Secular

Definition

Secular refers to attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis. It can also signify lasting or occurring over an indefinitely long period.

Parts of Speech

• Adjective
• Noun

Pronunciation

American English

• IPA Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkjələr/
• Respelling: SEK-yuh-lər (with "SEK" as in "neck," "yuh" as a quick, soft sound similar to the 'y' in "yes," and "lər" as in "color")

British English

• IPA Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkjʊlə/
• Respelling: SEK-yuh-lə (with "SEK" as in "neck," "yuh" as in "cup" with a quick 'y' sound before it, and "lə" similar to the ending of "sofa")

In both dialects, "secular" starts with the "sek" sound, followed by a "yuh" sound that is slightly different in quality between the two accents, and ends with a syllable that sounds like "lər" in American English and "lə" in British English. The primary stress is on the first syllable, "SEK."

Etymology

The term secular originates from Old French seculer, from Latin saecularis, from saeculum 'generation, age', used in Christian Latin to mean 'the world'.

Derivatives

• Secularism
• Secularist
• Secularize
• Secularization
• Secularly

Synonyms

• Nonreligious
• Lay
• Temporal

Antonyms

• Religious
• Spiritual
• Ecclesiastical

Usage

The term secular is commonly used to differentiate between activities, attitudes, or things that are not influenced by religious doctrines and those that are. It's often utilized in discussions concerning the separation of church and state.

Related Terms

• Secularism
• Secularization
• Agnostic
• Atheist

Detailed Definition

Adjective

• Non-Religious: Not connected with religious or spiritual matters.‍
• Example: They are advocating for a secular government.

• Long-term: Occurring once in an age or a century.‍
• Example: The forest has secular trees that live for centuries.

• Permanent: Not subject to or bound by ecclesiastical rule; not belonging to or living in a monastic or other order.‍
• Example: The secular clergy lived in the regular world, outside a religious order.

Noun

• Secularist: A person who advocates separation of the state from religious institutions.‍
• Example: As a secular, he believed in the strict division of church and state.