ecclesiasticism

American  

[ih-klee-zee-as-tuh-siz-uhm] / ɪˌkli ziˈæs təˌsɪz əm /

noun

1. ecclesiastical principles, practices, or spirit.

2. devotion, especially excessive devotion, to the principles or interests of the church.

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ecclesiasticism British  

/ ɪˌkliːzɪˈæstɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. exaggerated attachment to the practices or principles of the Christian Church

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Other Word Forms

• antiecclesiasticism noun

Etymology

Origin of ecclesiasticism

First recorded in 1860–65; ecclesiastic + -ism

Example Sentences

Or was it the ecclesiasticism reaches, as everyone knows, from Maine to California, from Mississippi Baptists to Princeton theologues.

From Time Magazine Archive

The timing of Easter, a confusing system mixing astronomy and ecclesiasticism, was worked out by the early Christian Church at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. and has never been changed.

From Time Magazine Archive

I was so utterly disgusted with ecclesiasticism as I knew it that I was but little prepared if at all, to give anything of the kind fair consideration.

From From Bondage to Liberty in Religion A Spiritual Autobiography by Ashley, George T.

The great division of the church between the governed and governing had led to the development of a strong lay feeling as opposed to monasticism or ecclesiasticism.

From History of Human Society by Blackmar, Frank W. (Frank Wilson)

The great majority 73 of the Deventer books, however, belong to the minor literature of ecclesiasticism and education, and are far from exciting.

From Fine Books by Pollard, Alfred W. (Alfred William)