renouncers

Renouncers are individuals who deliberately withdraw from ordinary social life and material possession to pursue an alternative aim, most often spiritual, ethical, or political. The term encompasses a broad range of lifestyles in which people renounce wealth, family ties, and public status to focus on discipline, contemplation, or service. Renunciation can be temporary or lifelong and may occur within a community or as a solitary path.

In religious traditions, renouncers are often identified by specific paths or names. Hinduism has sannyasis and sadhus; Buddhism has bhikkhus and bhikkhunis; Jainism includes monk and nun orders; Christianity features monks, hermits, and members of various monastic communities. Common features include vows or rules, such as poverty, celibacy, and obedience, along with routines of simplicity, meditation or prayer, study, and sometimes begging or alms. The exact practices and degrees of withdrawal vary by tradition: for example, Hindu renunciants may wander and wear distinctive garments, Buddhist monastics follow a defined monastic code (vinaya), and Christian monasteries may emphasize communal living or solitary contemplation. Secular or modern renouncers also exist, including individuals who pursue voluntary simplicity, donate wealth, or engage in political or social critique by renouncing conventional success.

Renunciation can shape social roles, supported by religious or lay communities, and is sometimes seen as a route to liberation, moral integrity, or social critique. It may also draw critique for social isolation or disruption of ordinary ties. In scholarly contexts, renouncers are studied as a form of ascetic practice and as a response to materialism. See also monasticism and asceticism.