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If a member of a (say, Christian) church does not believe in God (e.g. thinks god is a man-made concept) and the surrounding metaphysics but believes that the church as an institution serves a beneficial role overall (e.g. its social role) how could one call that? Is there a special term for this stance? I thought it could be (say, Christian) Humanism, but this is apparently not the right fit.

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  • I would say uh, "instrumental", probably. Meaningful question but hard to answer, oh well...
    – user13955
    Apr 19, 2015 at 1:35
  • @Drux you're asking a question about a term in sociology rather than a philosophical question.
    – virmaior
    Apr 19, 2015 at 2:42
  • @virmaior I was hoping to learn a term which could be sibling to atheism and agnosticism and which could (also) fall into the realm of philosophy.
    – Drux
    Apr 19, 2015 at 6:18
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    This is not about the definition of a given term in any absolute sense. We have allowed previous questions seeking a term that applies to a given situation. I might agree it is a cultural linguistics, sociology or anthropology question rather than a philosophy one. But we give physics questions really broad latitude. Why would this one bother us?
    – user9166
    Apr 19, 2015 at 18:20
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    During 16th Century was : Nicodemism. Apr 19, 2015 at 19:45

2 Answers 2

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Catholics and Jews of this variety tend to refer to themselves as 'culturally religious' -- in this case 'culturally Catholic' or 'culturally Jewish'.

The more emphatically agnostic among them call themselves 'secular Catholics' or 'secular Jews'.

The position for 'secular Catholicism' is captured by someone like Montaigne in "In Defense of Raymond Sebond". He clearly proves in his writing that he is a complete agnostic, but also considers the traditional values of the Church and State in which one finds oneself immersed as a proper basis for a moral life. In bothering to write the book at all, he clearly thinks that even as an agnostic, he should resist abuses within his Faith that contradict the best interpretations of its stated values (in this case baseless snobbery against the less intellectually rigorous, since Christ favored the poor).

Following that lead, it would not be an oxymoron to adopt "Secular Christianity" as a description of oneself.

Some 'Randian' (thus really atheist) conservatives already use "Cultural Christianity" as a basis for their defense-of-religion stances against gay marriage or abortion.

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It could be a form of traditionalism, or conservatism:

Conservatism as a political and social philosophy promotes retaining traditional social institutions in the context of the culture and civilization. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others, called reactionaries, oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were".

It could also be religious utilitarianism (and then, a new religious institution, not just a traditional one, may be seen as valuable to a non-believer):

One can also easily understand why religious utilitarianism in our time should be dominantly social, since our greatest concern is for the preservation and ordering of a social life that is threatened with anarchy and since our greatest sufferings arise out of our social disorder. There is another reason for the rise of this social, religious utilitarianism—the apologetic one. Christian faith is so much faith and so little sight that its adherents are always seeking for some demonstration which will prove to themselves and others that it is true, though the demonstration is bound to be somewhat beside the point—like most miracles—proving not truth but utility, and exhibiting a power which may be that of God, but may also be that of faith itself, or of spiritual forces somewhat less than divine. (Utilitarian Christianity, H. Richard Niebuhr)

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