Home › Religion & World Beliefs › Atheism & Agnosticism › secular

secular

SEK-yuh-ler /ˈsɛkjʊlər/

adjectiveB2GRESATTOEFL

formalpolitical

Denoting attitudes, activities, or institutions that have no religious or spiritual basis.

Implies religious neutrality or distinction from religious authorities, not hostitility toward religion.

The story behind the word. berasal dari Latin 'saecularis' (belonging to an age or generation). In medieval Christian Latin, it distinguished 'secular' clergy (priests living out in the world among lay people) from 'regular' clergy (monks bound by monastic vows).

Word relationships

non-religious: Non-religious describes personal beliefs; secular describes institutions, laws, or public spaces.
temporal: Temporal emphasizes earthly time over eternity, whereas secular emphasizes non-religious organization.

religious: Relating to or believing in religion.
sacred: Dedicated or consecrated to a deity or religious purpose.

Commonly confused with

sacred: Secular relates to worldly civic life; sacred relates to holy or religious matters.

Word family

secularism (noun): The principle of separating government and public affairs from religion.
secularize (verb): To convert from religious to civil ownership or influence.

Collocations

secular democracy
secular society
secular state
secular education

Example sentences

"The Constitution guarantees a secular public education system open to children of all faith backgrounds." Civic law
"Economists noted a secular trend of declining rural populations over the past century." Economics

Memory hook

SECULAR = Society's Every-day Civil Life Untangled from Religion. Worldly and neutral.

When not to use

Do not use to describe active anti-religious persecution; secular means neutral and non-religious.

Fun facts

In economics and astronomy, 'secular' also means long-term and non-periodic, such as a 'secular market trend'.