Secular Meaning: Life, Law and Learning Outside Religion

Secular meaning in its main senses

1. Not religious. Concerned with everyday, worldly matters. "She enjoys both religious and secular music."
2. Not controlled by a religious body. Used for states, courts, schools and hospitals. "It is a secular university, though it has a chapel."
3. In church use: clergy living in the world. Secular priests serve parishes, unlike monks and nuns who live under the rule of a religious order.
4. Long-term (science and economics). A secular trend lasts over a long period rather than following short cycles. "Economists debated whether the slowdown was secular or temporary."

The last sense surprises people, but it comes from the same root meaning "an age," so a secular change is one measured across ages.

Examples in sentences

• The wedding had a secular ceremony in a garden, followed by a religious blessing at home.
• Many public holidays mix religious roots with secular traditions like gift giving.
• Our school is secular, so students from every faith and none sit in the same classes.
• Researchers noticed a secular rise in average height over several generations.
• He studies secular history, while his sister focuses on religious texts.

Secularism: the idea behind secular states

Secularism is the principle that government and religion should be kept separate, and that the state should not favor one religion over others or over non-belief. Countries apply it differently.

• Strict separation. Some states keep religion almost entirely out of public institutions, for example limiting religious symbols in state schools.
• Equal distance or equal respect. Others allow the state to deal with all religions, funding or regulating some activities, while aiming to treat every faith fairly.

India describes itself as secular in its Constitution: the word was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. Indian secularism is usually explained as equal respect for all religions rather than strict separation. The US Constitution does not use the word, but its First Amendment bars the government from establishing a religion and protects free exercise of religion.

Why people disagree about it

Supporters of strong secularism argue that a neutral state protects minorities and keeps public decisions based on shared reasons that everyone can accept. Critics argue that some versions push faith out of public life unfairly, or that the label can be applied selectively. Others say the real question is not whether a state is secular but which model it follows. These debates touch education, family law, public holidays and dress codes, and thoughtful people hold different views. For related ideas, see democracy and constitution.

Origin: from an age to the world

Secular comes through Old French from Latin saecularis, "of an age or generation," from saeculum. In Christian Latin, saeculum came to mean "the world" as opposed to the church, so saecularis meant worldly. That is how English got both the "not religious" sense and the scientific "long-lasting" sense from one root.

Secular, atheist, agnostic: not the same

A deeply religious person can support a secular state, and a secular school can have many religious students. Related civic terms appear in law, politics and society, and there is a separate page for religion.