What is "demythologization"

demythologization \demythologization\ n. the restatement of a message (as a religious one) in rational terms.

Syn: demythologisation.

n. 1 The act of demythologizing, or something demythologized. 2 The removal of mythological elements from something, especially from religious writing.

n. the restatement of a message (as a religious one) in rational terms [syn: demythologisation]

Demythologization as a hermeneutic approach to religious texts seeks to separate cosmological and historic claims from philosophical, ethical and theological teachings. Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) introduced the term demythologization (in German: Entmythologisierung) in this context, but the concept has earlier precedents.