Judeo-Christian concept of God, and in such distinguishable from heathen or pagan." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms, p. 71
  6. ^ "The Works of Thomas Jackson, Volume IV". Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=tvUlts3vJ9kC&pg=PA5&dq=infidel+atheist&hl=en&ei=Ba7DTaqdJ-nw0gGCp-z8Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=infidel%20atheist&f=false. Retrieved 2011–04-08. "Atheism and irreligion are diseases so much more dangerous than infidelity or idolatry, as infidelity than heresy. Every heretic is in part an infidel, but every infidel is not in whole or part an heretic; every atheist is an infidel, so is not every infidel an atheist." 
  7. ^ "The Bengal Annual". Samuel Smith and Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=ChsfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA209&dq=infidel+kafir+atheist&hl=en&ei=M7LDTaPjD_Pq0QHF36y1CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=infidel%20kafir%20atheist&f=false. Retrieved 2011–04-08. "Kafir means an infidel, but more properly an atheist." 
  8. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Burns & Oates. http://books.google.com/books?id=cymM4xEM76wC&pg=PA462&dq=atheism+catholic+church&hl=en&ei=ylTCTbejJoqatwe3xojTBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011–04-08. "2123 'Many... of our contemporaries either do not at all perceive, or explicitly reject, this intimate and vital bond of man to God. Atheism must therefore be regarded as one of the most serious problems of our time.' 2125 Since it rejects or deniest the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion." 
  9. ^ Weckman, pp. 64–65
  10. ^ The Wesleyan-Methodist magazine: A Dialogue between a Believer and an Infidel. Oxford University. http://books.google.com/books?id=kxEEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA305&dq=A+Dialogue+between+a+Believer+and+an+Infidel&cd=1#v=onepage&q=A%20Dialogue%20between%20a%20Believer%20and%20an%20Infidel&f=false. Retrieved 2007-03-25. 
  11. ^ The Methodist review, Volume 89. Phillips & Hunt. http://books.google.com/books?id=gslWAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA972&dq=infidel+methodist&cd=1#v=onepage&q=infidel%20methodist&f=false. Retrieved 2007-03-25. "Is it conceivable that a Spirit which is invisible, and imponderable, and impalpable, and yet which is the seat of physical and moral powers, really occupies the universe? The infidel scoffs at the idea. We observe, however, that this same infidel implicitly believes in the existence of an all-pervading luminiferous ether, which is invisible, and imponderable, and impalpable, and yet is said to be more compact and more elastic than any material substance we can see and handle." 
  12. ^ The Primitive Methodist magazine. William Lister. http://books.google.com/books?id=wQcFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA72&dq=meaning+of+infidel+methodist&lr=&cd=23#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-03-25. "It is sometimes translated infidels, because an infidel is without faith; but is also properly rendered unbelievers in the strict Gospel sense of the word." 
  13. ^ Infidels. Random House. http://books.google.com/books?id=SD_Cyz-XW3sC&pg=PA197&dq=infidel+usage&hl=en&ei=ULjDTd3GOMLi0QGh4dSJCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=infidel%20usage&f=false. Retrieved 2007-03-25. "Likewise, "infidel," which had still been in use in the early nineteenth century, fell out of favor with hymn writers." 
  14. ^ Russell B. Shaw, Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0879736690 p. 535.
  15. ^ Infidel Testimony. J.E. Dixon. http://books.google.com/books?id=8TYrAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA188&dq=infidel+usage&hl=en&ei=ULjDTd3GOMLi0QGh4dSJCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=infidel%20usage&f=false. Retrieved 2007-03-25. "When we use the word infidel, we intend nothing disrespectful, any more than we do when we use the word orthodox." 
  16. ^ "'kafir' - english translations of the term in the Quran". http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/109/1/default.htm. 
  17. ^ "Kaffir", The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. "Islam An infidel."
  18. ^ "Kaffir" - Mid-16th century. < Arabic kāfir "unbeliever, infidel", Encarta World English Dictionary [North American Edition], Microsoft Corporation, 2007.
  19. ^ a b "Infidel" in An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies, p. 630
  20. ^ "Kafir" in An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies p. 702
  21. ^ Questions about Ahl-e Kitab by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
  22. ^ a b c Bjorkman, W. "Kafir". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill, Brill Online.
  23. ^ Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti (2005). "General Fatwa Session". Living Shariah > Live Fatwa. Islamonline.net. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1123996016352&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE. Retrieved 2007-02-23.  The scholar quotes Al-Baqarah 2: 83.
  24. ^ a b Williams, p.48
  25. ^ Williams, p.14
  26. ^ Williams, pp. 41, 61-64
  27. ^ a b Williams, pp. 61–64
  28. ^ a b Williams, pp. 64–67
  29. ^ a b c Christopher 31-40
  30. ^ a b c d e 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia [1]
  31. ^ a b c Royle, Edwards, "Victorian Infidels: The Origins of the British Secularist Movement 1791-1866", Manchester University Press, ISBN 0 7190 0557 4

References

  • Williams, Robert A. The American Indian in Western Legal Thought: The Discourses of Conquest, 1990, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195080025
  • Tomlins, Christopher L.; Mann, Bruce H. The Many Legalities of Early America, 2001, UNC Press, ISBN 0807849642
  • Weckman, George. The Language of the Study of Religion: A Handbook, 2001, Xlibris Corporation ISBN 0738851051
  • Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms, Merriam-Webster Inc., 1984, ISBN 0877793417
  • Espin, Orlando O.; Nickoloff, James B. An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies, Liturgical Press, 2007, ISBN 0814658563
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  • Infidel — In fi*del, n. One who does not believe in the prevailing religious faith; a heathen; a freethinker; used especially by Christians and Mohammedans. [1913 Webster +PJC] Note: Infidel is used by English writers to translate the equivalent word used… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • infidel — INFIDÉL, Ă, infideli, e, adj. 1. Care nu este fidel; nestatornic, necredincios în sentimente, care îşi calcă angajamentele faţă de cineva, nefidel; (despre soţi) care calcă credinţa conjugală. 2. Inexact, care nu exprimă adevărul, realitatea. –… …   Dicționar Român

  • Infidel — In fi*del, a. [L. infidelis; pref. in not + fidelis faithful, fr. fides faith: cf. F. infid[ e]le. See {Fidelity}.] Not holding the faith; applied by Christians to one who does not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • infidel — [in′fə del΄, in′fədəl] n. [ME < MFr infidèle < L infidelis, unfaithful (in LL(Ec), unbelieving) < in , IN 2 + fidelis: see FIDELITY] 1. a person who does not believe in a particular religion, esp. the prevailing religion; specif., a)… …   English World dictionary

  • infidel — index heretic Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • infidel — (del lat. «infidēlis»; ant.) adj. y n. Infiel …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • infidel — mid 15c. (adjective and noun), from M.Fr. infidèle, from L. infidelis unfaithful, not to be trusted, later unbelieving, from in not, opposite of (see IN (Cf. in ) (1)) + fidelis faithful (see FIDELITY (Cf. fidelity)). In 15c. a non Christian… …   Etymology dictionary

  • infidel — unbeliever, *atheist, freethinker, agnostic, deist …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • infidel — [n] nonbeliever agnostic, atheist, gentile, heathen, heretic, nonworshiper, pagan, unbeliever; concept 689 …   New thesaurus

  • infidel — ► NOUN chiefly archaic ▪ a person who has no religion or whose religion is not that of the majority. ORIGIN Latin infidelis, from in not + fidelis faithful …   English terms dictionary

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