secularization
The action or process of converting something from religious to secular possession or use; the fading of religious influence in society.
It describes the historical shift where religious institutions lose their authority over various aspects of social life, such as education and law.
Word relationships
- laicization: Specifically refers to the transfer of control from the clergy to the laity (non-clergy).
- disenchantment: Max Weber's term for the loss of magical or religious meaning in the modern world.
- sacralization: The process of making something sacred or religious.
- revivalism: A tendency to revive a former custom or belief, especially in religion.
Commonly confused with
- secularism: Secularism is the ideology or principle of separating church and state, while secularization is the actual process of that happening in society.
Word family
- secular (adjective): not connected with religious or spiritual matters
- secularize (verb): to make secular
Collocations
- process of secularization
- secularization thesis
- rapid secularization
- secularization of society
Example sentences
- "By secularization we mean the process by which sectors of society and culture are removed from the domination of religious institutions and symbols." Sociological definition. (Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy)
- "The secularization of Western Europe has led to many former churches being converted into libraries or community centers." Modern social trends.
Memory hook
Think of 'secular' as 'of the century' (saeculum)—focused on the here and now, not the afterlife. Focused on the age, not the altar.
When not to use
Do not confuse it with 'atheism'; secularization is a social process, while atheism is a personal belief.
Fun facts
- The 'Secularization Thesis' predicted that as societies modernize, religion would inevitably decline—a theory still hotly debated today.
- In the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the term was used to describe the transfer of church lands to princes.
Related words
Explore more words
laicization, desacralize, secularism, secular, disestablishment, irreligion
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