Chapel as a Sanctuary

Christian friends of mine who aren’t Mormon often refer to what we call “chapel” in our meetinghouses as “sanctuary“.

I was thinking about this today because of something I overheard at church. “Sanctuary” is often defined as “a place of refuge or asylum”, and this is often how the media portrays such central parts of churches (picture someone entering a church, lighting a candle, and kneeling in prayer at a pew). People come to chapels for peace and guidance.

I wonder though why our chapels aren’t the same way. I understand we have prayers in our own homes, but I would assume other Christians do as well. Or maybe we view our temples as our sanctuaries, and so our chapels serve as simple meetingplaces.

Any thoughts?