lydamorehouse | (Reply)

From:

Here's the thing about "antidisestablishmentarianism." Everyone knows it because it's the longest word in many dictionaries, and it's fun to say. But not many people know what it means and how important it is today.

"Establishment" in this context refers to the establishment of an official state religion. The Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which states that the United States shall not establish an official religion, is one of the things that makes the United States unique (especially by comparison with the standards of the late 1700s when the document was written).

So "disestablishment" is the concept of not having a state religion.

Therefore, "antidisestablishmentarianism" is a movement to undo disestablishment and have an official state religion.

There are many people in this country today, I am sad to say, who are de-facto antidisestablishmentarianists -- they wish to have their own religious views written into the laws of the land. (I oppose these people. I suppose that makes me an anti-antidisestablishmentarianist.)

Bottom line: antidisestablishmentarianism is not just a fun word, but one of the most important problems facing this country today.