Infidel (literally "one without faith") is a term used in certain religions, especially Christianity or Islam, for one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of the particular religion.
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 versus those who are outside the faith. The term infidel was used by Christians to describe those perceived as the enemies of Christianity. When applied to non-monotheists, the usage of the word is similar to the appellations heathen or pagan. As such, the term infidel has often been applied to atheists, whose disbelief is viewed negatively in both Christianity and Islam.
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.
Read more about Infidel: Etymology, In Religious Thought, As A Philosophical Tradition, Implications Upon Medieval Civil Law
Famous quotes containing the word infidel:
“Where is there such an one who has not a thousand times been struck with a sort of infidel idea, that whatever other worlds God may be Lord of, he is not the Lord of this; for else this world would seem to give the lie to Him; so utterly repugnant seem its ways to the instinctively known ways of Heaven.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)