flagellantism
/ˈflædʒələnˌtɪzəm/
noun
- The practice or belief system of whipping oneself or others as a form of religious discipline or punishment.
- Historians study flagellantism to understand how people expressed religious devotion in the past.
- The church eventually condemned flagellantism because it became too extreme and disruptive.
- Flagellantism was a controversial movement in medieval Europe that involved public self-whipping.