@ Sherri, #379654 -

Evil itself is 'supernatural' and is no more real than god and arguably wouldn't even exist as a myth if theism and other religions didn't exist. Using the word evil to denounce clergy actions, no matter how haneous those actions are, indirectly acknowledges the existance of 'evil' thereby acknowledging the existance of god.

I understand what you're saying, but I disagree. I agree more with Cartomancer and b0ltzm0n. Further, I think we miss an opportunity to grab the public conversation when we refuse to take back strong terms of moral condemnation from the religious who've co-opted them. Secularists, rationalists, atheists, and political liberals, in my view, have neutered their vocabulary to make what ought to be roars as quiet as whispers. We're forever "disturbed," "saddened," "troubled," and "disappointed" (can you just hear the limp hands wringing?) when we ought to be "angry," "outraged," "appalled" and "shocked."

I don't agree that "evil" is an inherently religious concept. It has a perfectly secular connotation: that which so offends the sensibilities of any decent person that it cries out for the strongest public condemnation. I think we ought to take it back and turn it against the religious who exemplify it.