ABSTRACT

Within the Christian framework, which has been the basis for Western civilization for two millennia, the terrifying notions of eternal punishment, damnation, and hell have naturally become the subjects of a huge eschatological literature and a great tradition of art. Consequently, the term damn and its relatives have for centuries been regarded as so potent as to be highly taboo. However, with the secularization of society, the term has become weakened in force to the point of trivialization, in common with many other words with religious significance, such as hell, the Devil, demon, as well as the names of God and Christ.