Sacred Places

Religious and sacred spaces are amongst the most impressive and permanent building created by human beings. Sacred architecture (aka: religious architecture) is a type of architecture designed to be a place of communal worship which also reflect the values, dictates and practices of the religion and the culture. Therefore, architecture of churches, mosques, stupas, synagogues and temples are different. Many cultures devoted considerable resources to their sacred architecture and places of worship.

Sacred, religious and holy structures often evolved over centuries and were the largest buildings in the world, prior to the modern skyscraper. While the various styles employed in sacred architecture sometimes reflected trends in other structures, these styles also remained unique from the contemporary architecture used in other structures.

Sacred and/or religious architecture is sometimes called sacred space. Architect Norman L. Koonce has suggested that the goal of sacred architecture is to make "transparent the boundary between matter and mind, flesh and the spirit." In discussing sacred architecture, Richard Kieckhefer (religious historian and authority on church architecture) suggests that entering into a religious building is a metaphor for entering into spiritual relationship. He also says that a sacred space can be analyzed by three factors affecting spiritual process: longitudinal space emphasizes the procession and return of sacramental acts, auditorium space is suggestive of proclamation and response, and new forms of communal space designed for gathering and return depend to a great degree on minimized scale to enhance intimacy and participation in worship.

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Here are some very famous pieces of religious architecture. Can you name their locations and their religions? The answers are below.