unbaptize
Undo religious initiation
To unbaptize is to symbolically reverse or renounce a baptism, rejecting the religious membership or spiritual state it conferred.
The term appears in discussions of people leaving Christianity or seeking formal removal from church records: She wanted to unbaptize herself after years of questioning her faith.
Since most Christian denominations consider baptism permanent and irrevocable, unbaptize carries an air of defiance or impossibility—you can't truly undo what was done, but you can repudiate it.
Declare legally void
- invalidateMake null or void
- undoReverse a prior action
- revokeOfficially cancel authorization
- nullifyMake of no effect
rescind · retract · abrogate · cancel · void · negate · repeal · countermand
Renunciation of former beliefs
- defectionAbandoning one's loyalty
- disaffiliationFormal separation from organization
- renunciationFormal surrender of claim
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
rejection · departure · disavowal · repudiation · backsliding · lapsing · deconversion · faithlessness
Belief opposing official doctrine
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
- sacrilegeViolation of the hallowed
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
anathema · scandal · debate · contentious · polarizing · forbidden · transgressive · provocative
Rejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- irreligionAbsence of faith
nonbelief · freethought · rationalism · skepticism · godlessness · materialism · naturalism · secularity
Formal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- sacramentSacred ritual conveying grace
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- desanctificationRemoval of sacred status
deconsecration · officiant · purification · symbolic · spiritual cleansing · altar · unbinding · ceremonial
annul
Declare legally void
- invalidateMake null or void
- undoReverse a prior action
- revokeOfficially cancel authorization
nullify · rescind · retract · abrogate · cancel · void · negate · repeal · countermand · quash
apostasy
Renunciation of former beliefs
- defectionAbandoning one's loyalty
- disaffiliationFormal separation from organization
- renunciationFormal surrender of claim
abandonment · rejection · departure · disavowal · repudiation · backsliding · lapsing · deconversion · faithlessness · recantation
heresy
Belief opposing official doctrine
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
- sacrilegeViolation of the hallowed
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
excommunication · anathema · scandal · debate · contentious · polarizing · forbidden · transgressive · provocative · irreverence
atheism
Rejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
irreligion · nonbelief · freethought · rationalism · skepticism · godlessness · materialism · naturalism · secularity · disenchantment
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
desanctification · deconsecration · officiant · purification · symbolic · spiritual cleansing · altar · unbinding · ceremonial · dedicate