Contemporize

Contemporize refers to the practice of reshaping earlier material so it speaks to the needs and assumptions of a different time. This process can range from reinterpretation and updated explanation to more substantial modification of the source itself. Language may be adjusted, emphases shifted, examples replaced, or meanings reworked. In some cases, the original form is preserved with minimal change; in others, it is transformed to remain effective or persuasive. In literary and religious studies, contemporizing describes how traditions continue to function by being re-used and re-shaped, even when this introduces tension between original meaning and later application.