secular
SEK-yoo-ler
/ˈsɛkjələr/
Not connected with religious or spiritual matters; worldly rather than sacred.
Refers to non-religious institutions, laws, or perspectives within a society, rather than actively anti-religious sentiment.
The story behind the word. In late Latin, saeculum meant 'an age' or 'a century,' but in Christian Latin, it came to represent 'the worldly age'—the physical, mortal world—as opposed to the eternal realm of God. Monks who lived out in the ordinary world rather than in enclosed monasteries were called 'secular clergy.' Over time, the term shifted to describe anything belonging to civil, non-religious life.
Word relationships
- non-religious: Plain and general, whereas secular often carries institutional or political connotations.
- temporal: Emphasizes time and physical existence as opposed to spiritual eternity.
- religious: Relating to or believing in a divine faith.
- sacred: Connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose.
Commonly confused with
- laicized: Laicized refers specifically to clergy being reduced to lay status, while secular describes non-religious matters broadly.
Word family
- secularism (noun): The principle of separation of state and religious institutions.
- secularize (verb): To convert from religious to civil ownership or influence.
Collocations
- secular society
- secular education
- secular state
- secular governance
Example sentences
- "The modern state emerged through a gradual transition toward secular authority, separating civil governance from ecclesiastical control." Sociological analysis
Memory hook
Think of SEK-yoo-ler as living in the 'secular century'—focusing on present worldly life, not monastery life. Secular = saeculum (worldly time, not church time).
When not to use
Do not use to mean 'atheistic' or 'anti-religious'; a secular state protects religious freedom without endorsing a specific faith.
Fun facts
- In medieval Europe, 'secular priests' were priests who worked among ordinary people in parishes, unlike 'regular priests' who followed a strict monastic rule.
Related words
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