What does secularity mean?
Secularity is the quality of being secular: primarily the separation of religion from government and public institutions, but also an emphasis on worldly rather than religious affairs. In modern democratic and legal contexts, the word commonly describes a state whose public authority is not controlled by a religious institution or doctrine. It does not necessarily mean that religion is absent from society, nor does it imply that citizens must be irreligious. Secularity can therefore be discussed as a neutral constitutional principle or criticized as a cultural development associated with declining religious influence. The related word secularism more often names a political movement, policy, or viewpoint favoring religious separation, while secularity can describe the broader condition of a society or institution.
nounThe quality or condition of being secular, especially the separation of religion from government and public institutions, or the prioritization of worldly affairs over religious concerns.
- The separation of religion from government, public institutions, or civic life.
- The quality of being oriented toward worldly affairs rather than religious or spiritual concerns.
"The country’s secularity allows people of different faiths to participate equally in public life."
"The new law was defended as a measure of secularity because it placed public authority outside religious control."
"Critics worried that the emphasis on secularity would weaken the traditions that gave the community its identity."
The plural is uncommon; secularity is normally used as an uncountable noun.
"The debate brought together contrasting models of institutional and cultural secularities."
Secularity means that religion can remain part of private life without governing the state, but it does not require a society to become nonreligious.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does secularity come from?
Secularity ultimately derives from Latin saeculum, meaning “age,” “generation,” or “world,” through the adjective secular and the English suffix -ity. Latin saecularis originally referred to something belonging to the world or to a long period, and the word later developed the sense of pertaining to worldly rather than ecclesiastical affairs. Secularism, secularize, and saecular share this Latin foundation, with the modern political sense of secularism developing in the context of religion and the state.
How secularity is actually used
Generally formal and intellectual in tone. It may be neutral when describing institutional arrangements, but it can have a negative connotation when it implies hostility toward religion or the marginalization of religious communities.
Easily confused with secularity
Secularity is the quality of being separate from religious authority or primarily concerned with worldly affairs, whereas secularism is the political principle or policy of supporting that separation.