What does secularize mean?
Secularize is a formal verb meaning to make something secular: to remove, reduce, or separate something from religious authority, religious character, or ecclesiastical control. It is especially common in discussions of government, education, law, institutions, and the ownership of religious property. For example, a state may secularize public education by making its curriculum independent of religious instruction, while a government may secularize a formerly religious institution by transferring its administration or property to public authority. The word can therefore imply either the removal of religious influence or a change in ownership or control. It is not simply a neutral synonym for “make worldly,” because it often suggests a deliberate institutional or legal transformation. Secularization, the corresponding noun, is widely used in debates about religion, politics, public institutions, and the changing relationship between religious and secular authority.
verbTo make something secular, especially by removing or reducing its religious character, institutional authority, or religious control. It can also refer to transferring property or an institution from religious to secular ownership or use.
- To make an institution, practice, or object secular by removing or reducing its religious character or control.
- To transfer property, an institution, or an activity from religious ownership or use to secular ownership or use.
"The committee sought to secularize public education while preserving its academic purpose."
"Reformers attempted to secularize the administration of the hospital without altering the services it provided."
"After years of legal disputes, the court ordered the monastery to secularize the land and sell it for housing."
Its root means “an age” or “the world”: to secularize is to bring something out of religious authority and into the world of ordinary civic or public life.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does secularize come from?
Secularize was formed in early 17th-century English from “secular” and the suffix “-ize.” Its base ultimately comes through French from Latin saecularis, meaning “of an age or generation” and “worldly,” which was derived from saeculum, “age, generation, or world.” The same Latin foundation underlies related English forms such as secularism, secularist, and secularity.
Related word forms
How secularize is actually used
This is a formal word used especially in political, legal, religious, educational, and institutional contexts. It often carries an implication of transferring authority or ownership from religious to nonreligious control, and it may be perceived as critical depending on the speaker's perspective. British English commonly uses the spelling “secularise.”