Seculier

Séculier (séculier in French) is an adjective meaning secular, worldly, or non-religious, and by extension relating to the temporal or profane sphere as opposed to the sacred. In English, the closest equivalent is secular. The term derives from Latin saecularis meaning “of the age, worldly,” via Old French seculier.

Common senses include: relating to the world rather than the church; non-religious or indifferent to religion; and in historical or ecclesiastical usage, describing the secular clergy as opposed to regular or monastic orders. The word can describe people, objects, or policies that operate independently of religious authority.

In political and legal contexts, secularism or laïcité denotes a principle of separating religion from government and public life. The French model of laïcité emphasizes state neutrality toward religion and equal treatment of all beliefs, particularly in public institutions such as schools and civil services. Terms like secularism, secularisation, and laicism are used to discuss whether laws, policies, or institutions are secular in nature, meaning they function without religious control.

Within religion, the distinction between secular and clerical spheres can yield the concept of secular clergy (clergé séculier), who serve in parishes and other lay-involved religious roles, as opposed to regular clergy associated with monastic orders.

See also: secularism, laïcité, secularisation, laicism.