religiosity

noun

ri-ˌli-jē-ˈä-sə-tē 

: the quality or state of being religious : religious feeling or devotion

A study of 291 newlywed couples found spouses to be closer in values, religiosity, and political attitudes than would be predicted by chance …

—Matthew Hutson

… on the whole any given generation tends to retain its level of religiosity throughout life.

—Gregory S. Paul

often : an intense, excessive, or fervent religiousness

The recent outburst of popular religiosity in the United States is a most dramatic and unforeseen development in American life. As Europe grows more secular, America grows more devout.

—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

It must be emphasized that the moral imperative of fiction provides no excuse for smug moralizing, religiosity, or propaganda. On the contrary, it forbids them.

—Robert Stone

The whole notion of pushing your physical limits … has attained a religiosity that's as passionate as it is pervasive.

—Heather Havrilesky

Examples of religiosity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The title is not pulled from some fearful religiosity, rather, hell as a state of being. —Maria Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2024

According to some experts, the central role religious groups played in securing civil rights is part of why Black nones retain elements of religiosity. —Kathryn Post, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Feb. 2024

My point is not to call Kennedy’s religiosity into question. —Charles McCrary, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2023

Some researchers think that marketing appeals to consumer religiosity could encourage people to counter food waste. —Angela Wang, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Nov. 2023

Only one is on the ‘front lines of the culture war’ To those unfamiliar with the varied expressions of American religiosity, the differences between how faith influences McCarthy and the new speaker, Mike Johnson — two Southern Baptists — may be hard to parse. —David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2023

The overall decline in religiosity isn’t all that surprising, an expert said, and it has been reflected in the U.S. population at large. —Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 11 Oct. 2023

The fact that Johnson represents a combination of the GOP’s most repulsive qualities—Donald Trump’s disdain for democracy, Paul Ryan’s economic program, Mike Pence’s religiosity—was also an asset: Everyone in the caucus could find something to love in the mild-mannered Louisianan. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023

But Democrats’ waning religiosity may be a factor in the longer-term trend. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above