What does secularisation mean?
Secularisation is the process through which religion loses influence over social institutions, public policy, education, or collective life. It is often discussed in relation to the separation of church and state, declining religious participation, and the replacement of religious explanations with scientific, legal, or secular political frameworks. The word does not necessarily mean that religion vanishes from private life; rather, it describes a reduction in the authority religion exercises over public or institutional affairs. The related principle of secularism concerns the separation of religion and state, while secularisation usually names a historical or social process. Because the concept can describe both broad cultural change and specific institutional changes, writers should make the intended scope clear from context.
nounThe process by which something, especially a country’s institutions or public life, becomes less influenced by religious beliefs, authority, or practice. It can also refer more broadly to the declining social significance of religion.
- The process by which institutions, laws, or public life become less influenced by religion or religious authority.
- The broader decline in the social, cultural, or political importance of religion.
- The process of removing or reducing explicitly religious elements from public institutions, symbols, or practices.
"The gradual secularisation of public institutions has provoked debate over the role of religious belief in civic life."
"Historians have debated whether secularisation proceeded differently in Britain and the United States."
"The museum’s secularisation was achieved by replacing a crucifix with a work of secular art."
The plural is used when referring to separate processes of secularisation in different societies, institutions, or historical periods.
"The country has witnessed several stages of secularisation since the nineteenth century."
Secularisation does not necessarily mean that religion disappears; it often means that government, education, and public life no longer assume religious beliefs or authority as their foundation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does secularisation come from?
The word derives from the Latin adjective saecularis, meaning “of a generation” or “belonging to the world,” and ultimately from saeculum, meaning “age,” “generation,” or “the world.” In medieval Latin, saecularis came to include the sense “worldly,” as distinct from ecclesiastical or sacred. English “secular” was influenced by this development, and “secularisation” was formed in the 19th century from the verb “secularise” or “secularize,” using the suffix “-isation” or “-ization.”
Related word forms
How secularisation is actually used
The spelling with “s” is standard in British English, although “secularization” with “z” is common in American English. The term is most often used in historical, political, religious, and sociological contexts, and it does not by itself imply that religious belief has disappeared.
Easily confused with secularisation
Secularism is the principle or policy of separating governmental or public institutions from religious authority, whereas secularisation is the process through which religious influence in those areas declines.
Desecularisation is the reverse process, involving renewed or increased religious influence; it is also sometimes used for movements that oppose secularisation.