The history of architecture is more connected with religious buildings than with any other kind. This is because in most past cultures the universal and transcendent charm of the church or temple religion became the most accessible, enduring, and influential building in any society.
The typology of religious architecture is complex. Because there are no basic requirements, such as interior design, common to all religions. And because the functions of each religion involve different types of activities, all of which change as cultural patterns evolve.
Sacred architecture (also called sacred architecture or religious architecture) is an act of religious architecture that refers to the design and construction of places of worship or sacred or intentional places. These include churches, mosques, stupas, synagogues, and temples.
Many cultures devoted significant resources to their sacred architecture and places of worship. Religious and sacred spaces are among the most impressive and enduring integrated structures created by man.
Conversely, sacred architecture as a place of transcendence can also be non-integrated, ephemeral, and very private, personal and non-public.
How does religion influence architecture?
The history of architecture is more related to religious buildings than to any other type of building. This is because, in most past cultures, the universal and transcendent charm of the church or temple religion became the most accessible, enduring, and influential building in any society.
Why is architecture important to religion?
Because architects portray the perfection of religion in their works and direct the mind of the beholder to the divine perfection, giving their work an ideal spirit. Because work is perfect and beautiful when it can illuminate the attributes of God.
Places of worship
Temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues serve as places of worship and sanctuaries for images, monuments, and places of worship. In ancient religions, the temple was not always for public use. In ancient Egypt and India, the place was considered the house of God, and there was forbidden for priests to enter the sanctuary. And in ancient Greece, although there was a religious image, services were held outside the main facade. And in ancient Near Eastern and Mayan and Aztec architecture in ancient Mexico, where architects built the temple on top of a pyramid-shaped hill, only prominent members of society could enter the temple.
Few existing religions are so exclusive. Various faiths, such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam, are based on collective participation in ceremonies. Which hold in the houses of worship of each religion.
The buildings are similar even in their floor plans. A common requirement is that the maximum number of worshippers must align with the center of worship. (The center of the qibla mosque, indicated by the altar, is a niche inside the mosque. The architects built the wall towards Mecca. This is the birthplace of Muhammad and thus the holiest of all Islamic sites). As a result, Muslims were able to adopt the tradition of the Byzantine Church. Modern synagogues were hardly distinguishable from churches, and early Protestantism adopted Catholic architecture with only minor changes. (Removal of churches and altars, reliquaries, and some symbolic decorations).
Shrines and memorials
Shrines sanctify a sacred place because of its miraculous character or its connection with the life of the founder, the gods, or the saints of a sect. Great Christian memorials are those associated with the life of Jesus Christ and the early apostles or church fathers or with medieval customs.
There is no single official design of this type. But the theme of the dome structure or central plan (round, square, polygonal, Greek cross, etc.), Asian memories (Indian stupa, Chinese pagoda), pagan antiquity (Pantheon in Rome) and Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem).
