You use secular to describe things that have no connection with religion.
He spoke about preserving the country as a secular state.
...secular and religious education.
Synonyms: worldly, state, lay, earthly More Synonyms of secular
secular in British English
(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. (of an education, etc)
a.
having no particular religious affinities
b.
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
noun
9.
a member of the secular clergy
10. another word for layman
Derived forms
secularly (ˈsecularly)
adverb
Word origin
C13: from Old French seculer, from Late Latin saeculāris temporal, from Latin: concerning an age, from saeculum an age
secular in American English
(ˈsɛkjələr)
adjective
1.
a.
of or relating to worldly things as distinguished from things relating to church and religion; not sacred or religious; temporal; worldly
secular music, secular schools
b.
of or marked by secularism; secularistic
2.
ordained for a diocese
3.
a.
coming or happening only once in an age or century
b.
lasting for an age or ages; continuing for a long time or from age to age
noun
4.
a cleric ordained for a diocese
5.
a person not a cleric; layman
Derived forms
secularly (ˈsecularly)
adverb
Word origin
ME seculer < OFr < LL(Ec) saecularis, worldly, profane, heathen < L, of an age < saeculum, an age, generation < IE *seitlo- < base *sei-, to scatter, sow1
Examples of 'secular' in a sentence
secular
She was pushing her husband to leave the church and find secular employment.
Christianity Today (2000)
What should religion do in a secular age?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The secular clergy experienced the least change.
Shubert, Adrian A Social History of Modern Spain (1991)
We were left pondering how to spark activism in a largely secular country.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
As societies become richer they become more secular.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He is a bridge between the secular and religious.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This is not an age of secular ideologies.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The real task is to recycle elements of religion for secular use.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
He was not a saint, secular or otherwise.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What interests their writers is the existential, amoral emptiness in the heart of modern secular man.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The next year properties of the secular clergy, which had not been sold were returned.
Shubert, Adrian A Social History of Modern Spain (1991)
Secular politics have become boring to many people, evoking apathy rather than fervour.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
A champion of the people, he died a secular saint, but a deeply troubled one.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
secular
British English: secular ADJECTIVE
You use secular to describe things that have no connection with religion.
...religious and secular authorities.
American English: secular
Brazilian Portuguese: secular
Chinese: 非宗教的
European Spanish: secular
French: laïque
German: weltlich
Italian: secolare
Japanese: 非宗教的な
Korean: 비종교적인
European Portuguese: secular
Latin American Spanish: secular
Chinese translation of 'secular'
secular
(ˈsɛkjuləʳ)
adj
非宗教的 (fēizōngjiào de)
(adjective)
Definition
not connected with religion or the church
secular and religious education
Synonyms
worldly
It is time you woke up and focused your thoughts on more worldly matters.
state
lay
He is a Methodist lay preacher and social worker.
earthly
They lived in an earthly paradise.
civil
This civil unrest threatens the economy.
temporal
Clergy should not be preoccupied with temporal matters.
profane
He had a reputation as profane and bad-tempered.
laic
nonspiritual
laical
Opposites
religious
,
spiritual
,
holy
,
sacred
,
divine
,
theological
Additional synonyms
in the sense of civil
Definition
of or occurring within the state or between citizens
This civil unrest threatens the economy.
Synonyms
civic,
home,
political,
domestic,
interior,
municipal
in the sense of earthly
Definition
of life on earth as opposed to any heavenly or spiritual state
They lived in an earthly paradise.
Synonyms
worldly,
material,
physical,
secular,
mortal,
mundane,
terrestrial,
temporal,
human,
materialistic,
profane,
telluric,
sublunary,
non-spiritual,
tellurian,
terrene
in the sense of lay
Definition
of or involving people who are not members of the clergy
He is a Methodist lay preacher and social worker.
Synonyms
nonclerical,
secular,
non-ordained,
laic,
laical
Synonyms of 'secular'
secular
Explore 'secular' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of profane
Definition
showing disrespect for religion or something sacred
He had a reputation as profane and bad-tempered.
Synonyms
sacrilegious,
wicked,
irreverent,
sinful,
disrespectful,
heathen,
impure,
godless,
ungodly,
irreligious,
impious,
idolatrous
in the sense of temporal
Definition
of secular as opposed to spiritual or religious affairs
Clergy should not be preoccupied with temporal matters.