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  1.  A more “classical” definition of the secular, as distinguished from the sacred — the earthly plane of domestic life. Priests tend the sacred; butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers carry out “secular” work.
  2. A more “modern” definition of the secular as areligious — neutral, unbiased, “objective” — as in a “secular” public square. The doctrine of secularism that pushes for public institutions (schools, government, etc.) to be areligious is typically associated with this definition. Roughly equivalent to the French doctrine of laïcité and often expressed in terms of the “separation of church and state.”
  3. The notion of the secular as an age of contested belief put forth by philosopher Charles Taylor, where religious belief is no longer axiomatic. It’s possible to imagine not believing in God.1Smith, James K. A.. How (Not) to Be Secular (pp. 142-143). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

We commonly mistake modern secularism for the absence of religion.2The term ‘religion’ was originally related to life under monastic vows. Only relatively recently has it come to mean something like a unified system of beliefs about the sacred, which most certainly applies to secularism. This modern definition of religion assumes “the reduction of God to an area called ‘sacred’ (’spiritual,’ ‘supernatural’) — as opposed to the world as ‘profane.’” as Alexander Schmemann says. “It is, in fact, itself a religion, and as such, an explanation of death and a reconciliation with it.”3Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World Secularism “is the religion of those who are tired of having the world explained in terms of an ‘other world’ of which no one knows anything, and life explained in terms of a ‘survival’ about which no one has the slightest idea; tired of having, in other words, life given ‘value’ in terms of death. Secularism is rather an ‘explanation’ of death in terms of life.”4ibid The only world the secularist knows is this world and the only life given to them is this life and so it is up to them to make life as meaningful, as rich, and as happy as possible. The core tenet of this faith is that “life ends with death.”5ibid It is a rather odd and non-falsifiable eschatology that rationalizes death. They speak of death by natural causes, but anyone who has gazed upon a corpse knows there is not such thing as a “natural death.”

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