Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: What makes a martyr?
Position‹3 of 3: Dying to further a cause makes a martyr

This position holds that a martyr is made by what the death accomplishes: it is a death that advances a cause, taking its meaning from the public effect it has on those who come after rather than from the dying person's beliefs or beneficiaries.

Supporting arguments · 2

Martyrdom is a status conferred afterwards by the people the death moves
The word does work that neither conviction nor sacrifice can do on its own