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> I've seen some people use "myth" and "cult" to describe the theistic and worshipful aspects of religion, respectively. Unfortunately these words both have other, more common meanings with negative connotations, so using them in any sort of open discussion tends to raise some hackles. Strongly agree - do you have opinions on good words? I'm currently using "mysticism", "ritual", and "canon", which are often used by religions themselves. They don't seem completely neutral though. I think this has the potential to be an area of language that changes quickly, so we all look ignorant in 50 years when our writings are read, similar to how the terms for different races have changed a lot. My grandmother is almost 90 and calls a man of Chinese descent a "Chinaman", and I have to say, "No Grandma, we don't say that any more." And she's got a bit of a sense of humor, and says, "I listen to the radio, and they say Irishman, but Chinaman is wrong?" And I don't know how to answer that, since the Irish got all sorts of hell in the States too, and Irishman used to be derogatory, but now it's not and it's okay usage. I think the words used to describe religion are likely going to go through that, and references to myth (bad), cult (bad), mysticism (okay), ritual (okay), canon (generally positive) might all be passed by other words. |