I think H.G. Wells particular form of humanism is a good example for this. He rejects the notion of a God or creator, but is discomfited by the idea of a completely random universe. The "religious" understanding he reaches is not religious in the same sense that Christianity it, but still fits the structure of framing human understanding of the universe. Many of the humanist thinkers at the turn of the 20th century observed their "secular" belief structures as religion, just as one could argue the Deists did before them.

The "secular" nature of these approaches is no less a framing of understanding than religion is, and continues to be founded on a principled faith in a higher power: in this case, science.