secular authority
Non-religious governing power
Secular authority is power exercised by civil government rather than religious institutions.
The phrase typically appears in discussions of church-state relations, where secular authority governs worldly affairs—laws, taxes, defense—while religious authority addresses spiritual matters: The king claimed secular authority over marriage, defying the pope.
The balance between the two has shaped Western political history.
- state powerGovernment's capacity to govern
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- governmentAuthority over a state
- governing bodyLeadership entity with control
- legislative branchGovernment's lawmaking arm
law · judiciary · rule of law · institution · democracy · economy · trade policy · sovereignty · culture · citizenship · bureaucracy · parliament · statute · ideology · monarchy · hierarchy · regulation · taxation
secular authorityreligious authority
Governing force in faith
theocracy · divine authority · spiritual authority · papal authority · divine right
secular authoritychurch authority
Religious institutional governing power
religious institution · religious hierarchy · clergy · priesthood · religious establishment
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