Can you help me find the right word/s? See details.
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ETpro (
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January 8th, 2013
It isn’t even easy to give you a two or three word summary of what word I’m looking for. If it were, a reverse dictionary would be all I’d need. It has to do with the sort of cultural center that religion provides in most cultures. The word search stems from my membership in Boston Atheists and specifically the discussion about wording begun by past Boston Atheist president, Zachary Bos. Zachary wrote on the blog an article titled, “What’s a word for atheist church? And crowdsourcing alternatives to ‘interfaith’.”
Zachary goes on to say, “Prompted by a presentation…, I roused myself to compile a list of words which might serve as alternatives to the problematic term “interfaith”. I’d like to ask you to take a look and suggest your own alternatives, and to circulate the URL so as to get as many people as are interested in the topic to take a look and make their own suggestions.”
So following Zac’s lead, I’m circulating the URL. What works better than “interfaith” center when speaking of atheists and agnostics gathering together to better their community and engage in charitable work? Instead of an “Atheist Church”, what do you call the edifice such meetings are held in?
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31 Answers
I don’t have a good answer to your question, but I have to say that it makes me cringe a bit. I sometimes get accused of belonging to “the church of atheism”, as if I need some sort of crutch to replace the crutch of religion. While the idea of gathering to discuss options for benefiting the community and doing good works is commendable, looking for a term to parallel a religious term bothers me.
And in a poor attempt to answer your request, all I can come up with are ungainly phrases like “Free thinkers doing good” or Questioning minds, seeking solutions”.
Are you looking for neologisms or existing words, @ETpro?
Freethinkery?
Temple of reason?
We call it a ‘non-denominational’ center.
Quaker Meeting for Worship?
Gathering.
Conference.
Colloquy.
@bookish: Where did the idea come from that using interesting, appropriate and accurate words equates to “nerdy” (a label that I loathe, speaking of works)? For example, if I wanted to steal an outhouse in Dijon, I would really need the exact phrasing, wouldn’t I?)
@bookish1 I suspect that crafting a self explanatory neologism might be the best approach. It would mean a fair amount of work to get it used in enough places to qualify for addition to the dictionary, but there might be no single word today that properly does the job. I pride myself in my vocabulary and my ability to use Internet search, and I’ve yet to find one.
@zensky Ha! Great one. But no…
That was actually original. I am so flunking.
I agree with @bookish1 , I think the word you are looking for IS ‘Temple of Reason’.
Lodge of Benevolence
lodge ala Native American buildings and those used by fraternal organizations
Why would atheists and agnostics create a center for themselves only rather than one for the whole community? There are already such things as community centers, and everyone who belongs to a community is allowed to use them. Does charity really have to be split up along doctrinal lines?
There has been some spectacular secular vernacular here.
@KNOWITALL I think “non-denominational” still implies the presence of religion.
Sinnagogue. You win hands down.
What do they do at the gathering? If it is a church, call it a church. There are people in church that will go to hell. Being a member of a church doesn’t get you into heaven.
Unconditional non-denomininational.
The Avengers? Sorry. Ok, seriously, why is the word faith even involved in an aetheist group? Anyway, here’s an idea…
The HUB or A HUB – Assembly for Hope, Understanding and Benevolence
Dude. (As you know) Faith and atheism are not compatible ideas. Using the word faith discredits the logical conclusion of atheism. Why not just use words like “Community Charity” or “Community Generosity” or terms that really describe the mission? Why corrupt the perfectly rational and beautiful notions of voluntary charity( based on the clearly valid human emotion of empathy), with words like faith?
Or are you just trying to get something stirred up?
I would call it a hall. Or perhaps a convention. Non-theistic convention. Non-theist’s Hall.
The “None of Thee Above” Community Centre
The Charitable Heathen Swine, and Witch Foundation
The Hand of Dog Humane Society
Tomorrow, folks. I wrote answers to you all, but Fluther logged me out, so when I hit “Answer” I lost the whole shooting match. I don’t have the heart to do it all again tonight.
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