secular

American  

[sek-yuh-ler] / ˈsɛk yə lər /

adjective

1. of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal.

   secular interests.

2. not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred).

   secular music.

3. (of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.

4. (of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows (opposed to regular).

5. occurring or celebrated once in an age or century.

   the secular games of Rome.

6. going on from age to age; continuing through long ages.

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noun

1. a layperson.

2. one of the secular clergy.

secular British  

/ ˈsɛkjʊlə /

adjective

1. of or relating to worldly as opposed to sacred things; temporal

2. not concerned with or related to religion

3. not within the control of the Church

4. 1. having no particular religious affinities

   2. not including compulsory religious studies or services

5. (of clerics) not bound by religious vows to a monastic or other order

6. occurring or appearing once in an age or century

7. lasting for a long time

8. astronomy occurring slowly over a long period of time

   the secular perturbation of a planet's orbit

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noun

1. a member of the secular clergy

2. another word for layman

secular Cultural  

1. Not concerned with religion or religious matters. Secular is the opposite of sacred.

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Discover More

Secularization refers to the declining influence of religion and religious values within a given culture. Secular humanism means, loosely, a belief in human self-sufficiency.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unsecular
  adjective
• supersecular
  adjective
• supersecularly
  adverb
• nonsecular
  adjective
• secularly
  adverb
• unsecularly
  adverb
• presecular
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of secular

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Medieval Latin sēculāris, Late Latin saeculāris “worldly, temporal (opposed to eternal),” Latin: “of an age,” equivalent to Latin saecul(um) “long period, age” + -āris -ar ¹

Explanation

Secular things are not religious. Anything not affiliated with a church or faith can be called secular. Non-religious people can be called atheists or agnostics, but to describe things, activities, or attitudes that have nothing to do with religion, you can use the word secular. Public schools are secular, but Catholic schools are not. Grocery stores are secular; a synagogue is not. If there's no religion involved, then you're in "the secular world" — as people sometimes call everything that exists outside of religion.

Example Sentences

“Oddly enough, this skepticism coupled with strong fundamentals and powerful secular trends is the combination of factors that can allow the markets to continue to climb the wall of worry higher.”

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

And Rossetti isn’t alone in seeing a spiritual nexus of a topic that, at least in secular circles, is more commonly discussed in the context of aliens.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

However, a sharp weakening of the Japanese yen triggered a massive secular outperformance for Japanese exporters, specifically automotive and electronics stocks.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

He isn’t running on an explicitly Christian message — that would be risky in a city with large Jewish, Catholic and secular constituencies.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

Reb Saunders had drawn the line not at secular literature, not at Freud—assuming he knew somehow that Danny had been reading Freud—but at Zionism.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Related Words

• civil
• materialistic
• worldly