disestablishment
dis-uh-STAB-lish-munt
/ˌdɪsɪˈstæblɪʃmənt/
The act or process of removing the official or state-supported status of a church or religious organization.
A legal and constitutional term specifically referring to severing state sponsorship of an official religion.
The story behind the word. From Latin dis- ('reverse') and stabilire ('to make firm'). In 19th-century Britain, 'Establishment' referred to the Church of England as the state church. Proponents who wanted to end this special financial and political privilege campaigned for 'disestablishment.'
Word relationships
- separation: 'Separation' (as in separation of church and state) is the policy goal; 'disestablishment' is the specific legal undoing of state church status.
- establishment: 'Establishment' in this political sense means granting a church official state backing.
Commonly confused with
- antidisestablishmentarianism: 'Antidisestablishmentarianism' is opposition to removing state status; 'disestablishment' is the removal itself.
Word family
- disestablish (verb): To deprive a church of its official state status.
Collocations
- disestablishment of the church
- advocate disestablishment
- lead to disestablishment
- disestablishment clause
Example sentences
- "The disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Ireland occurred in 1869 under Prime Minister William Gladstone." Constitutional History
- "The First Amendment was drafted to ensure the disestablishment of any national church in the newly formed United States." Legal Scholarship
Memory hook
DIS-ESTABLISH: Un-doing an established state church. Severing state from altar.
When not to use
Do not use to describe general political rebellion or corporate restructuring.
Fun facts
- The opposition to this process inspired 'antidisestablishmentarianism', famously celebrated as one of the longest non-technical words in English.
Related words
Explore more words
laicization, secularization, anticlerical, dissolution, apostasy, abolish
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