What does demythologize mean?
To demythologize is to strip away the myths, legends, or idealized embellishments surrounding a person, event, text, or belief, leaving behind a sober, rationally defensible account. A biographer might demythologize a national hero by exposing the ordinary, flawed human being behind the heroic image; a historian might demythologize a nation's founding by replacing legend with documented evidence. The word is most closely identified with the German New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann, whose mid-twentieth-century program of "demythologizing" the Bible sought to reinterpret its supernatural elements in existential terms intelligible to modern readers. Formal and academic in register, the verb typically appears in discussions of history, religion, criticism, and biography. It implies no hostility to truth—rather, it suggests confidence that reality, once cleared of mythology, remains worth knowing. Its noun form is demythologization.
verbTo demythologize something is to strip it of its mythical or idealized qualities, subjecting it to rational, critical interpretation so that only its factual core remains. The term is especially associated with the biblical scholar Rudolf Bultmann, who argued that the New Testament must be interpreted without reliance on supernatural elements.
- To remove the mythical or legendary elements from a story, account, or belief system, presenting it in rational or factual terms.
- (Theology, specifically) To reinterpret scripture, especially the New Testament, by stripping away or reinterpreting supernatural and mythological elements so its message can be understood in modern existential terms.
"Historians have worked to demythologize the founding of the nation, replacing legend with documented fact."
"Biographers have tried to demythologize the frontier hero, revealing a far more complicated man behind the legend."
"Bultmann's project to demythologize the New Testament redefined twentieth-century theology."
When theologian Rudolf Bultmann urged scholars to "demythologize" the New Testament in 1941, he sparked a controversy that still divides Christian thought today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of demythologize
"Demythologize" is a twentieth-century formation built from three elements: the privative prefix "de-", the Greek-rooted noun "myth" (from Greek "mythos," meaning story or tale), and the suffix "-ize" from Greek "-izein." It was popularized in English through translations of Rudolf Bultmann's work in the 1940s and 1950s, rendering his German term "Entmythologisierung." Words sharing the same Greek root include "mythology," "mythical," and "mythos."
Related word forms
How demythologize is actually used
"Demythologize" is a formal, intellectual word found chiefly in academic writing on history, religion, literary criticism, and biography. It carries a neutral-to-positive connotation for those valuing critical inquiry, but can sound dismissive to those who cherish the myths being stripped away. Its most famous association is with Rudolf Bultmann's theological program of the mid-twentieth century.
Easily confused with demythologize
"Demystify" means to make something obscure or puzzling clear and easy to understand, while "demythologize" specifically means to remove mythological or legendary embellishments, often in religious or historical contexts.