deconsecration

thumb|Deconsecrated Church of Saint Philomena in Ugento, Italy, used as a city hall.

Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or secularization (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consecrated for spiritual use. This can be of any particular thing, including people or places, that may have been considered holy or blessed in some way in the past.