Atheist 'church'?

[Raeven]

Well, I hardly feel like I'm "surrendering some of (my) autonomy and freedom to avoid false persecution," by not wishing to confuse religious folks further by naming a gathering by atheists a "church." I have zero problem standing up to them and do so comfortably and regularly. It isn't for my personal sake that I have a preference to avoid using the word, "church," in reference to atheist gatherings. It's because use of that term has specific meaning to many people -- particularly among the religious. So it gives rise to even more confusion among the religious than already exists. I see no reason to do that.

If it pleases you to think I'm just making things more comfortable for myself, then that's ok. You are certainly entitled to think it. But I don't feel the concept I'm conveying here is so difficult to grasp.

Or... you could explain to them what church is, and use their misunderstanding of a word to further their understanding of a world. It's a fantastic learning opportunity for them, should one seize upon it.

LOL, or.... I could stand under someone pissing on me and call it a shower.

I think the whole notion of atheists attempting to co-opt the word, 'church,' to suit their own meaning is not only indicative of a fundamental misunderstanding of the word, 'church,' but also ridiculous on its face and passive aggressive to boot. I think atheists should congregate in whatever way they wish. The smart ones won't try to refer to it as 'church.'

Here, by the way, is a definition of the word. It does not mean, 'community,' as you have chosen to characterize it. I understand your meaning, but clearly most religious folks won't -- and with good reason:

church
CHərCH/
noun
noun: church; plural noun: churches

1.
a building used for public Christian worship.
"they came to church with me"
synonyms: place of worship, house of God, house of worship; More
cathedral, abbey, chapel, basilica;
megachurch;
synagogue, mosque
"a village church"
a particular Christian organization, typically one with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines.
noun: Church
"the Church of England"
synonyms: denomination, ecclesial community; More
creed, faith
"the Methodist Church"
the hierarchy of clergy of a Christian organization, esp. the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England.
noun: the Church
institutionalized religion as a political or social force.
"the separation of church and state"

verb
archaic
verb: church; 3rd person present: churches; past tense: churched; past participle: churched; gerund or present participle: churching

1.
take (a woman who has recently given birth) to church for a service of thanksgiving.

Origin
Old English cir(i)ce, cyr(i)ce, related to Dutch kerk and German Kirche, based on medieval Greek kurikon, from Greek kuriakon (dōma ) ‘Lord's (house),’ from kurios ‘master or lord.’ Compare with kirk.

But if you like pummeling your head against a brick wall, by all means -- get together with your atheist buddies, call it 'church' and have a blast, "furthering the understanding" of church-going folk. Me, I'll get together with my friends and call it something -- anything -- else.