Secularism or secularity are also used in the meaning of Laïcité, a concept related to the separation of state and religion.

Secularity is the state of being free from religious or spiritual qualities. For instance, eating a meal, playing a game, or bathing are examples of secular activities, because there is nothing inherently religious about them. Saying a prayer or visiting a place of worship are examples of non-secular activities. An approximate synonym for secular is worldly.

Secularism has two distinct meanings.

1. It asserts the freedom of religion, and freedom from religion, within a state that is neutral on matters of belief, and gives no state privileges or subsidies to religions.
2. It refers to a belief that human activities and decisions should be based on evidence and fact, and not superstitious beliefs, however devoutly held, and that policy should be free from religious domination. For example, a society deciding whether to promote condom use might consider the issues of disease prevention, family planning, and women's rights. A secularist would argue that such issues are relevant to public policy-making, whereas Biblical interpretation or church doctrine should not be considered and are irrelevant.

Secular movements

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More on [ Secularism ]

BBC News | UK | World Edition

House prices 'fall 10.5% in year'
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:42:19 -0000
UK house prices are down 10.5% on a year ago, the first annual double-digit fall since 1990, the Nationwide says.
Life sentence for gun factory man
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:36:31 -0000
A man who turned replica guns into live weapons linked to more than 50 shootings, including eight murders, is jailed for life.
Arson house 'could be searched today'
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:56:28 -0000
Police hope to be able to enter the home of a missing family that was destroyed in an arson attack as early as tonight.
Miliband warns over Russia crisis
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:46:58 -0000
David Miliband says Russia's invasion of Georgia marks the end of "the relative... calm" in Europe since the Soviet Union's collapse.
Hacker loses extradition appeal
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:31:36 -0000
A Briton accused of hacking into secret Nasa military computers loses his appeal against extradition to the US.
Airline jury given majority guide
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:34:34 -0000
The jury in the eight men accused of plotting a bomb attack on airlines is given a majority direction by the judge.

The Economist: Britain

Bagehot:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
The prime minister vanished; the leader of the opposition materialised in Tbilisi. Britain had a bad warHOLIDAYS in the BlackBerry era can be divided into two categories: “soft” (where the vacationer stays in radar contact and continues to exercise his thumbs) and “hard” (when he staves off divorce by switching everything off). David Cameron’s holiday was plainly in the soft category: one moment canoodling on a Cornish beach, the leader of the Conservative Party reappeared in Tbilisi, glad-handing Georgia’s embattled president. Meanwhile Gordon Brown, a prime minister famously, even worryingly, averse to relaxation, mostly sat out the Caucasian crisis in his holiday redoubt. Neither has distinguished himself. “I don’t like abroad,” King George V once remarked, “I’ve been there.” Mr Brown is often said to have a similar attitude to, and aptitude for, foreign relations. He gets worked up about globalisation and poverty; but he evinces little interest in the sort of tough diplomacy and realpolitik that Russia’s gangsterism calls for. He apparently talked about Georgia with George Bush, Ban Ki-moon and the rest by phone, but let others do the face-to-face peace-mongering. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, was also inconspicuous at first, though he eventually made it to Tbilisi on August 19th, denouncing Russia’s “adventurism and aggression”. ...
Football hooligans:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Once a pariah, Britain now advises other countries on how to keep orderGLARING down from a PowerPoint slide was a young Englishman with swastikas daubed on his bare chest. Gazing up at him was a delegation of Brazilian police, congressmen and football officials. Unlikely as it might seem, given England’s reputation for football loutishness, Brazil sent a team of experts to London this week to learn how to handle o hooliganismo when they stage the World Cup in 2014.Other foreign governments have also sought British help. South Africa has asked for British advice on its own World Cup in 2010; so have Poland and Ukraine, the hosts of the European Championships in 2012. Europe’s football association, which threatened England with a ban in 2000, now recommends the British model of policing. ...
The politics of fairness:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
The Conservatives battle Labour for ownership of the f-wordIN THE lexicon of political concepts, “fairness” is less exalted than liberty or equality. But that may be why it will be so keenly contested this autumn in Britain, a country more at home with common sense than grand theory.Gordon Brown plans to revive his ailing government under the theme of fairness. The Conservatives, for their part, are trying to counter the prime minister’s fightback before it gets going by claiming fairness for themselves. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, made the pre-emptive strike in a speech he gave on August 20th. ...
School examinations:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
The government digs its heels inFOR education, August is the cruellest month. GCSE results follow hot on the heels of A-level ones, sparking annual debates over whether pupils’ ever-more stellar performance reflects well on them and their schools, or badly on a government and exam system that encourage grade inflation. This year was no exception. The GCSE results, published on August 21st, of the first cohort educated entirely under Labour were record-breaking, as usual. A-levels likewise saw more passes, and more top grades. Breast-beating duly ensued. This year, though, a related issue has moved to the fore: whether over-testing in schools is leading to under-education. A review of primary education being co-ordinated by Cambridge University found that by the end of primary school children in England had taken more external tests than those in every other country the researchers had looked at. This is narrowing education and distorting the curriculum by encouraging teaching to the test, concluded a committee of MPs. And the pattern of relentless testing continues in secondary school, with external exams at 14, 16, 17 and 18. ...
Breaking up BAA:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Dismembering BAA should make it possible to develop a second hub airport for the capital and its regionAFTER years of being shamed by ever shabbier and more overcrowded airports, Britain is at last getting around to doing the right thing. On August 20th the Competition Commission, which investigates whether markets are working properly, released the damning findings of a 17-month study into the country’s airports. The report envisages the dismembering of BAA, the country’s dominant airports operator, as well as other proposals that amount to a wholesale rewrite of the government’s cherished aviation policy.The commission blamed long delays, overcrowding and a shortage of capacity that has long bedevilled Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, on a flawed regulatory regime, poor policy and, most important of all, BAA’s ownership of the three main London airports—Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It plans to force BAA to sell two of the three as well as another airport in Scotland. ...
The Olympics:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Why Britain’s athletes have done so wellEVERY four years in summer, the British prepare for their team to be gallant losers in the Olympics. But this August has brought winner upon winner. As The Economist went to press, the British team stood in third place in the medals table with 17 golds, behind only China and America, the most since 1908 when Britain hosted the games and fielded a third of the competitors, including all of them in some events. With some exceptions, such as Rebecca Adlington’s two golds in the pool, Britain’s medals were concentrated in three “sitting-down” sports: cycling, sailing and rowing. The achievements of the cyclists, winning eight golds, four silvers and two bronzes, were especially notable; Chris Hoy (shown in the picture) scored a golden hat-trick. Their success offers some clues to why Britain has staged such a comeback. ...

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