laicization

laicization

A priest undergoes laicization and returns to civilian life.

Definition

Noun: 1. The process of removing clerical or ecclesiastical control or influence: "Laicization" refers to the act of making something secular or non-religious, especially by transferring it from church authority to lay or civil authority. - Example: The laicization of schools in the 19th century removed them from church oversight. 2. The reduction of a clergy member to lay status: In a religious context, "laicization" specifically denotes the formal process by which a cleric (e.g., a priest) is deprived of clerical privileges and returned to the status of a layperson. - Example: The bishop approved the laicization of the former priest after his resignation.

Usage Examples
  • (The process of removing church control.)
  • (The reduction of a cleric to lay status.)
Advanced Usage
  • "To undergo laicization": to be formally stripped of clerical status.

    • The monk underwent laicization after leaving the monastery. (He was officially returned to lay life.)
  • "Laicization of property": the transfer of ownership from religious institutions to secular or state control.

    • The laicization of church lands allowed the government to redistribute them. (Secularization of church-owned assets.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Laicize (verb): to make secular; to remove clerical influence.
    • The government moved to laicize the education system. (To secularize.)
  • Laic (adjective): relating to laypeople or non-clerical persons.
    • Laic involvement in church governance increased after the reforms. (Pertaining to laypeople.)
Synonyms
  • Secularization: the process of making something non-religious or worldly.
  • Deconsecration: the formal removal of sacred status from a person or place (often used for clergy or buildings).
  • Deposition: the removal from office, especially in a clerical context.
Related Idioms
  • To be laicized from the priesthood: to be formally dismissed from clerical duties.
    • He was laicized from the priesthood after decades of service. (He was officially returned to lay status.)
Phrasal Verbs
  • Laicize out: (rare) to remove someone from clerical status.
    • The church laicized out the controversial figure. (They formally reduced him to lay status.)