Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to get religion about

to get religion about

9.0
Start to take a problem or habit seriously and act to change it
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : tomarse en serio
  • She finally got religion about her health and started exercising regularly.

Examples

  • Many companies are starting to get religion about cybersecurity after recent breaches.

  • It's time to get religion about your spending habits if you want to save more.

  • He finally got religion about his health.

  • I think she gets religion about her studies now.

  • After years of indecision, she finally got religion about saving for her retirement.

  • He really got religion about climate change after seeing the impact it had on his hometown.

  • Once he understood the importance of education, he got religion about supporting local schools.

Synonyms

to get religion
vsto get religion about
  • Informal
2 8.6

To become very serious about something after not caring

become serious and committed about one particular issue or planned action

Antonyms

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Committed

to dedicate
284 3.7
to get religion about
  • Informal
9.0
to dive in
  • Informal
23 3.7
to consider
∞ 1.1
to ignore
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

get religion about infinitive
getting religion about present participle
gets religion about third person singular
got religion about past
got religion about past participle

Morphology

get + religion + about

The structure 'get' = 'become' is transparent, so a learner might guess the phrase involves a change of state, but 'religion' is used metaphorically to mean serious commitment rather than literal faith. This cultural/metaphorical shift makes the exact sense ('become serious or committed about X') not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase get religion about comes from the image of someone suddenly getting very serious about religion, like a new convert who changes their habits. So when people say get religion about money, health, or work, they mean 'to become serious and committed' about that thing.