Knowra Scapegoat Scapegoat A person or animal made to bear blame or carry away a group’s misfortune through ritual or social action. The term also describes the act of unfairly assigning collective blame to a target.
Scapegoat ritual : A rite in which an animal or person carries away a community’s sins, danger, or misfortune. This is the ritual form of the transfer named by the concept.
Day of Atonement : The Jewish holy day devoted to repentance and atonement, observed on Yom Kippur. The goat ceremony belongs to the biblical ritual associated with this day.
Greek pharmakos : A person ceremonially expelled or killed in some ancient Greek communities during crises or festivals. The pharmakos is a distinct ritual case of removing communal pollution through a human target.
Sacrifice : The offering or surrender of something valued, often within a religious or social rite. A sacrifice may honor or appease; a scapegoat specifically carries away blame or misfortune.
Social cohesion : The bonds and shared norms that enable people in a society to cooperate. A shared target can temporarily unite a group by redirecting internal conflict outward.
Leviticus 16 : A chapter describing the Israelite Day of Atonement, including the sending of a goat into the wilderness. It gives the biblical rite behind the term’s familiar image.
Azazel : A figure or place named in Leviticus 16, associated with the goat sent into the wilderness. The biblical text directs one goat toward Azazel.
Nazi persecution of Jews : The systematic exclusion, dispossession, and murder of Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Nazi propaganda falsely blamed Jews for Germany’s crises and helped legitimize persecution.
Projection (psychology) : A psychological defense in which someone attributes their own unacceptable feelings or traits to another person. Projection assigns personal traits outward, while scapegoating assigns group blame to a target.
Minority stress : The chronic strain experienced by people exposed to stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion. Repeatedly assigning collective blame burdens targeted groups beyond individual incidents.
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