Desecration (9)
I believe the answer is:
sacrilege
'desecration' is the definition.
(I know that desecration can be written as sacrilege)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for sacrilege that I've seen before include "Religious violation" , "Sinful behaviour" , "Disrespect or damage to something sacred" , "Violation of something sacred" , "Extreme disrespect for something holy" .)