to darken a church door

9.9

To enter a church reluctantly because you feel ashamed or guilty

idiom

Informal

: entrar en una iglesia

Many in the town gossip that he has not darkened a church door in years.

Examples

She never thought she would darken a church door after her childhood experiences.
He promised not to darken a church door unless his daughter was getting married.
He darkened a church door after the scandal.
Why did she darken a church door last week?
After his wrongdoings, he vowed never to darken a church door again.
She felt uneasy as she began to darken a church door after so many years away.
He decided to darken a church door for the first time since his childhood mistakes.

Surface Forms

darken a church door infinitive

darkened a church door past

darkened a church door past participle

darkening a church door present participle

darkens a church door third person singular

Morphology

darken + a + church + door

The sense ‘to enter a church (often with reluctance or shame)’ is not derivable from the parts: 'darken' (to make dark or sully) does not conventionally mean 'enter', and combining it with 'church'+'door' does not transparently yield the sense of visiting or entering. This is an idiomatic, somewhat archaic use (as in 'darken someone's door') that a B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings would not reliably predict without prior exposure.

Etymology

Darken a church door may come from the simple image of a person stepping into a church and making a shadow over the church door, so they darken the entrance. So saying someone has not darkened a church door means they have not 'entered a church', often because they feel ashamed or unwilling.