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secular

secular

1 5.8
A person who is not a member of the clergy
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛkjələr/
translation icon : laico
  • Many seculars advocate for the separation of church and state to ensure equal representation for all beliefs.
  • Sacred and Secular
  • religious and secular

Which I guessed, which is why seculars were so concerned with sports and with religion.

Examples

  • As a secular, she often participated in community events without any religious affiliations.

  • The gathering was full of seculars discussing politics and social issues instead of religious topics.

  • A complete division between the sacred and the secular was never attempted.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Which I guessed, which is why seculars were so concerned with sports and with religion.

  • The result of such power relationships is that over time, the realm of "the secular" is carved out by those with power, a process that excludes many who have little or no political voice.

    Academic text (2008)
  • By the time the seculars get done persecuting the Church, all we'll have left is a bunch of condos with stained glass windows.

  • The transition from the religious to the secular becomes a demoralizing limbo, a suspension between the obsolescence of God and the incoherence of the secular world.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Further, orthodox support for options favoring a stronger military reaction (categories 4 and 5) was 18.6%, while the support among the observant and the secular was 16.9% and 14.2%, respectively.

    Academic text (1996)

Synonyms

layman
vssecular
43 4.9

A person who is not an expert in a subject

is narrower, referring to non-membership of religious orders rather than lack of expertise
layperson
vssecular
14 4.9

A person who does not have special knowledge or training in a subject

refers specifically to non-membership of religious orders rather than general professions

Antonyms

73 3.6

A group of religious leaders like priests or pastors who lead Christian services

Compounds

A belief that people should use reason, not religion, to decide right and wrong

secular games
  • Literature
9.9

Religious ceremonies and public shows held every hundred years in ancient Rome

How Religious

parochial school
  • US
12 3.9
public school
  • US
305 1.0
secular
1 5.8

Surface Forms

secular singular
seculars plural

Etymology

Secular comes from the Latin word saecularis, from saeculum meaning 'age' or 'world'. So a secular is literally someone 'of the world' — a layperson who is not a member of the clergy or a religious order.