Proselytism

A Christian proselytizer trying to spread his faith in London, England

Proselytism (/ˈprɒsəlɪtɪzəm/) is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs.[1][2][3] Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization.[4]

Sally Sledge discusses religious proselytization as the marketing of religious messages.[5] Proselytism is illegal in some countries.[6] Some draw distinctions between evangelism (or da'wah in Islamic terminology) and proselytism, regarding proselytism as involuntary or coerced; the two terms can also be understood to merely be synonyms.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Definition of proselytism". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 11 July 2020. proselytism [...]
    1. the act or fact of becoming a proselyte; conversion.
    2. the state or condition of a proselyte.
  2. ^ "proselytism". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 25 November 2013. - "proselytism [...]
    1. the act or fact of becoming a proselyte; conversion.
    2. the state or condition of a proselyte.
    3. the practice of making proselytes."
  3. ^ "Definition of proselytize | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022. to convert or attempt to convert as a proselyte; recruit to a religion or other belief system.
  4. ^ "proselytization". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) - "proselytization ... The action or practice of making, or seeking to make, proselytes or converts; the work of proselytizing."
  5. ^ Sledge, Sally (2022). "Religious diversity and target marketing". In Brodowsky, Glen H.; Schuster, Camille P.; Perren, Rebeca (eds.). Handbook of Research on Ethnic and Intra-cultural Marketing. Research Handbooks in Business and Management series. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 196. ISBN 9781800880054. Retrieved 28 December 2022. From an institutional standpoint, one might study how religious organizations – particularly those with a proselytizing imperative – communicate and market their messages to their adherents as well as to new members. ... Indeed, proselytizing itself may be studied as a marketing function ... .
  6. ^ Galina Lindquist, Don Handelman (2012). Religion, Politics, and Globalization: Anthropological Approaches, p. 224.
  7. ^ "Evangelization Vs. Proselytization". The Divine Mercy. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2021. To summarize the Holy Father's points, you could say that evangelization is all about trust, and proselytization is all about fear.
  8. ^ Brother André Marie (28 November 2016). "What is the Difference between 'Evangelism' and 'Proselytism'? A Serious Question". Catholicism.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019. Evangelizing the word — or 'proselytizing,' to use another word for it — has been the business of the Church since her foundation. Now we have heard in recent years that 'proselytism' is a bad thing.
  9. ^ "Gen Z Christians more open to share their faith than Millennials – Baptist News Global". Baptist News Global. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021. 'Sharing the gospel today is made harder than at any time in recent memory by an overall cultural resistance to conversations that highlight people's differences,' Barna said. 'Society today also casts a negative light on proselytization that many older Christians do not fully appreciate.'