Secular
Of this world, not the next. Centuries of separating church and state โ actually, church from power.
How We Say It
sekยทyooยทlษr
Where It Comes From
Latin saeculum โ generation, age, the present world (as opposed to eternity). In medieval Latin, saecularis distinguished things of the world from things of the church. A 'secular' priest was one who lived in the world rather than a monastery.
How It's Been Used
In political theory: the separation of religious authority from state authority. 'Secular state' means government does not derive authority from religion and does not enforce religious practice โ not that it is hostile to religion. In sociology, 'secularization' describes the declining role of religion in public life in modern societies โ a trend that is less universal than once assumed. In common use, 'secular' often means simply 'non-religious' โ a narrowing from its original meaning of 'belonging to this world.'