Metaphoric Sense Developments in the Names of Places of Worship in Contemporary American English

Abstract

This paper offers an account of the metaphorical extension of the names of religious houses of worship such as temple, church, mosque, and synagogue in contemporary American English, reflecting processes of linguistic secularization. Using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the study investigates how the meanings of religious terms enter into secular domains, signalling shifts in societal perceptions of religious experience. The findings show that temple and church frequently undergo metaphorization, appearing in phrases like temple of learning and church of football, where non-religious modifiers drive semantic extension. These terms increasingly denote secular places characterized by human passion, knowledge, and community, disclosing broader patterns of cultural engagement that evidently mirror religious practices and behaviours. In contrast, mosque and synagogue demonstrate greater resistance to metaphorical extension, retaining religious denotations more typically. The study identifies SOCIETY, CULTURE, and LIFESTYLE as the principal domains for metaphorical extension, suggesting an alignment between linguistic secularization and usage shifts into non-religious contexts. Conversely, domains such as SPORT, TECHNOLOGY, and MILITARY show minimal metaphorical usage, reflecting the selective nature of this process. The results underscore the role of metaphor in bridging sacred and secular spheres, demonstrating how language adapts in order to reflect evolving cultural frameworks. By applying Conceptual Metaphor Theory and insights from cultural linguistics, this research advances our understanding of linguistic metaphorization, and more particularly secularization, as significant drivers of semantic change.