RELIGIOUS SPACES HOW RELIGION SHAPES THE BUILT FORM

DECEMBER 5, 2014 EVDS 601

University of Calgary

by

Oghenetega Odogu

oghenetega odogu O.O

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Religious spaces: how religion shapes the built form

1.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….1

1.2. What is religion?................................................................................................2

1.3. Religion and the built form…………………………………………………………………………….3

2. Hinduism in India

2.1. Origin……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

2.2. Religious landscape………………………………………………………………………………………..5

2.2.1. Domestic alters…………………………………………………………………………………………….6

2.2.2. Road shrines…………………………………………………………………………………………………6

2.2.3. Temple towns……………………………………………………………………………………………….7

2.3. Architecture………………………………………………………………………………………………………7

2.4. Settlement pattern……………………………………………………………………………………………8

3. Christianity (Catholicism in Europe and South America)

3.1. Origin………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..10

3.2. Architecture……………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

3.3. Settlement pattern…………………………………………………………………………………………..11

4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13

5. Reference…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14

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1. RELIGIOUS SPACES: HOW RELIGION SHAPES THE BUILT FORM

1.1: INTRODUCTION

Life is a continuous cycle, where everything is connected in some way. A single aspect of our

lives can determine so many possible outcomes. Where we are born determines how we think

and relate to others, and our beliefs determine how we act and treat others. Religion more than

anything affects how we think, dress, what we eat, how we understand life, death and the

universe. Religions such as Hinduism and Christianity (especially Catholicism) has shaped the

design of many cities into what they are today. Hindu temples have been constructed in India

and elsewhere for many centuries, and appear in a great variety of forms and styles. These

temples are an example of how the Indian landscape is distinguished from others. They are found

in most cities and have a unique quality which gives each space a sense of place that cannot be

found anywhere (Ross 2009). Places such as Mamalpurum, Tanjavur, Bhubanesvar, Khajuraho,

all in India, have amazing temples/shrines that totally change the landscape. Some of these

shrines are “image shrines” having the images of deities sculptured into their walls. On the other

hand Catholicism shaped the Vatican. In the Vatican there are huge palaces and gardens built as

homes for the popes in the Catholic Church. Apart from these palaces and gardens, other

structures were erected to serve the church which are located on the Vatican Hill. Pope Pius X,

erected a large building near the palace of Sixtus V for clerks and servants of the Vatican (Begni,

Ernesto), numerous other structures such as these built just to serve the church are found all

over the city.

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1.2: WHAT IS RELIGION?

Amongst several cultural factors that shape the built form, religion can be one of the most

influential. So what is religion? The definition has morphed through time as beliefs and

perceptions change. Going by the oxford English dictionary; “religion is the belief in and worship

of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”. This means that a religion

can have more than one god. It can also be defined as “a particular system of faith and worship”

or as “a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion”. This can be interpreted in the sense

that a religion might not worship a divine being or deity, but can just be a form or means of

gaining divine insight into the working of life and death. Whichever way one choses to see

religion, people over the years have been shaped and built by it. Civilizations have been born of

it, lived by it, and died for it. According to Jensen, religions in the plural have so much in common,

in spite of all apparent differences. He also said that not all religions share same features, but

typically they include ideas about super human agents, human fate after death, morality, ideas

about the order of nature and the cosmos, conceptions of an “other world” and not least, how

humans are to behave and think in this world. Several religions exist in the world, Christianity,

Hinduism, Muslim, Judaism, and Buddhism just to mention a few, which shape the way our

society is built. Like other elements of culture, religion encompasses an asset of normative

conceptions or ‘givens’ that inform the ways in which people understand, act within and

influence the world that they inhabit (Stump 2008).

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1.3: RELIGION AND THE BUILT FORM

To be human is to be placed, to exist in relation to physical structures, both to shape them and

to be shaped by them (Bergmann 2005 1956). Certain cities, towns, and even countries have a

particular form. In some cases this form is as a result of religious forces acting upon its formation.

Religious imprint can be discovered at different scales and in different parts of the landscape, for

example architecture, settlement forms and functions and the overall physical appearance of the

landscape (Park 1994). One may ask the question “why are places like India or Rome the way

they are?” Sacred space in Hinduism extends beyond the temple to include the surrounding town

(Bohle 1987). According to Bergmann 2005, pre-modern notions of the sacred was not restricted

to ritual sites, he explains that in terms of traditional Brahmin cosmology, based on a circular

central continent with the mountain of the gods (meru) in its center, surrounded concentrically

by six ring-continents, seven ring-oceans, and an outer ring of Rocky Mountains, there was a clear

sense that the streets embraced a wider sacred landscape.

Aristotle mentioned that humans differ from other animals in not having a given kind of

community. Throughout history religion has had a major effect on the built environment, most

societies and communities were built around places of worship. Historically, there has been an

intimate relationship between architecture and religion. Bergmann asks the question, “How are

religious life views manifested in the design, building and habitation of houses?” Evidence of this

can be seen in places like India, Rome, Indonesia, Cairo and Mecca where architecture has been

influenced greatly by religion (Bergmann 2005). Landscape feature which serve some function in

worship, such as churches and temples, provide the most obvious visible signs of the imprint of

religion on an area (Park 1994). Theorist Tim Gorringe has the view that man has no given form

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of dwelling; that buildings are as various as both geography and culture. The landscape is a

manuscript on which is written the cultural history of the area (Park 1994). Interpretation of

landscape as a product of culture requires some understanding of how people translate values

and beliefs into architectural forms (Sitwell and Bilash 1986). It would be difficult to imagine a

European cultural heritage devoid of the magnificent cathedrals, altarpieces, crucifixes and

religious sanctuary (Jordan 1973). Similarly, a western visitor to Muslim nations where Hinduism

or Buddhism is prevalent is immediately struck by their religious buildings that contrast so sharply

with the western landscape they are familiar with.

Some religious landscape elements are small scale and local, while others are large and regional

(Park 1994). Architecture besides providing shelter is also a symbolic representation (Roth, 1994).

There is a polarity between those religions that deliberately change landscape and those which

don’t - great examples of these being Hinduism and Christianity in particular Catholicism. Cities

completely transformed by religion include - for example the Dogon in the Upper Volta region of

West Africa and the Budja, a Shona tribe from north east south southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe).

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2: HINDUISM IN INDIA

Since Hinduism is such an influential factor for architectural design in India, it is important to

understand how that came to be. Hinduism is characterized by extremely vibrant art forms:

images of gods and goddesses, impressive temple architecture and home shrines with a high

degree of color and decoration (Ross 2009). According to Krupali and Vinayek 2012 the Indian

geography, shimmering metropolitan skyline rub shoulders with temples, mosques, churches and

shrines dedicated to numerous cults and faiths the country nurtures.

2.1: ORIGIN

Hinduism is an ancient, complex, and multifaceted belief system whose early origins can be

traced to the end of the prehistoric periods of civilization in the Indus valley region of India and

Pakistan (ca. 2000 – 1500 BCE). The terms Hindu and Hinduism originally derived from a

geographical rather than religious designation come from the word Sindhu, the ancient name for

the Indus River (Leslie Ross 2009). This indicates why most of its temples and sacred places are

built near water bodies. The primary deities traditionally recognized by the Indus are brahma the

creator of the universe, Vishnu the preserver of the universe, Shiva the destroyer of the universe

and Devi the goddess/ feminine principle. Images of these deities can be found in various temples

and homes (Ross 2009).

2.2: RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE

The shrines and temples which characterize the Indian landscape began as trees, shading a

smeared stone or a diminutive portrait of divinity, marked with flags and banners, or its trunk

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dresses like the goddess herself, a place of the deities (Devasthana) appears mysteriously under

its branches, be it along the roadside or in a remote field (Krupali and Vinayek 2012). Erected in

public places, these shrines and temples take different shapes and forms.

2.2.1: DOMESTIC ALTERS

Hindu Homes in many areas have alters that are used daily in worship. They might be rooms set

aside specifically for the purpose, but quite commonly an altar is set up and maintained

permanently in a living room or other room within the residence.

2.2.2: ROAD SHRINES

Wayside shrines are prevalent throughout India, born anywhere and everywhere, shrouding all

sources behind their inception (Krupali and Vinayek 2012). They may be appendages to buildings,

companions to street tress or autonomous objects floating in urban or rural space. Take for

instance the city of Panaji. Around its three and a half mile promenade along the Mandovi River,

beginning at Marimar Beach and ending at the city bus stand, there are as many as a dozen

shrines at taxi stands and along the roadside. Darshana Ahead and Ranjit Hoskote observe how

the 1990’s street size shrines in Mumbai’s suburbs follow a standard evolutionary graph: first the

platform, then the parapet, and in due course, an archway. This additive process culminates in

the consecration of a miniature temple. Tree temples, grow into bigger temples and then into

sacred campuses. According to Krupali and Vinayek 2012, the term sacred campus is used to

describe a temple habitat that is larger than a compound, but smaller and more formalized than

a village Such campuses have evolved over time to become the centers of sizable temple towns

where myths and rituals continue to dominate the everyday life of almost the entire population.

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The Hindu temple is not only a sacred architectural object but also an urban catalyst that has

invariably attracted people to its workings, thereby nurturing habitats around it. Within India one

can find an entire range of rural to urban places encompassing temple compounds, campuses,

hamlets, sizeable towns and entire cities with multiple temples and shrines, with the inhabitants

primarily devoted to God.

2.2.3: TEMPLE TOWNS

A temple’s transformation from an object to a larger defined place occurs when an enclosing

fence or wall creates a formalized setting for sacred activity. In its simplest form, the sacred

enclosure is dedicated to one principal deity, but such enclosures can morph into complex

compounds over time accommodating multiple shrines and sacred buildings and quarters for

living within the confines itself. These enclosed sacred precincts are today the physical and

spiritual centers of entire sacred towns that have evolved through the piecemeal cohesion of

autonomous hamlets, growing around individual proximate temples. For example the three

square mile town of Kumbakonam can be traced to the organic incremental accretion of hamlets

evolving around a number of sacred centers such as Kumbheshwara, Srangapani, Chakrapani,

Banapurishwara and Vishvanatha temples (Krupali and Vinayek 2012)

2.3: ARCHITECTURE

According to Champakalakshmi 2001, architecture, sculpture and other arts served as metaphor

for conveying different levels of meaning behind the obvious religious function of the temple.

Hinduism has a distinctive architectural form for its temples and other religious structures that

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are usually highly ornate and richly decorated and, and this gives rise to the characteristically

Hindu Landscape (Park 1994).

Traditional temple architecture reflects the view that the temple is a sacred abode of God, which

in turn reflects that traditional Hindu idea that mountains are dwelling places of the gods. In all

classical temple styles the temple towers resemble mountain peaks, with tapering crowns. Small

dark cellars inside (inner room housing the statue of the deity) resemble caverns. Finials

(ornaments) on top point to the sky and are aligned with the image inside, to signify the settling

down of the divine spirit. Hindus view the temple as a representation of meru, (equating it with

the center of the cosmos), and lay out the temple town to reflect the rest of the cosmos as closely

as possible. A typical temple is square or rectangle in shape, oriented towards the cardinal points

with the main temple gates pointing east, with up to four concentric temple walls. Up to three

further street networks are concentrically arranged around the central temple enclosure,

intersected by diagonal streets aligned with the cardinal points. The street leading out from the

main temple entrance and the streets around the outer temple wall are particularly wide. The

large houses and plots of land are located in the center of the temple town, and the caste status

decreases outward from the temple center.

2.4: SETTLEMENT PATTERN

Locations of Hindu temples usually have important and intentional design characteristics. The

sites usually cause minimal disturbance to the natural landscape, are usually in a comfortable

location (shaded), face the village from a prominent position, and are close to water (because

many gods are believed to stay close to it). According to Mukerjee, Indian villages and towns

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were often planned according to a religious symbolism, which governed the layout of wards and

streets, the location of temples, monasteries and village halls as well as of open spaces, tanks

and gates (Mukerjee 1961). The temple of Vishnu is traditionally erected at the center of the

town, with deities at its gates to protect the town from disease and anarchy (Park 1994). Another

characteristic of the Hindu landscape is the location of sacred bathing places (Ghats) located

along river banks, also are religious shops. According to Champakalakshmi, the Indian temple has

had an enduring ideological importance in pre modern India, which makes it the central focus of

all historical processes – religious, social, economic and political (Champakalakshmi 2001).

Conceived as a miniature cosmos, it came to be the legitimating institution of the ruling elite,

(the king in particular), who acquired legitimacy and tried to convey authority through the temple

and its symbolism. Being an important component of the ruling class and of communal life, these

temples were often massive and covered large areas of land for example the cola temples at

Tanjavur and Gangaikondacolapuram. The temple in India serves as a monument of rule, religion

and integration where people come to be together. An example of such temple is the Tanvajur

in Cola royal city. Peculiar to all temple location, the city consisted of an ullalai, (inner quadrangle

around the temple), and a purambadi, (an outer circuit), demarcated by the residence of the

priestly, the administrative, the other elite groups, and by the living quarters (streets) of other

professional groups including the nagarams or merchant organizations and their angadis, the

palace servants, and the retinues (velams) of the royal family. This structure meant that the rich

and elite lived at the core around the temple while the poor lived on the margins of the city.

Because of these factors, one can clearly see that the temple has had a significant influence in

forming and shaping Indian society and landscape.

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3: CHRISTIANITY (CATHOLICISM IN EUROPE AND SOUTH AMERICA)

Amongst other religions which have shaped the built form of most cities and countries is

Christianity. Christianity is the largest religion in the world having many followers/believers from

different countries and who speak different languages. Despite intermittent persecution

Christianity became widespread throughout the Roman Empire over the next two centuries, and

in the fourth century was established as the official religion of the Empire. Unlike Hinduism,

Christianity was spread throughout the world via missionaries. This diffusion of religion

throughout the world was also encouraged through the movement of people from one country

to the other escaping religious persecution (Stump 2008).

Christianity along with Judaism and Islam are one of the three major monotheistic religions of

the world (monotheistic meaning belief in one god or deity) (Ross 2009). The three main branches

of Christianity today are: Roman Catholic, eastern orthodox and protestant. The Roman Catholic

faith more than any other has had more influence on the built form through the enormity of

cathedrals built in many cities around the world, especially in European cities such as Spain and

Rome, and also in most South American cities.

3.1: ORIGIN

The religion of Christianity began with Jesus (Yeshu’a) of Nazareth; a Jew of humble origin who

lived in the region of galilee in what is now modern day Israel (Ross 2009). During his time, this

area of the world was part of the vast Roman Empire. In its early years Christianity faced a lot of

persecution, however the persecution came to an end formally under the auspices of the

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emperor Constantine (ca. 280-337). The structures which characterize the Roman landscape

today are a result of Christianity being declared the official religion of the Roman Empire.

3.2: ARCHITECTURE

According to Goldberg 2009, architecture is the ultimate physical representation of a culture,

more so than even a flag. The architectural form used for the earliest actual Christian churches

was adopted from the model of the Roman basilica (from the Greek word “Basilike” meaning

“royal”). Basilicas were ubiquitous public structures in Roman towns and cities, and were used

for many purposes such as audience halls, meeting halls, and law courts. The form of the

structure which provided enough room inside was adequate for worship gatherings. Its shape

was either circular, polygonal with domes and towers with Greek shaped crosses (2009). An

example is the Old St. Peters Basilica in Rome, Italy, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, the

Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres, France, and the Vierzehnheiligen Church in Badstaffelstein

(Bavaria), Germany (Ross 2009 2009)

3.3: SETTLEMENT PATTERN

Small roadside chapels are common features of the religious landscape in many areas,

particularly those associated with Catholicism (Park 1994). Like Hindu shrines, the churches in

the earlier years were centrally located and planned. According to Rudolf Stegers in the middle

ages, churches stood in the center of the towns and cities. They usually faced eastwards (towards

Palestine), which was regarded as the holy land. In cities such as Lubeck, the entire spatial

organization of every square meter of the city center is determined by its church.

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According to Park 1994, much more ubiquitous components within the religious landscape in

Christian areas are churches and other large structures used for worship. In places like Mexico

were Catholicism is widely practiced features such as “yard shrines” and roadside shrines

dedicated to the virgin Saint Mary, as well as other Saints can be seen. There are more than 200

“yard shrines” located in the west side of San Antonio (Park 1994, Arreola 1988). There are also

parts of Britain which exhibit religious landscape. Irish Catholic immigrants in Britain settled in

towns such as Liverpool, Manchester, and Lancashire. Their religion was an important aspect of

their lives which they held on to. As a result, the Catholic churches built in the area are major

features of the landscape.

According to Raymond Quek, Roman Catholicism was a distinguishing mark of the Irish. Their

churches were urban landmarks. Streets in predominantly catholic countries frequently retain

examples of religious shrines, giving a sense of a religious landscape. Later in the middle ages,

the development of city squares owed much to the new preaching orders such as Franciscans

and Dominicans, and their churches (Bergmann 2005).

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4: CONCLUSION

Landscape features which serve some function in worship such as churches and temples provide

the most obvious visible signs of the religious imprint on an area (Park 1994). As discussed earlier,

in India and other Catholic cities in Europe and North America, religion plays an important role in

shaping the landscape of our cities. Symbols of religious worship are woven into the very cultural

fabric of many areas and give them a special and sometimes unique identity (Jordan 1973). There

are a number of cultural features which shape our environment from region to region, religion

being one of the most influential as it manifests into the built form.

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REFERENCES

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1994.

Stump, Roger W. The Geography of Religion: Faith, Place, and Space. Lanham, Md.: Rowman &

Littlefield Publishers, 2008.

Scott, Jamie S. Mapping the Sacred: Religion, Geography and Postcolonial Literatures.

Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2001.

Kong, L. "Geography and Religion: Trends and Prospects." Progress in Human Geography, 1990,

355-71.

Mukerjee, Radhakamal. Ways of Dwelling in the Communities of India. 1961.

Bergmann, Sigurd. Architecture, Aesth/ethics & Religion. Frankfurt Am Main: IKO-Verlag Fur

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Stegers, Rudolf. Sacred Buildings a Design Manual. Basel: Birkhauser, 2008.

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Champakalakshmi, R. Religion, Tradition, and Ideology: Pre-colonial South India. New Delhi:

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