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> the word "church" only refers to Christian places of worship

In general, yes, but...

1. In protestant nomenclature, the Church (capitalization important) is the collection of all believers worldwide and a church (lower case) refers to a particular body of believers. A church may also colloquially refer to the building where a church (body) holds its weekly service, but some denominations use alternate words to purposefully make the distinction: meeting house, worship center, etc. Also, many larger churches in urban areas meet in several buildings simultaneously but still identify in one church. At any rate "church" has at least three distinct meanings in Christian usage alone.

2. There are non-Christian "churches" (again, sometimes colloquially): atheist, universalist, Mormon (might or might not count depending on who you ask), etc. No, Muslims and Buddhists don't "go to church", but many other religious groups do.




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