secular

Q: Are 'secular' and 'atheist' synonyms?

Although they may often come up in similar contexts, secular and atheist are not synonyms. Secular is most often used as an adjective (although it is also a noun), while atheist is mostly found as a noun ( atheistic and atheistical are the common adjective forms). Additionally, atheist means "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods," whereas secular has a number of meanings, including "not overtly or specifically religious," "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "occurring once in an age or a century."

Q: Is 'secular' always related to religion?

In contemporary English, secular is primarily used to distinguish something (such as an attitude, belief, or position) that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature (for example, music with no religious connection or affiliation might be described as "secular"). However, certain meanings of secular do have some basis in religion, such as "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation."

Q: Can 'secular' be a noun?

Secular does have some meanings as a noun, including "an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules; a member of the secular clergy." However, the word meaning "indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations" is secularism rather than secular .

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adjective

sec·u·lar ˈse-kyə-lər

Synonyms of secular next

: of or relating to the worldly or temporal

secular concerns

: not overtly or specifically religious

secular music

: not ecclesiastical or clerical

secular courts

secular landowners

: not bound by monastic vows or rules

specifically : of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation

a secular priest

: occurring once in an age or a century

: existing or continuing through ages or centuries

: of or relating to a long term of indefinite duration

secular inflation

secularity

ˌse-kyə-ˈler-ə-tē

-ˈla-rə-

noun

secularly

ˈse-kyə-lər-lē

adverb

secular

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noun

sec·u·lar ˈse-kyə-lər

plural seculars or secular

: an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules : a member of the secular clergy

: layman

Frequently Asked Questions

Are secular and atheist synonyms?

Although they may often come up in similar contexts, secular and atheist are not synonyms. Secular is most often used as an adjective (although it is also a noun), while atheist is mostly found as a noun (atheistic and atheistical are the common adjective forms). Additionally, atheist means "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods," whereas secular has a number of meanings, including "not overtly or specifically religious," "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "occurring once in an age or a century."

Is secular always related to religion?

In contemporary English, secular is primarily used to distinguish something (such as an attitude, belief, or position) that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature (for example, music with no religious connection or affiliation might be described as "secular"). However, certain meanings of secular do have some basis in religion, such as "not bound by monastic vows or rules," and "of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation."

Can secular be a noun?

Secular does have some meanings as a noun, including "an ecclesiastic (such as a diocesan priest) not bound by monastic vows or rules; a member of the secular clergy." However, the word meaning "indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations" is secularism rather than secular.

Examples of secular in a Sentence

Adjective Bloomberg, by contrast, would be the most pro-immigration, pro-free trade, pro-Wall Street candidate in the race. The third-party candidate he would most resemble is John Anderson, the fiscally responsible, culturally liberal Republican who ran as an Independent in 1980. Anderson won 7% of the vote, mostly among the young, educated and secular. But today those people are partisan Democrats. —

Peter Beinart, Time, 11 Feb. 2008

In the early twentieth century, priests and religious built centers for Catholic study and worship on secular campuses. —

Maurice Timothy Reidy, Commonweal, 7 Apr. 2006

Some women, indeed, achieved great renown for their religious scholarship, becoming role models for their peers and silently challenging men, who for so long had held a monopoly in this area. Though they never carried the title of "rabbi" and in many cases eschewed the controversial "f-word" (feminism) altogether, these Orthodox women produced no less a revolution in the late twentieth century than women did in so many other realms, religious and secular alike. By challenging Judaism, they ended up strengthening Judaism. —

Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism, 2004

The reforms of the nineteenth century and the needs of commercial and other contacts with Europe led to the enactment of new laws, modeled on those of Europe—commercial, civil, criminal, and finally constitutional. In the traditional order the only lawyers were the ulema, the doctors of the Holy Law, at once jurists and theologians. The secular lawyer, pleading in courts administering secular law, represented a new and influential element in society. —

Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong?, 2002

Both secular and religious institutions can apply for the funds. that's an issue for the secular authorities, not the church See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Many Israelis, both those for and against the judicial changes, say Israel is risking tearing itself apart, and that the judicial overhaul is just one aspect of what’s really fueling the divide – the battle between secular and religious, settler and not. —

Hadas Gold, CNN, 12 Sep. 2023 Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture. —

Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2023 Religious or secular, Friday night dinner is sacrosanct, with family, friends and lots and lots of food at the center. —

Shayndi Raice, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2023 Our 4-year-old is at a private preschool that is supposed to be secular, but my kid keeps coming home with lessons from a new teacher about a specific religion, including some teachings that are antithetical to our values (e.g., valuing boys more than girls). —

Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2023 The household was secular; Mr. Beaune never went to church or synagogue. —

Roger Cohen, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023 The baritone, Guy Hayward, is head of the British Pilgrimage Trust, a nonprofit that is spearheading a secular revival of these traditional journeys. —

Catherine Fairweather, Travel + Leisure, 28 Aug. 2023 Though their movement was largely secular, it was based in religious history. —

Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2023 The mother superior lectured her on the banality of secular music, and a nun tried to steal her music scores. —

Jonathan Kandell, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023

Noun

There was a change of heart among the secular nationalists during the second intifada—which started in 2000 and ended in 2005—in which seculars also joined forces. —

Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023 Once the dominant force in Israeli politics, the Israeli secular left has been in decline for decades. —

Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2022 Walrus-ivory carvings spanned the sacred and the secular: The ecclesiastical plaque at left features the figures of Christ, Mary and Peter, while the game piece at right is from a medieval precursor to backgammon. —

Zach Zorich, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2021 These data imply to me that the secular are getting idiocratic faster than the fundamentalists. —

Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2012 His selection of works, for example, mixed the sacred with the secular, interspersing chorale preludes (which use Lutheran hymns as their point of departure) with the six trio sonatas for organ. —

Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022 On the left, there are Catholics who embrace all the norms of the progressive Christianity that has nothing to say to anyone that cannot be said by a secular, left-wing NGO. —

WSJ, 26 Sep. 2022 There are many, many secular (and some religious) organizations serving needy people that don’t pry into their employees’ private lives or insist on an anti-LGBTQ stance for those providing or receiving services. —

Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'secular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French seculer, from Late Latin saecularis, from saeculum the present world, from Latin, generation, age, century, world; akin to Welsh hoedl lifetime

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of secular was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century