As the Wikipedia entry on secular religion says (and I’m inclined to take it as a definition): “A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities.”
But what is a “communal” belief system? Does it mean that there are also “non-communal” ones? Is there any belief system (with an emphasis on the word system) that is not communal but – let’s say – individual?
To go further: what does it mean that such a system “often” rejects or neglects metaphysical aspects? That sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t? Then what is the difference between a belief system that rejects or neglects metaphysical aspects and a belief system that doesn’t? Or do both of these belong to the same category?
Also, is it the same to “reject” something and to “neglect” it?
As for “metaphysical aspects”, I wonder what the non-metaphysical aspects of the “supernatural” would be, for “supernatural” seems very much like a per se metaphysical concept itself.
I also don’t understand what the phrase “commonly associated with” means. Who is this “common” self who associates the “supernatural” (whatever that means) with anything?
The term “traditional religion” – especially in the singular – is likewise difficult to understand. There may be traditions that are sometimes vaguely called “religious”, but I know of no such overarching category as a single “traditional” religion.
I’m also unaware of any “typical religious qualities,” just as I’m unaware of any “earthly” ones; at least until someone explains to me why the opposite of “religious” is “earthly”, especially when the very term “secular religion” suggests that “earthly religions” are just as “religious” as non-earthly ones.
The perhaps most miserable word of all is, of course,”entity”, which usually means “I-know-not-what” – but, as we have seen, it is true of the whole article that its creators had no idea of what they were talking about.
And this is just the beginning!