Semantics Irreligious vs Secular Two thirds of the Soviet population however were irreligious The word irreligious may connote hostility as well as indifference As I suspect its usage here was not meant to convey that some part of the Soviet population may have acted with hostility towards religion I believe that the word secular may be more appropriate However if it is true that some part of the Soviet population demonstrated or at least avowed hostility towards religion or the religious I would concede that the use of irreligious may be justified with the condition that a citation is added Indeed the first two paragraphs need sources in general