Most modern concepts have outdated analogues, which over time have either become obsolete or almost become jargon of the 21st century. So, now for many, “secular” is an incomprehensible adjective that occasionally skips in conversations on a religious topic. Is there something derogatory, insulting to ordinary citizens who are far from church life? The situation has developed relatively recently, although for centuries the word has been used in everyday life. But what happened?
Proximity to people
The origin from the ambiguous term "world" is obvious. Only the speaker does not mean the entire universe, and not even planet Earth, but society! The studied epithet in its interpretations approaches the characteristics:
- secular;
- terrestrial;
- plain.
It indicates proximity to the people, the possibility of interaction with others, immersion in everyday worries. Why did the definition become an organic part of the rhetoric of the clergy and left the speech of the townsfolk? The point is the conservatism of the church.
Outdated vocabulary
Due to the evolution of the language due to self-development and borrowing of foreign concepts, the perception of native speakers is changing. The basic meaning of the word “worldly” was a synonym for “human”, that is, characteristic of people. Used when talking about a variety of things:
- about the way of thinking;
- about behavior;
- about clothes;
- about words;
- about life, etc.
Today's replacement is “public,” and the original term is labeled obsolete. In a narrow sense, the village community was called the world, as well as its gatherings, which is reflected in historical documents and in terms of phraseological units:
- With the world on a thread - a naked shirt.
- On the world, and death is red, etc.
Such an interpretation lost its power when the idea of ​​the community was replaced by collective farms and farms. Because of this, only the church concept of secular life has survived to the present, as opposed to monastic. Monks live reclusive, far from the temptations of society and devote themselves to service. And the laity give in to sin, because in their worries they do not always find time to pray or to realize the correctness of their actions “in the world”.
Appropriate speech
It’s okay if you’re used to saying “public” or “public”, now it’s the norm. For young listeners, “worldly” youth it is a direct association with the speeches of the patriarch or with the sermon of the priest. The word is devoid of emotional coloring, only emphasizes the attachment of a particular person to secular events, love of earthly pleasures, but does not condemn at all. In everyday conversation it will look strange, but useful to those who study historical documents about the Russian village.