misdevotion means mistaken, ineffective, or fake devotion. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “misdevotion” is a great word
MISDEVOTION — [Noun] Mistaken, ineffective, or false devotion, especially in a religious context. From the prefix mis- ("wrongly, badly") + devotion, from Latin dēvōtiōnem ("consecration, dedication"). First attested in 1612 in the writing of John Donne. Unlike "piety," which implies genuine, reverent correctness, or "hypocrisy," which denotes a conscious pretense, misdevotion is fervently sincere yet fatally misdirected. It is the arduous pilgrimage to a false shrine, the meticulous polishing of a relic of dubious provenance, or the prayer whispered with perfect faith into a cold and vacant sky—the tragic machinery of faith operating with perfect earnestness, yet grinding only dust.
Etymology
From mis- + devotion.
noun
- Mistaken, ineffective, or fake devotion.