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You must be in a very different part of the world than I am. One with grand cathedrals, perhaps. Where I'm from, a church is usually a big box with a brick faca

You must be in a very different part of the world than I am. One with grand cathedrals, perhaps. Where I'm from, a church is usually a big box with a brick facade, glass doors, paint over drywall interiors, and fake wood trim. Outside of the decorations, they're much like office buildings. They generally have a small steeple somewhere that holds no bell and only serves to identify the building as a church, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell. There isn't anything to hate about the architecture that wouldn't also apply to most public buildings built in the last half century.

walthamstow 1y ago
I live in a city with many old beautiful churches and I can safely say the architecture is the only thing I like about them.
carlosjobim 1y ago
Everywhere in the world, it's normal for churches and temples to be either the oldest, the largest, or the most beautiful buildings. Or all of those. But of course not always.
- palata 1y ago
  It's just that in some countries, the oldest buildings are not particularly old :-).
- spauldo 1y ago
  150 years ago, the buildings where I live were made of wood or sod and there were no cities. Fifty years before that, there were no buildings at all. The native people lived in tents, followed the buffalo herds, and the sky was their temple. The churches that have been built since were built by denominations that place less value in visual and architectural art than, for example, the Catholic or Orthodox churches. The single Catholic church in my town does look nicer than the others, although the inside looks just as fake as everything built since the 1950s. I have visited the church at Rota and the cathedral at Càdiz, and they are beautiful. We do not have churches like these where I live. But it wouldn't matter if we did. It is neither the blandness of my churches or the beauty of yours that cause me to dislike the church, but the way the church is used to spread hate for people who are different than them.
  - palata 1y ago
    > but the way the church is used to spread hate for people who are different than them. I am not religious at all, but disliking the church because it speads hate is like disliking white persons (or whichever arbitrary criterium you want) because they are criminals: the reality is that only a minority speads hate and only a minority are criminals. A majority of religious people are good and want to do good. And it doesn't require religion to spread hate, far from it.
    - spauldo 1y ago
      Note I specifically said "is used to spread hate." There are a lot of people who use religion as a tool to push their agenda. That's especially true here in the US, where the evangelical churches are so prevalent. It differs from church to church, of course, and it says nothing about any particular member of the congregation.
      - palata 1y ago
        Right, yeah I was nitpicking a bit :-)

walthamstow 1y ago

I live in a city with many old beautiful churches and I can safely say the architecture is the only thing I like about them.

carlosjobim 1y ago

Everywhere in the world, it's normal for churches and temples to be either the oldest, the largest, or the most beautiful buildings. Or all of those. But of course not always.

palata 1y ago
It's just that in some countries, the oldest buildings are not particularly old :-).
spauldo 1y ago
150 years ago, the buildings where I live were made of wood or sod and there were no cities. Fifty years before that, there were no buildings at all. The native people lived in tents, followed the buffalo herds, and the sky was their temple. The churches that have been built since were built by denominations that place less value in visual and architectural art than, for example, the Catholic or Orthodox churches. The single Catholic church in my town does look nicer than the others, although the inside looks just as fake as everything built since the 1950s. I have visited the church at Rota and the cathedral at Càdiz, and they are beautiful. We do not have churches like these where I live. But it wouldn't matter if we did. It is neither the blandness of my churches or the beauty of yours that cause me to dislike the church, but the way the church is used to spread hate for people who are different than them.
- palata 1y ago
  > but the way the church is used to spread hate for people who are different than them. I am not religious at all, but disliking the church because it speads hate is like disliking white persons (or whichever arbitrary criterium you want) because they are criminals: the reality is that only a minority speads hate and only a minority are criminals. A majority of religious people are good and want to do good. And it doesn't require religion to spread hate, far from it.
  - spauldo 1y ago
    Note I specifically said "is used to spread hate." There are a lot of people who use religion as a tool to push their agenda. That's especially true here in the US, where the evangelical churches are so prevalent. It differs from church to church, of course, and it says nothing about any particular member of the congregation.
    - palata 1y ago
      Right, yeah I was nitpicking a bit :-)