anti-religious

adjective

an·​ti-re·​li·​gious ˌan-tē-ri-ˈli-jəs How to pronounce anti-religious (audio)
ˌan-tī-
: opposing or hostile to religion or to the power and influence of organized religion
an anti-religious bias
… an unfinished forum for religious, anti-religious and political orators …George Bernard Shaw

Examples of anti-religious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
As the religious right grew into a political force, commentators argued that the concept was anti-religious and did not represent the prevailing views about church and state during the founders’ time. Steven K. Green, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2024 Everything hinted at in the two prior stories—an anti-religious subtext, an emphasis on dietary restrictions—is rendered thuddingly explicit, as if the movie’s ideas were suddenly metastasizing in the final stretch. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024 In 2023, antisemitic acts constituted 60% of all anti-religious acts, compared to 26% in 2022, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told the French Senate earlier this year. Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 20 June 2024 Barron is one of numerous faith leaders sifting through the rubble left by the rise and rapid decline of a particularly anti-religious movement in the previous decades. Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 12 May 2024 Despite composing just 2 percent of the population, Jews have consistently been victims of a majority of the anti-religious hate crimes since the FBI began publishing data in the 1990s. The Editors, National Review, 31 Oct. 2023 The spiritual nature of the phrase has for decades inspired legal action from some anti-religious activists who claim its official use by the U.S. infringes against citizens with different beliefs. Fox News, 3 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1711, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anti-religious was in 1711

Dictionary Entries Near anti-religious

Cite this Entry

“Anti-religious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-religious. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

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