View source for Impiety

{{Short description|Lack of respect for something sacred}}
{{For|the Singaporean black metal band|Impiety (band)}}
{{Refimprove|date = July 2013}}

'''Impiety''' is a perceived lack of proper [[respect]] for something considered [[sacred]].<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impiety Merriam-Webster, s.v. ''impiety''].</ref> Impiety is often closely associated with [[sacrilege]], though it is not necessarily a physical action. Impiety cannot be associated with a [[Cult (religion)|cult]], as it implies a larger belief system was disrespected. One of the [[Pagan]] objections to [[Christianity]] was that, unlike other [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery religions]], early Christians refused to cast a pinch of [[incense]] before the images of the gods, an impious act in their eyes. Impiety in ancient [[civilizations]] was a civic concern, rather than solely religious (as religions were [[State religion|tied into the state]]). It was believed that impious actions such as disrespect towards sacred objects or priests could bring down the wrath of the gods.

==Ancient Greece==
{{Main|Asebeia}}
The issue of impiety in antiquity is controversial because of the anecdotal nature of extant sources.<ref>{{Cite journal|last = Filonik|first = Jakub|date = 2013|title = Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal|url = http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/Dike/article/view/4290|journal = Dike|language = en|volume = 16|pages = 11–96|doi = 10.13130/1128-8221/4290|issn = 1128-8221}}</ref> A number of Athenian men, including [[Alcibiades]], were sentenced to death for impiety in 415 BC, most of whom fled Athens before execution ([[Andocides]] was later charged in 400 or 399 BC in reference to these events). Most famously, the philosopher [[Socrates]] was executed for impiety (as well as corrupting Athenian youth) in 399 BC. An Athenian philosopher [[Anaxagoras]] taught that the sun and the stars were fiery stones whose heat we did not feel because of their distance, and was allegedly accused of impiety in Athens. [[Diagoras of Melos]] was reportedly accused of atheism and had to flee Athens after being charged with impiety for revealing the content of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] to the uninitiated. Philosophers [[Aristotle]] and [[Theophrastus]] might have been accused of impiety as well.  [[Phryne]] was put on trial for impiety and was defended by the orator [[Hypereides]]; she was acquitted.

==See also==
* [[Blasphemy]]
* [[Pietism]]
* [[Sacrilege]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Religious law]]
[[Category:Sacrilege]]


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