Betrayal is the violation of some obligation imposed by nature, by an external authority, or by oneself. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic contexts, the opportunities for betrayal are many, given the enumerated legal codes that outline one’s ethical obligations to family, neighbors, and community. Betrayals of these obligations, and of special religious vows, are often represented not merely as betrayals of those to whom one is obligated, but to the God who institutes or grounds the obligation. Confucian religion emphasizes a primary duty to family and state as obligatory, along with honoring elders and leaders. These social-religious obligations bring shame and deprivation of social and familial station to the one who would betray family, country, or honor.
The most central and purely religious form of betrayal is the betrayal of God, or that which is the highest religious value—country, family, ancestors, honor, and so forth. For many Christians, two figures loom large as figures of such a betrayal—Satan and Judas Iscariot. Nearly two millennia of Christian teachings represent them largely in light of their betrayal of a God known by them directly. Satan, once among the highest in the angelic hierarchy, violently betrayed God through his own pride, and along with those who followed him, was cast down from heaven. Judas, the close confidant and disciple of Jesus—the incarnated God of the Christian faith—sold him to his enemies for a bit of silver. Dante represents these two figures suffering together in his Inferno, where Satan is found frozen up to his waist in the center of the lake—prison of all traitors, his claws and one of his mouths viciously mauling Judas. Relegating traitors to the deepest of hell’s circles, Dante captures the seriousness with which Christianity, and indeed many religions, judges betrayal.
Another expression of betrayal of religious values is apostasy, defined as the abandonment of one’s religion for another without any coercion. The Qur’an presents apostates as facing the wrath of Allah and grave punishment. They will be cursed by Allah, as well as by angels and humankind, will have no rest, and know nothing of divine providence (Sura 3:86-91). The presentations of apostasy in the Qur’an have sometimes been interpreted in Islamic regimes or theocracies as warranting making apostasy a crime deserving capital punishment, although certain liberal Muslim scholars view such interpretations as against the spirit of Islam.
During the Inquisition, the Church practiced the torture of apostates until they recanted their conversions, even while using the same method to convert members of other faiths. Jewish thinkers under medieval Islamic rule fiercely debated the status of apostates, including those who were forced to convert; some felt that they ought to have chosen death rather than convert. Others, like Maimonides, taught that forced converts were to be considered part of the community, but that it would be better to flee the persecution than pretend conversion.
Modern totalitarian regimes treated converts to theistic faiths in a manner akin to apostates, as instanced by the on-and-off persecutions of Christians in China. Religions like Confucianism, which place social order and family bonds at the center of religious and moral life, see betrayal of relationships as the most serious religious betrayal. Confucianism teaches that there are five relationships that are paramount, the violation of which constitutes a serious betrayal: father-son, ruler-minister, husband-wife, older-younger brother, and friend-friend. With the exception of friends, these are exclusively concerned with the maintenance of family and state structure. In such a hierarchical system, religious betrayal, family betrayal, and treason become indistinguishable and the taboos against each become mutually reinforcing. The consequences of betrayal are estrangement, perhaps the worst of all punishments in such a family-oriented cultural milieu.
In theistic faiths, too, the betrayal of family, state, or friends, as well as any other divine obligation, is a serious offense. A primary example is the betrayal of a spouse in adultery. An almost universal taboo, adultery takes on additional, serious dimensions because marriage is seen as a holy contract or a divinely cemented union. Adultery becomes more than a violation of spousal and societal obligation. In Judaism, it is a violation of legal norms and holiness, as well as an affront to the One who enjoined the Law. According to Muslim religious law, adultery is an offense against God punishable by death. In Christianity, it represents a violation of a bond instituted by the incarnate God and a direct affront to His person, a sin against God and neighbor.
The full gamut of behavior that violates legal norms or constitutes sin is a betrayal of religious obligation, and sacred religious texts are dotted with accounts of such violations and the evils that befall the wrongdoer, as reflected in the Psalmist’s prayer: “O Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors” (Psalm 59:5, King James Version).
In these prophetic traditions, it is not only individuals who are accountable for betraying divine injunction, but also institutions, including the state. This is reflected as clearly in Christian prophecy, such as in Revelations’ veiled critique of Roman imperialism, as it is in Hebrew prophetic theologies—especially in Jeremiah’s, which recounts the tribulations of Israel as punishment for straying from God’s path. Even religious institutions are criticized for betrayals of their obligations. This can be seen starting with the ancient prophet Isaiah, who declaimed in the name of God, “Bring no more vain oblations . . . it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting” (Isaiah 1:13, King James Version), down to modern critics, who find in the rhetoric and acts of religious fundamentalists the betrayal of the principles on which those religions are founded.
From apostasy to individual sin, to the failure of religious institutions, religious and social sensitivities to betrayal remain intimately joined in public discourse, whether explicitly acknowledged, as in Confucian society, or implicitly, as in western democratic societies.
