anticlericalism
|an-ti-cler-i-cal-ism|
🇺🇸
/ˌæntiˈklɛrɪkəlɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˌæntɪˈklɛrɪkəlɪzəm/
opposition to clerical (church) power
Etymology
'anticlericalism' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against'), the adjective 'clerical' (from 'cleric', via Latin 'clericus'), and the suffix '-ism' (indicating a system, ideology, or movement).
'anti-' + 'clerical' combined in the 18th–19th centuries to form 'anticlerical'; the noun 'anticlericalism' developed later to name the ideology or movement opposing clerical influence.
Initially, the components simply signified 'against clerics'; over time the compound came to denote organized political and social movements or ideologies opposing church power in public affairs.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
opposition to the influence or power of the clergy or the institutional church in political and public life.
The growth of anticlericalism in the 19th century affected many European governments.
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Noun 2
a political movement, set of policies, or ideology that seeks to limit or remove clerical privileges and the church's role in state affairs and education.
Anticlericalism drove reforms such as state control of education and the curtailing of church courts.
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Last updated: 2025/08/29 09:16