# Recantation

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{{Short description|Public act of denial of a previously published opinion or belief}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2025}}
[[File:Dr Prosody(1821) p248 - Doctor Factobend's Recantation in the Bird Basket, St Kilda.jpg|right|thumb|300px|''Doctor Factobend's Recantation in the Bird Basket, [St Kilda](/source/St_Kilda%2C_Scotland)'', a plate from [The Tour of Doctor Prosody](/source/The_Tour_of_Doctor_Prosody) ([William Combe](/source/William_Combe), 1821)]]

'''Recantation''' is a public [denial](/source/denial) of a previously [published](/source/publishing) opinion or [belief](/source/belief). The word is derived from the Latin ''re cantare'' ("sing again"). It is related to [repentance](/source/repentance) and [revocation](/source/revocation).

==Philosophy==
In [philosophy](/source/philosophy), recantation is linked to a genuine change of opinion, often caused by a serious event which reveals a better or more complete representation of a presumed [truth](/source/truth). For example, ''Retractationes'' was the title of a 5th-century book by Bishop [Augustine of Hippo](/source/Augustine_of_Hippo) correcting his former writings as an [ordinary](/source/Laity) teacher of [rhetoric](/source/rhetoric) prior to his becoming a [cleric](/source/cleric) which he described as "a recantation of opinion with admission of error".

In classical Roman [poetry](/source/poetry), after deliberately describing something extravagantly or [hyperbolically](/source/Hyperbole) for memorable [drama](/source/drama)tic effect, recantation was used to briefly redefine the material subject fairly and honestly.

==Religion==
In [religion](/source/religion), recantation may be required to avoid [punishment](/source/punishment) or imposed to obtain [pardon](/source/pardon) from a [sin](/source/sin) such as:
* [Heresy](/source/Heresy) (wrong choice) which means questioning or [doubting](/source/insubordination) dogmatic established beliefs
* [Blasphemy](/source/Blasphemy) (evil-speaking) which is the act of insulting or showing contempt for a religious [deity](/source/deity).
* [Apostasy](/source/Apostasy) which implies either revolt against or renunciation or abandonment of a prescribed religious [duty](/source/duty), especially [disloyalty](/source/loyalty) [sedition](/source/sedition) and [defection](/source/defection).

One of the more famous recantations in religious history was that of [Thomas Cranmer](/source/Thomas_Cranmer), by which he recanted the Protestant or Anglican faith in favor of the [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) beliefs, after his imprisonment by [Queen Mary](/source/Mary_I).<ref>{{cite book|pages=511-528|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_M8AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA517&dq=%22Recantation%22+-wikipedia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=|title=History of the Church of England: Mary. A.D. 1553-1558. 2nd ed. 1903|first=Richard Watson |last=Dixon|year=1903|access-date=1 December 2025}}</ref>

In [Protestantism](/source/Protestantism), recantation may be requested by or ordered from an ecclesiastical authority such as a [synod](/source/synod) or [ecumenical council](/source/ecumenical_council). In the [Roman Catholic Church](/source/Roman_Catholic_Church), the [Inquisition](/source/Inquisition), [Holy Office](/source/Holy_Office), or even on rare occasion the contemporary [Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith](/source/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith) required an act of renunciation to enforce an [orthodoxy](/source/orthodoxy).

In a [secular state](/source/secular_state), if ordered to recant by religious authority, one who refused to recant may be [anathematized](/source/anathematized) or [excommunicated](/source/excommunicated) or subject to [social exclusion](/source/social_exclusion). In a [theocracy](/source/theocracy), an order to recant may include threats of physical punishment such as [prison](/source/prison) or [corporal punishment](/source/corporal_punishment) which may include [death](/source/Capital_punishment) or lethal cruelty such as the [burning at the stake](/source/burning_at_the_stake) suffered by [Joan of Arc](/source/Joan_of_Arc).

==References==
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Category:Belief
Category:Religious practices
Category:Religious terminology

{{Reli-terminology-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Recantation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recantation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recantation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.