在欧洲，天主教会如前所述，以宗教之名支配着生活、社会、国家与民众。它将其支配力延伸至国王与统治者身上，从神圣权威的角度出发，为他们的统治授权，赋予其必要的合法性。因此，统治者与国王都臣服于天主教会，有时为了自身利益，他们也会与天主教会结盟。天主教会还通过宣称自己拥有通过赦免与圣事施行宽恕的权利，来扩大对民众的支配。凡违背其教导者，都将遭受残酷的宗教裁判与惩罚性的开除教籍。教会还通过占有土地与财富（来源于什一税等）来控制经济。 然而，从16世纪初开始，其影响力逐渐衰落。这是由多种因素造成的，其中最重要的是由马丁·路德领导的宗教改革。宗教改革为西方人所谓的国家主导与政教分离铺平了道路。马塞尔·戈谢在其著作《民主的降临·第一卷：现代革命》（法文：L'avenement de la democratie I La revolution moderne）中说道：“路德的运动打击了居于核心的中介原则，而这一原则以教会为代表，教会是在基督教世界中使其具体化的枢纽性机构……它所引发的对天与地之统一的质疑，是现代时代的第一步。（法文：L’operation de Luther frappe le principe de mediation au coeur, sous les traits de I’Eglise, I’institution pivot qui le materialisait dans le monde Chretien... La remise en question de I’unite du Ciel et de la Terre qu’elle engage est le premier pas de I’ere moderne.）”

In Europe, the Catholic Church as discussed earlier had been dominating life, society, state and people in the name of religion. It extended its dominance over kings and rulers, from the perspective of the idea of divine authority. It would authorize ruling for them, providing them the necessary legitimacy. Thus, rulers and kings would submit to the Catholic Church. At times they would ally with the Catholic Church for the sake of their interests. The Catholic Church extended its dominance over the people by claiming that it had possessed the right of forgiveness, through absolution and sacrament. Whosoever violated its teachings would be subjected to brutal inquisition and punitive excommunication. The Church controlled the economy by possessing lands and wealth resulting from tithes and others. However, from the beginning of the sixteenth century CE, its influence began to gradually wane. This was due to many factors, the most important of which is the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. Reformation paved the way for what the Westerners assert is the dominance of the state and the separation of religion. In his book, The Advent of Democracy Volume 1 The Modem Revolution (French: L'avenement de la democratie I La revolution moderne), Marcel Gauchet said, “Luther's operation strikes at the principle of mediation at the heart, at the auspices of the Church, the pivotal institution which materialized it in the Christian world... The questioning of what the unity between the Heaven and the Earth engages over, is the first step of the modern era. (French: L’operation de Luther frappe le principe de mediation au coeur, sous les traits de I’Eglise, I’institution pivot qui le materialisait dans le monde Chretien... La remise en question de I’unite du Ciel et de la Terre qu’elle engage est le premier pas de I’ere moderne.)”.

由于新教的兴起,英格兰放弃了天主教教义,建立了英国国教会,以强调王权对教会的至高地位,并与罗马及教皇权威决裂。随后爆发了三十年战争,哈布斯堡王朝、西班牙帝国、法国、瑞典、丹麦-挪威以及日耳曼诸邦均卷入其中。战争持续至1648年,当年开始签署构成《威斯特伐利亚和约》的各项条约,宗教战争由此结束。它标志着现代民族国家开始出现,因为其中包含了教会财产世俗化的内容,即这些财产被转交给非宗教权威,也就是世俗的国家政府机构。所有这些都与欧洲在地理大发现阶段之后所经历的经济发展同时发生,也与前面提到的思想和科学革命所带来的、人们对教会及其教义和知识看法的改变同时发生。

As a result of the emergence of Protestantism, England abandoned the Catholic doctrine and established the Anglican Church to emphasize royal supremacy over it, separating from Rome and the Papal authority. Then the Thirty Years War broke out, in which the Hapsburg monarchy, the Spanish Empire, France, Sweden, Denmark-Norway and Germanic entities participated. The war continued until 1648, the year in which the treaties constituting the Peace of Westphalia began to be signed, ending the religious war. It marked the beginnings of the emergence of the modern nation state, as it included the reference to the secularization of church assets, meaning that they were transferred to non-religious authorities, i.e. temporal state authorities. All of this coincided with economic developments witnessed by Europe, after the stage of geographical discoveries. Also, it coincided with the change in view about the Church, its teachings and knowledge, through the intellectual and scientific revolutions that has been mentioned previously.

