The study of secularity and secularism has emerged at the intersections of sociological studies of secularity and nonbelief, historical and cultural perspectives on secularization trends in many countries, political and global studies of the roles of religion and nonreligion in politics and church-state relations, rising interest in humanistic and cosmopolitan ethics as a lifestance for nonreligious people, and philosophical and religious studies into the ever-evolving dialogues between faith and reason over matters of ethics and public policy.
Secular Studies is a growing interdisciplinary academic field involving the study of non-religious people, groups, thought, and cultural expressions. Many disciplines are involved, from psychology and sociology to constitutional and political theory. Although the disciplines involved with secular studies have actively researched and debated social secularity and the politics of secularization for several decades, they are now in intense communication with each other, and a degree of cooperation and synthesis is emerging. This multi-dimensional field, already robust, will see vast growth over the next two decades.