Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture
Religious structures have traditionally been seen as reflections of beliefs and practices, yet their design may also shape religious behavior and thought. This study investigates how local materials are related to the architecture and associated practices of pre-industrial religious structures, usin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622725000188 |
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| author | Navdeep Kaur Joseph Watts Jamin Halberstadt |
| author_facet | Navdeep Kaur Joseph Watts Jamin Halberstadt |
| author_sort | Navdeep Kaur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Religious structures have traditionally been seen as reflections of beliefs and practices, yet their design may also shape religious behavior and thought. This study investigates how local materials are related to the architecture and associated practices of pre-industrial religious structures, using data from the Database of Religious History (DRH) and additional coding of 121 sites. Results reveal that malleable materials like plaster and clay are linked to curved roofs, while wood is associated with larger structures. Larger buildings were more likely to support communal worship, whereas curved roofs were negatively associated with individual worship. Path analyses suggest that the relationship between materials and religious practices is accounted for by the architectural features, such as size and roof type, that those materials afford. Though correlational in nature, the findings illustrate a potential role of material constraints in shaping religious architecture and practices, as well as the embeddedness of religious life in its material and spatial context. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6118e3e8ab04b589f4c6c6a101b5246 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-6227 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6118e3e8ab04b589f4c6c6a101b52462025-08-20T03:31:28ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Ecological and Social Psychology2666-62272025-01-01910023110.1016/j.cresp.2025.100231Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architectureNavdeep Kaur0Joseph Watts1Jamin Halberstadt2Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, William James Building, 275 Leith Walk, Dunedin North, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandDepartment of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandReligious structures have traditionally been seen as reflections of beliefs and practices, yet their design may also shape religious behavior and thought. This study investigates how local materials are related to the architecture and associated practices of pre-industrial religious structures, using data from the Database of Religious History (DRH) and additional coding of 121 sites. Results reveal that malleable materials like plaster and clay are linked to curved roofs, while wood is associated with larger structures. Larger buildings were more likely to support communal worship, whereas curved roofs were negatively associated with individual worship. Path analyses suggest that the relationship between materials and religious practices is accounted for by the architectural features, such as size and roof type, that those materials afford. Though correlational in nature, the findings illustrate a potential role of material constraints in shaping religious architecture and practices, as well as the embeddedness of religious life in its material and spatial context.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622725000188Religious architectureMaterial constraints and religious behavior |
| spellingShingle | Navdeep Kaur Joseph Watts Jamin Halberstadt Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology Religious architecture Material constraints and religious behavior |
| title | Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture |
| title_full | Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture |
| title_fullStr | Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture |
| title_short | Building faith: the relationships between materials, form, and worship in pre-industrial religious architecture |
| title_sort | building faith the relationships between materials form and worship in pre industrial religious architecture |
| topic | Religious architecture Material constraints and religious behavior |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622725000188 |
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