religious zeal

Intense spiritual commitment

Religious zeal is intense fervor or passion in devotion to one's faith.

It implies enthusiasm that goes beyond ordinary observance—active commitment to spreading belief, defending doctrine, or living by religious principles.

The phrase can be neutral or admiring, but often carries undertones of excess: His religious zeal bordered on fanaticism.

Zeal without the modifier usually suggests similarly intense dedication to any cause.

Related

devotion · true believer · true faith · revivalism · heresy · faith · blind devotion · fanaticism · reformation · dogma · fundamentalism · conviction · intensity · worship · ardor · crusades · fervent · piety

Categories
Opposites
intensity of belief

religious zealgoing through the motions

Performing without genuine effort

presence vs. absence of faith

religious zealatheism

Rejection of deities

irreligion · secularism · antitheism · secular humanism · unbelief

sacred vs. secular orientation

religious zealworldliness

Secular, experienced outlook

materialism · secular humanism · hedonism · profanity · consumerism

Family

religion, zeal, religious, zealous, zealot

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG