Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from [[Latin]] sacrilegium, from sacrilegus one who robs [[sacred]] [[property]], from sacr-, sacer + legere to gather, steal

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from [[Latin]] sacrilegium, from sacrilegus one who robs [[sacred]] [[property]], from sacr-, sacer + legere to gather, steal

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]

Owing to the phonetic similarities between the [[words]] ''sacrilegious'' and [[religious]], and their [[spiritually]]-based uses in modern [[English]], many people mistakenly assume that the two [[words]] are etymologically linked, or that one is an antonym of the other. Religious is derived from the [[Latin]] word religio, meaning "[[reverence]], religion," whereas sacrilegious is derived ultimately from the Latin combining form sacr-, meaning sacred, and the verb legere, meaning "to steal". The Latin noun sacrilegus means "one who steals sacred things".

Owing to the phonetic similarities between the [[words]] ''sacrilegious'' and [[religious]], and their [[spiritually]]-based uses in modern [[English]], many people mistakenly assume that the two [[words]] are etymologically linked, or that one is an antonym of the other. Religious is derived from the [[Latin]] word religio, meaning "[[reverence]], religion," whereas sacrilegious is derived ultimately from the Latin combining form sacr-, meaning sacred, and the verb legere, meaning "to steal". The Latin noun sacrilegus means "one who steals sacred things".

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*2: gross irreverence toward a hallowed [[person]], place, or [[thing]]  

*2: gross irreverence toward a hallowed [[person]], place, or [[thing]]  

==Description==

==Description==

'''Sacrilege''' is the violation or injurious treatment of a [[sacred]] object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the [[virtue]] of [[religion]] would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called [[blasphemy]]. "Sacrilege" originates from the Latin sacer, sacred, and legere, to steal, as in [[Roman]] times it referred to the plundering of [[temples]] and graves. By the time of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero Cicero], sacrilege had adopted a more expansive [[meaning]], including verbal offences against [[religion]] and undignified treatment of sacred objects.

'''Sacrilege''' is the violation or injurious treatment of a [[sacred]] object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the [[virtue]] of [[religion]] would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called [[blasphemy]]. "Sacrilege" originates from the Latin sacer, sacred, and legere, to steal, as in [[Roman]] times it referred to the plundering of [[temples]] and graves. By the time of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero Cicero], sacrilege had adopted a more expansive [[meaning]], including verbal offences against [[religion]] and undignified treatment of sacred objects.

Most [[ancient]] religions have a [[concept]] [[analogous]] to sacrilege, often considered as a type of [[taboo]]. The basic [[idea]] is that [[sacred]] objects are not to be treated in the same way as other objects.

Most [[ancient]] religions have a [[concept]] [[analogous]] to sacrilege, often considered as a type of [[taboo]]. The basic [[idea]] is that [[sacred]] objects are not to be treated in the same way as other objects.

With the [[advent]] of [[Christianity]] as the official [[Roman]] religion, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I Emperor Theodosius] criminalised sacrilege in an even more expansive sense, including [[heresy]] and [[schism]], and offences against the emperor, including [[tax]] evasion.

With the [[advent]] of [[Christianity]] as the official [[Roman]] religion, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I Emperor Theodosius] criminalised sacrilege in an even more expansive sense, including [[heresy]] and [[schism]], and offences against the emperor, including [[tax]] evasion.

By the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages], the [[concept]] of sacrilege was again restricted to [[physical]] acts against [[sacred]] objects, and this forms the basis of all later Catholic teaching on the subject. A major offense was to tamper with a consecrated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramental_bread host], otherwise known as the body of Christ.

By the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages], the [[concept]] of sacrilege was again restricted to [[physical]] acts against [[sacred]] objects, and this forms the basis of all later Catholic teaching on the subject. A major offense was to tamper with a consecrated [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramental_bread host], otherwise known as the body of Christ.

In post-Reformation [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England England], sacrilege was a [[criminal]] offence for centuries, though its statutory definition varied considerably. Most [[English]] dictionaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries appealed to the primary sense of stealing objects from a [[church]].

In post-Reformation [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England England], sacrilege was a [[criminal]] offence for centuries, though its statutory definition varied considerably. Most [[English]] dictionaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries appealed to the primary sense of stealing objects from a [[church]].

Most [[modern]] nations have abandoned [[laws]] against sacrilege out of [[respect]] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression freedom of expression] except in cases where there is an [[injury]] to [[persons]] or [[property]]. In the United States, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States U.S. Supreme Court] case [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burstyn_v._Wilson Burstyn v. Wilson] (1952) struck down a statute against sacrilege, ruling that the term could not be narrowly defined in a way that would safeguard against the [[establishment]] of one [[church]] over another and that such statutes infringed upon the [[free]] [[exercise]] of [[religion]] and freedom of [[expression]].

Most [[modern]] nations have abandoned [[laws]] against sacrilege out of [[respect]] for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression freedom of expression] except in cases where there is an [[injury]] to [[persons]] or [[property]]. In the United States, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States U.S. Supreme Court] case [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burstyn_v._Wilson Burstyn v. Wilson] (1952) struck down a statute against sacrilege, ruling that the term could not be narrowly defined in a way that would safeguard against the [[establishment]] of one [[church]] over another and that such statutes infringed upon the [[free]] [[exercise]] of [[religion]] and freedom of [[expression]].

Despite their decriminalization, sacrilegious [[acts]] are still often regarded with [[scorn]] by the [[public]], even by non-adherents of the offended [[religion]], especially when these [[acts]] are perceived as [[manifestations]] of hatred toward a particular sect or creed.

Despite their decriminalization, sacrilegious [[acts]] are still often regarded with [[scorn]] by the [[public]], even by non-adherents of the offended [[religion]], especially when these [[acts]] are perceived as [[manifestations]] of hatred toward a particular sect or creed.