Christianism

Christ·ian·i·sm
C3H4R1I1S1T1I1A1N1I1S1M3
/ˈkɹɪʃ.t͡ʃən.ɪzm̩//ˈkɹɪs.tjən.ɪzm̩//ˈkɹɪs.t͡ʃən.ɪzm̩/

noun

The Christian religion.

RareFirst used 21st c.Scrabble 19

Meanings

nounChristianism (countable and uncountable, plural Christianisms)

plural Christianisms

  1. countableuncountableThe Christian religion.

    Synonyms: Christianity

  2. countableuncountableThe Christian world.

    Synonyms: Christendom

  3. UScountablederogatoryuncountableA political ideology centered around Christian fundamentalism.First known use 21st c.

    Christianism is characterised by overt, often extreme, anti-Islamism.

    2021, Jeffrey Haynes, Trump and the Politics of Neo-Nationalism
    5 more examples

    Christianism is an ideology, politics, an ism. The distinction between Christian and Christianist echoes the distinction we make between Muslim and Islamist. Muslims are those who follow Islam. Islamists are those who want to wield Islam as a political force and conflate state and mosque.

    2006 May 7, Andrew Sullivan, “My Problem with Chistianism”, in TIME

    At its extreme, as in the Christian identity movement, Christianism merges with white supremacy.

    2007, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, The Colors of Jews: Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism, page 31

    Because I was always against any extremist ideology whether Islamism or Christianism or whatsoever.

    2015, Stefan Borg, European Integration and the Problem of the State, page 129

    At the same time that they invoke Christian identity, the civilizationists also stress their secularism. But there is no contradiction between the populist right’s Christianism and its secularism, since both derive from a preoccupation with Islam.

    2017 December 6, Rogers Brubaker, “The New Language of European Populism”, in brubaker.scholar.ss.ucla.edu, page 4

    What matters is not believing (let alone actual Christian conduct), but only belonging. It’s what the social scientist Rogers Brubaker has called “Christianism”, in contrast with actual Christianity.

    2025 April 23, Jan-Werner Müller, “What did Pope Francis think of JD Vance? His view was more than clear”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe Christian religion.

nounThe Christian world.

Also see

Origin

  1. Latinchrīstiānismus
  2. EnglishChristianism

From Latin chrīstiānismus; compare French christianisme, equivalent to Christian + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish kristillismi
  • kristillismiideology centered around Christian fundamentalism
German Christianismus
  • Christianismusideology centered around Christian fundamentalism
Cite this entry
APA

Christianism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christianism

MLA

“Christianism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christianism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Christianism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christianism.

Source: Christianism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.