由于上述所有因素,欧洲在一种有利于将宗教与生活分离的氛围中迎来了公元十八世纪,这一点在1789年法国大革命的原则中得到了确认。这一理念直到公元十九世纪末和二十世纪初才得以巩固并付诸实施,后来被称为世俗主义。世俗主义的源头在于尘世性与世俗性之意,源自"世界"(^)之义,而非源自知识或科学(<^)。在法语国家和天主教国家中,它被称为LaTcite。值得一提的是,并非所有采纳世俗主义的西方国家都在宪法中明文规定了世俗主义。相反,有些国家如英国,则规定某一特定教会或某一特定宗教为国教。然而,作为对照的例子,法国依据1905年的法律,在《法国宪法》第1条中规定不鼓励宗教介入政府事务。

As a result of all these factors, Europe welcomed the eighteenth century CE within an atmosphere conducive to separating religion from life, as affirmed by the principles of the French Revolution of 1789. The idea was not consolidated and implemented until the end of the nineteenth century CE and the beginning of the twentieth century CE, when it was later known as secularism. The origin of secularism is in the sense of Earthliness and worldliness from the sense of the world (^) and not from knowledge or science (<^). It is called LaTcite in the Francophone and Catholic nations. It is worthy of mention that not all Western nations that adopted secularism, stipulated secularism in their constitutions. Instead, some, like England, stipulate a particular church or a particular religion as the religion of the state. However, France, as a contrasting example, enacted Article 1 of the French Constitution discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, based on the 1905

法国《政教分离法》(法语：Loi du 9 décembre 1905 concernant la séparation des Églises et de l'État)。在历史、思想和政治层面的考量下，它被视为一种特例。因此，一些西方人将"世俗主义"(secularism)与"政教分离原则"(Laïcité)区分开来，因为Laïcité是法国宪法所规定的世俗主义。

French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State (French: Loi du 9 decembre 1905 concernant la separation des Eglises et de I’Etat). It is considered an anomaly in the context of historical, intellectual and political considerations. That is why, some Westerners differentiate between secularism and Laicite as Laicite is the secularism stipulated by France constitutionally.

世俗主义通常被定义为政教分离，即教会与国家的分离。然而，这一最初的定义既不能完整涵盖这一哲学思想，也不能充分阐明其学说。它所表达的，仅仅是一种结果，即西方人确信应当将宗教与生活分离。这便是西方自十八世纪以来所遵循的世俗主义观念，它既体现在学说层面，也体现在哲学层面。然而，世俗主义最显著的特征，实际上是由象征它的两个主体所决定的。一方面是教会，它代表着宗教，承载着古老的信仰与教义；另一方面是国家，它代表着生活，体现着现代的、理性主义的各种方式。

Secularism is often defined as the separation of the Church from the state. However, this first definition neither completely encapsulates the philosophy nor fully elucidates its doctrine. Instead it only expresses the consequence, which is that the West reached the conviction of separating of religion from life. This is the concept of secularism followed by the West since the eighteenth century, in both doctrinal and philosophical realms. However, the most distinct characteristics are practically determined by the two bodies that symbolize secularism. They are, on the one hand, the Church, as a body expressing the religion with its ancient beliefs and teachings, and, on the other hand, the state as a body expressing life with its modern, rationalist modalities.

