Editing Religious conversion (section)

{{short description|Adoption of religious beliefs}}
{{Other uses of|conversion||Conversion (disambiguation)}}
{{about|voluntary acceptance of a religion|forced conversion|Forced conversion|renunciation of a religion|Apostasy}}
{{conversion}}

'''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 [[Protestant Christianity]] to [[Roman Catholicism]] or from [[Shia Islam|Shi'a Islam]] to [[Sunni Islam]].<ref>Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke. "Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion." University of California Press, 2000. p.114. {{ISBN|978-0-520-22202-1}}</ref> In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".<ref>{{cite journal | title = When There Is No Conversion: Spiritualists and Personal Religious Change | journal = Anthropologica | first = Deirdre | last = Meintel | volume = 49 | issue = 1 | pages = 149–162 }}</ref>

People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs,<ref>Falkenberg, Steve. "Psychological Explanations of ''Religious'' Socialization." Religious Conversion. Eastern Kentucky University. August 31, 2009.</ref> [[secondary conversion]], [[deathbed conversion]], conversion for convenience, [[marital conversion]], and [[forced conversion]]. Religious conversion can also be driven by practical considerations. Historically, people have converted to evade taxes, to escape military service or to gain political representation.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mikdashi |first=Maya |title=Chapter 3 Regulating Conversion: Sovereignty, Bureaucracy, and the Banality of Religion |date=2022-05-03 |work=Sextarianism: Sovereignty, Secularism, and the State in Lebanon |pages=83–116 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503631564-005/html |access-date=2025-02-26 |publisher=Stanford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781503631564-005 |isbn=978-1-5036-3156-4|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Proselytism]] is the act of attempting to convert by persuasion another individual from a different religion or belief system. [[Apostasy|Apostate]] is a term used by members of a religion or denomination to refer to someone who has left that religion or denomination.