Christianizationn.
/ˌkrɪstʃn̩ʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌkrɪstjənʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌkrɪstɪənʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌkrɪstʃənəˈzeɪʃən/, /ˌkrɪstʃəˌnaɪˈzeɪʃən/ 1. The action or process of becoming Christian, or of converting a person, nation, etc., to Christianity.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > conversion to Christianity > [noun]
christeningOE
Christianizing1650
inchristianation1654
Christianizationa1799
a1799 D. Simpson Plea for Relig. (1803) p. xix The civilization and christianization of the South Sea islands.
1801 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 1800 24 The zeal of our pious ancestors for the christianization of the Indians.
1837 J. D. Lang Hist. Acct. New S. Wales II. 308 The Christianization and civilization of the aboriginal inhabitants of New South Wales.
1936 H. A. L. Fisher Europe 183 The christianization of the Scandinavian races.
2003 Church Times 28 Feb. 10/5 The basic issue has not changed since the time of the Venerable Bede (who recorded the Christianisation of Britain).
2. The action or process of giving something a Christian character or form.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > [noun] > giving form of
evangelization1843
Christianization1844
1844 A. P. Stanley Life & Corr. T. Arnold I. iv. 222 No full development of the Church, no full Christianization of the State, could..take place, until the Church should have become..a sovereign society.
1847 Ld. Lindsay Sketches Hist. Christian Art I. 41 The habitual christianisation of heathen traditions.
1898 Cosmopolitan Oct. 716 Tolstoi's long aspiration after the Christianization of life has naturally led him to seek to convert Art also to Christianity.
1994 H. Bloom Western Canon ii. ii. 51 Shakespeare's darkest tragedies, Lear and Macbeth, do not yield to Christianization.
2019 Whit (Rowan Univ.) (Nexis) 13 Feb. 1 A different take on the origins of Valentine's Day is that it is the product of the Christianization of a pagan holiday.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1799