对于西方人自己的定义而言，世俗主义或世俗化（Laicite）的现实还有第二种含义，即宗教与生活的分离。例如，莫里斯·巴尔比耶（Maurice Barbier）在其著作《世俗化》（La Laicite）中说：“从广义上讲，世俗化意味着宗教与世俗现实（les realites profanes）之间的分离。”这一说法假定，这些世俗现实既不受宗教的涵盖，也不受宗教的影响。所谓宗教，指的是信仰，或任何团体，或任何宗教权威。由此可见，西方的哲学独立于神学之外。各门科学是在基督教的框架之外形成的。事实上，科学有时与基督教截然对立。同样，政治、社会、文化等一切人类现实，都应独立于宗教之外。这一点是通过长期的分离而实现的，这就是我们所说的世俗化或去宗教化。

The reality of secularism or Laicite, in the definitions of the Westerners themselves, also appears as a second definition, the separation of religion from life. For example, Maurice Barbier says in his book La Laicite, “In its broad sense, Laicite means the separation between the religion and worldly realities (les realites profanes).” It assumes that these worldly realities are subject neither to the inclusion nor influence of religion. What is meant by religion is beliefs or any group or any religious authority. Thus, we see that the philosophy in the West is independent of theology. Various sciences were formed outside the framework of Christianity. Indeed, the sciences were polar opposites to Christianity at times. Similarly, all the human realities such as political, social and cultural and other realities, are to be independent of religion. This was achieved by the long-term separation, which is what we call secularization or laicization.

正因如此,若某一社会、思想或道德完全不受宗教影响,仅遵循理性主义或人文主义体系的原则,我们便可将其称为LaTcite。从狭义上讲,例如教育若不含任何宗派(教派)或宗教特征,我们便可将其称为LaTcite的教育。哲学家查尔斯·泰勒在其著作《世俗时代》中区分了西方持有的三种世俗主义定义:"对世俗性的一种理解,是从公共空间的角度来看的。据称,这些空间已被清空了上帝,或清空了对终极实在的任何指涉。或者从另一面来看,当我们在各个活动领域中运作时——经济、政治、文化、教育、职业、娱乐——我们所遵循的规范和原则,我们所进行的审议,通常不会让我们想到上帝或任何宗教信仰;我们所依据的考量,都内在于每个领域自身的'理性'之中——经济中追求最大利润,政治领域中追求最大多数人的最大利益,诸如此类。这与早期时期形成鲜明对比,那时基督教信仰颁布了权威性的规定,往往通过神职人员之口宣布,在这些领域中都不易被忽视,例如禁止高利贷,或强制推行正统信仰的义务。"

It is for this reason that we can characterize any society or thought or morality as LaTcite, if it is completely devoid of any religious influence, and if it only follows the principles within the rationalist or humanist regimes. In the narrow sense of the word, we can characterize education in LaTcite, for example, as not containing any sectarian (denominational) or religious characteristics. The philosopher Charles Taylor, in his book, A Secular Age, distinguishes between three definitions of secularism held in the West, “One understanding of secularity then is in terms of public spaces. These have been allegedly emptied of God, or of any reference to ultimate reality. Or taken from another side, as we function within various spheres of activity—economic, political, cultural, educational, professional, recreational—the norms and principles we follow, the deliberations we engage in, generally don’t refer us to God or to any religious beliefs; the considerations we act on are internal to the “rationality” of each sphere—maximum gain within the economy, the greatest benefit to the greatest number in the political area, and so on. This is in striking contrast to earlier periods, when Christian faith laid down authoritative prescriptions, often through the mouths of the clergy, which could not be easily ignored in any of these domains, such as the ban on usury, or the obligation to enforce orthodoxy.”.

至于西方对世俗主义的第三种定义,它着重于贬低宗教。用查尔斯·泰勒的话来说:"作为孩子,我们必须觉得自己被关爱和关怀所包围,否则我们就会萎缩。但在成长过程中,我们必须学会面对这样一个事实:这种关怀的环境不可能延伸到人类之外,而且在人类之内也大多延伸得并不远。然而这种转变是艰难的。于是我们便构想出一个由仁慈的上帝所创造、充满天意的世界……因此,宗教源于一种幼稚的缺乏勇气。我们需要像男子汉一样挺身而出,直面现实。"

As for the third Western definition of secularism, it focused on the denigration of religion. In the words of Charles Taylor, “As children, we have to see ourselves as surrounded by love and concern, or we shrivel up. But in growing up, we have to learn to face the fact that this environment of concern can’t extend beyond the human sphere, and mostly doesn’t extend very far within it. But this transition is hard. So we project a world which is providential, created by a benign God... So religion emanates from a childish lack of courage. We need to stand up like men, and face reality.”.

