Religion

cbayer

(146,218 posts)

1. Unfortunately, I think this horse is out of the barn.

Fri May 1, 2015, 12:36 PM

May 2015

At one time, I tried to reinforce the distinction between secularism and non-belief, but it has been a losing battle.

As he notes, the word now is used extensively to describe the non-religious. As has been noted, the term "atheist" comes with a lot of baggage and people are seeking other terms that will not cause negative knee jerk reactions.

So maybe the general meaning of secular should be non-religious. I'm at a loss to think of other words.

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What Does Secular Mean? [View all] rug May 2015 OP

Unfortunately, I think this horse is out of the barn. cbayer May 2015 #1

Only in some echo chambers is secular conflated with nonbelief or atheism. rug May 2015 #2

I'm not so sure. There was recently a "secular coming out day" cbayer May 2015 #3

Political wars start with the seizibg of words, then arsenals. rug May 2015 #4

Worse than that, I think the word atheist comes with a lot of negative baggage. cbayer May 2015 #5

That is interesting logic you've got there Lordquinton May 2015 #25

Well, Lord, let's hear it. Very clearly now. Are you calling me a homophobe? rug May 2015 #29

If enough people use it to mean "non-religious" - then that becomes a valid use. Jim__ May 2015 #6

And I think that is exactly what is happening and it's cbayer May 2015 #7

Creating ambiguity is a common tactic to disguise all sorts of things. rug May 2015 #8

If enough people use it that way - to mean non-belief - then it becomes a valid use. Jim__ May 2015 #9

No, really that isn't how it works. TM99 May 2015 #26

Yes, that's exactly how language works. Jim__ May 2015 #27

Try again. TM99 May 2015 #30

Guess again. Only next time try reading before guessing. Jim__ May 2015 #35

I can read just fine. TM99 May 2015 #36

Really? Where did you read anything about my use of the word secular? Jim__ May 2015 #38

It does not introduce an ambiguity. TM99 May 2015 #39

Let me try to unwind your changing claims. Jim__ May 2015 #40

Wow, you are something else. TM99 May 2015 #41

You said nothing about ambiguity until post #39. Jim__ May 2015 #42

Eventually, though, language purists have to give in. cbayer May 2015 #28

Purist must cede? TM99 May 2015 #31

I don't expect you to cede easily, in fact cbayer May 2015 #32

Yuppers I will fight. TM99 May 2015 #33

Openlysecular.org is a growing organization. cbayer May 2015 #34

See my post #36 TM99 May 2015 #37

I agree with Jim edhopper May 2015 #10

It is most difficult for those who are both secularists and believers. cbayer May 2015 #11

I would think that secularism inherently supports the separation of church/state standard. pinto May 2015 #12

It does ibndeed. And says nothing about beliefs. rug May 2015 #13

Secular. Warren Stupidity May 2015 #14

And? rug May 2015 #15

So Warren Stupidity May 2015 #16

And your point in #2 - "Only in some echo chambers is secular conflated with nonbelief" is incorrect muriel_volestrangler May 2015 #17

"distinguished from the church and religion; civil, lay, temporal." rug May 2015 #18

Not 'state affairs'; used for art, education and morality, for hundreds of years (nt) muriel_volestrangler May 2015 #19

To accept your usage, you have to accept that atheism means more than it is. rug May 2015 #21

No; we've shown that 'non-religious', applied to a variety of areas, is the long-standing meaning muriel_volestrangler May 2015 #22

Who has shown what? rug May 2015 #23

The OP article was about the 'non-religious' meaning; it was cbayer who introduced 'non-belief' muriel_volestrangler May 2015 #24

They don't get to define it. Igel May 2015 #20