The IRS has a checklist it uses to determine if a church is legitimate for tax exempt and charitable giving purposes. You can still be a church for tax purposes without calling your entity a church. Atheist and agnostic churches are also acceptable. An entity doesn't have to meet all of the criteria on the list to qualify as a church.

Church has negative connotations pointing towards religion. No matter what you do at this point, you can't reclaim the word in a positive light. Ex. The swastica. Once a positive, loving symbol, now can only be seen as a negative thing in our current culture and most likely for years to come. It is hard to come up with a tag for a group, or for a gathering place.

I have no objection if someone uses the word church. It is a word. Although it has a standard definition in the dictionary, I think it might mean something more personal depending on a person's definition. So be it. Have a blast.

I did not answer your question either. I too wasn't sure what you meant. I could care what another's religion is or isn't. That is, as long as they do not invade my personal space with the ideas and philosophies with the intent to convert me. That cannot be done. My family tried it and it has caused division between us. I have a right to believe as I wish, just as others. I will talk a little causally about concepts to listen and exchange ideas. But it would be intellectual and not meant to bully or put down another. I like to talk and exchange information, but that does not mean it will change me. It means I will increase my knowledge container a few gigs.

There is no danger of me going to a church. I have zero tolerance for the dogma. To me outdoors is church. All the perfection created is there for all to see. I find being out in nature anywhere inspires and makes me feel full of joy. That is where my heart is. That is where I am the most alive. The world is a grand creation. I can't imagine how it all came together, so I just love and appreciate.

The term doesn't offend me.

Some people think (dictator types) that churches and religion are a means of controlling their citizens. If they are busy fighting each other over religious beliefs, then they are too occupied to be of interest in their government. This I would advise anyone to be careful of. There are more people fighting over religious beliefs than anything else.

Some people believe that when you leave home and go out into the world without your parents, you lose your mother/father influence. After you have no parents, you lose that yes/no parental control. All decisions and failures/wins are now up to you. If you have God, you have someone to help you make it through your life, so it takes away the need for parents.

Stay away from the term "church" -- it is an institution designed to inculcate and maintain belief in a total system religious ideology.

Church= building, Religion= the faith, and congregation= the people in a particular building and faith. Are you looking for a new word?

The prob imo is that the term Church is already taken, it means "Living Stones," and any institutionalization of the term would be infringing, or assuming

I am part of a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and the "don't call it a church" thing comes up frequently. I prefer congregation, but if someone calls it church, I don't get freaked out. It's become a common colloquial term, like bandaid or kleenex at this point...