一些西方思想家对世俗主义（Laicite）进行了进一步的划分，但并不将其视为一个单一、统一的政治哲学范式。另有一些思想家将其划分为法国和盎格鲁-撒克逊两种世俗主义传统。还有一些人把世俗主义细分为"软"与"硬"两种变体。有的人将其分为开放的世俗主义（Laicite ouverte，即"开放型世俗主义"），对宗教有较大容忍度，如美国；以及激进的世俗主义（Laicite militante，即"战斗型世俗主义"），更接近法国的模式。也有人将世俗主义分为无神论与非无神论两种形式。还有人将其划分为局部或全面的世俗主义等等。所有这些分类，尤其是某些穆斯林中常见的关于世俗主义局部与全面的划分，都没有改变世俗主义或Laicite的本质。世俗主义的本质是将宗教与生活分离，进而导致宗教与国家的分离。局部世俗主义并不仅仅是一种务实的、操作层面的观点。相反，局部世俗主义是一种基于理性主义哲学的思想立场，它不承认宗教有权统治和管理人们的事务。世俗解决方案的操作层面，不能如某些人所主张的那样，与其思想和哲学层面割裂开来。这是因为主张局部世俗主义的人，需要在思想和哲学上论证该路径的真理性与正当性。因此，世俗主义-Laicite就是将宗教与生活分离。世俗主义是西方的信条、思想基础和思想领导地位。

Some Western thinkers go on to classify secularism- Laicite, without regarding it as a single, cohesive political- philosophical paradigm. Yet other thinkers sub-divide it into French and Anglo-Saxon secularist traditions. Some of them sub-classified secularism into “soft” and “hard” variants. Some of them classified as Laicite ouverte (open secularism), with greater tolerance of religion as in the US, and Laicite militante (militant secularism), which is more like France. Some of them classified secularism into atheist and non-atheist variants. Amongst them are those who sub-classified secularism into partial or comprehensive and so on. All these classifications, particularly the partial and comprehensive divisions of secularism, that are common amongst some of the Muslims, do not change the reality of secularism or Laicite in its nature. Secularism’s nature is that of separating the religion from life, which in turns results in the separation of religion from the state. Partial secularism is not just a pragmatic, operational view. Instead, partial secularism is an intellectual viewpoint based on the rationalist philosophy, which does not recognize the validity of religion to rule and take care of the affairs of people. The operational aspect of secular solutions cannot be separated from the intellectual and philosophical aspects, as some may hold. This is because the one who advocates partial secularism needs to justify the truth and validity of the approach, intellectually and philosophically. Therefore, secularism-Laicite is the separation of religion from life. Secularism is the creed, intellectual basis and intellectual leadership of the West.

至于说世俗主义是西方的信仰，那是因为它是西方最终确认的根本思想。西方认为，世俗主义是解决人类最大难题的方案，它代表着一种关于宇宙、人和生命的全面观点，涵盖生命与今世之前和之后的一切关系。至于说世俗主义是西方的思想基础，那是因为它是所有子思想（分支）赖以建立的根基（usoo/），是生活体系由此产生的根源。至于说世俗主义是西方的思想领导，那是因为西方引导所有接受世俗主义的人，使其形成特定的生命观、特定的生活方式，并以一套共同的标准，从特定的角度去评判思想、事实和事件。

As for secularism being the creed of the West, this is because it is the fundamental thought affirmed by the West conclusively. Secularism is considered by the West as the solution for the greatest problem of humankind, representing a comprehensive viewpoint about universe, man and life, in all of their relationships with what is before and after this worldly life. As for secularism being the intellectual basis of the West, this is because it is the foundation (usoo/) upon which all the sub-thoughts (branches) are built. It is the foundation from which the system for living emerges. As for secularism being the intellectual leadership of the West, this is because the West leads all those who adopt secularism into a specific viewpoint about life, into a specific way of living and into a shared criterion for judging thoughts, facts and events, all from a specific angle.

世俗主义在作为一种信仰、思想基础和思想领导权方面是有缺陷的。这种缺陷源于若干方面，其中包括：

Secularism is corrupted with respect to its being a creed, intellectual basis and intellectual leadership. Its corruption arises from several aspects, some of which are: