Task
Religious architecture provides adherents with a physical space to express beliefs, engage in worship, and gather in community. Consider the quote below:
‘Architecture does not teach us what the sacred is, but it may touch it and draw others to it’.
(https://www.architectural-review.com/today/architecture-does-not-teach-us-what-the-sacred-is-but-it-may-touch-it-and-draw-others-to-it)
Using an argumentative essay format,critically analyse this quote in relation to the religious architecture of ONE chosen religious tradition OTHER THAN Christianity.
Your essay must:
1. Critically analyse the significance of the sacred architecture of one chosen religious tradition. You should select from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism for this task.
2. Critically analyse how the sacred space expresses the beliefs, values and traditions of the chosen faith community both personally and communally.
3. Evaluate the impact of the historical context on the style, design and key features of the chosen sacred space. To do this, you must ensure you are specific in your selection of architecture within a time/place (e.g. Thai Buddhist temples, post-WWII Synagogues in Australia).
4. Your essay must develop a clear thesis position that connects to the quote and allows you scope to discuss the relevant criteria.
Word length: 1000-1200words
Books on World Religions can be found in the Learning Commons in 291.
Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions by 
The New Lion Handbook: The World Religions by 
Sacred Architecture by 
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Christy Kenneally begins his journey in Rome where he visits Temple Israelitico, a sumptuous example of Italian-Jewish architecture built in 1904. Christy takes us next to the Cordoba Synagogue in Spain - a humble building, nestling within the walls of the Juderia (the Jewish district) within sight of the Great Mosque - a symbol of tolerance under Islam. In Budapest Christy visits the Great Synagogue on Dohany Street, with its onion domes.
This program visits the Djenne Mosque the largest dried-earth building in the world in Djenne, Mali. From Mali it moves to India to look at the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi. Istanbul, in Turkey where Europe meets Asia became a showcase of Islamic art and architecture, most evidently in the Blue Mosque and the Suleymaniye Mosque. Also looks at Spain and New York.
The Maha Bodhi temple of Bodh Gaya is one of the most important places of worship for Buddhists, marking the holy spot of the enlightenment of Gautama Siddhartha. Next, Christy visits Sanchi in Central Madhya Pradesh, which became the centre of Buddhist art and architecture between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD.
To the Western eye and mind, Hinduism seems exotic and mysterious. Presenter Christy Kenneally begins his journey through art and architecture in the oldest inhabited city in the world, Varanasia, India.
