Antidisestablishmentarianism facts for kids
Antidisestablishmentarianism is a very long word that describes a political idea. It means wanting to keep an official church connected to the government.
Imagine a country where the government officially supports one religion. This official church is called an "established church." A "disestablishmentarian" is someone who wants to separate the church from the government. They believe that having a state church can hurt freedom of religion for people who follow other faiths. They think the government should be secular, meaning it should be separate from all religions. This idea of separating church and state is called "disestablishmentarianism."
So, "antidisestablishmentarianism" means being against this separation. It means you want to keep the official state church. This word is famous because it is one of the longest words in the English language.
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History of the Idea in England
The idea behind antidisestablishmentarianism became important in England in the 1800s. At that time, the Anglican Church was the official state church in England, Ireland, and Wales.
- Ireland's official church status ended in 1871.
- Wales's official church status ended in 1920.
- England still has the Anglican Church as its state church today.
In 2014, Nick Clegg, who was a political leader, said he thought the Church of England should no longer be the official church. However, David Cameron, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, believed that the official connection helps both the church and the government.
Why This Word is Famous
Antidisestablishmentarianism is one of the longest words in the English language. It has 28 letters and 12 syllables. Many people consider it the longest non-technical word.
Some other very long words are technical terms. For example, "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" is a medical term for a lung disease. This word was actually created to be the longest word.
Antidisestablishmentarianism in Pop Culture
This long word became famous in the 1950s because of a popular TV show called The $64,000 Question. Someone on the show spelled the word correctly and won a prize.
- Duke Ellington, a famous jazz musician, had a song called "You're Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianismist."
- Eminem, a well-known rapper, used the word in his song "Almost Famous."
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Mantenimiento de la Iglesia de Inglaterra para niños
