Religion Has Given Us Some Amazing Architecture

Introduction

Last weekend I visited Durham Cathedral with Fiona, Matt and Lesley and it got me thinking about how stunning many religious buildings are, and the work that has gone into them. My dad was a builder (he is still around, having also been a farmer and installing over two thousand Post Boxes throughout the north and west of England) and I worked as a labourer with him so I am constantly impressed by these structures.

This weekend I am going to York so I will be seeing more of this sort of thing.

The music is "Converted" by the Alabama 3 for the chorus "Let's Go Back To Church" which resulted in this quite funny story:

Religion And Churches

As you know I am an atheist, if God turned up at my front door I would believe in them, I am with Richard Dawkins on this but find him a little too evangelical at times.

I do find it odd that while the public is disgusted at the greed and wastefulness of people like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk that the Roman Catholic Church, one of the richest entities ever gets off relatively unscathed, dripping in gold while preaching through awful people like Mother Teresa that poverty and hardship is desirable.

But this is about a little religious architecture, not how it was financed or what goes on within those walls.

In Ken Follet's "Pillars Of The Earth", a cathedral collapses because the roof is too heavy. The Tom The Builder video shows more building and destruction. I hope you can see the videos.

"A cathedral is god's anteroom. It's halfway to heaven. And the light, the light is everything."

A cathedral like Durham can make you feel that. The pure size of these places often leaves you awestruck. I am not sure what the heating bills are for these places but energy efficiency was not a consideration when these edifices were planned and constructed.

It was freezing when I went up to the Cathedral and I was pleased to get inside with some shelter from the elements. It is impressive close-up and from a distance and I am in awe of the planning, construction, and stained glass windows.

This is the interior of St James and St Basils which is a church near to me and I often walk around their garden. You can see this is a small church but still a very impressive construction. They often have concerts on here and you can see they have the space for it.

While this is not a church, it is in the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow, but you can see why I initially mistook it for a church.

St Michael's in Alnwick is another impressive interior. Those columns and arches impress me greatly, and the congregants must feel special when they come here to celebrate their masses.

This is a picture of the nave of Durham Cathedral and the sheer size of it takes your breath away. The construction of the roof and the stone arches and stained glass windows leave you in dazed amazement. Although this is a religious construction, it was created by men, though I know women could do the same, and any historical female involvement was likely erased by the church and/or historians.

This stained glass window celebrates the millennium but was very difficult to photograph because I was in a very narrow corridor, but you get the idea.

This is a plaque for the remembrance of the miners who lost their lives in the Durham Coalfields and in a few months Public Service Broadcasting will be performing their album "Every Valley" here with a brass band in tribute to the miners.

Conclusion

Although this is mainly Durham Cathedral, this is just to share some amazing religious architecture. I have not even touched on the amazing architecture of other religions but that is something for another article.

I hope you have enjoyed this.

Thank you for reading.