The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Decoding Churches, Cathedrals, Temples, Mosques and Other Places of Worship Around the World

by Jon Cannon

Across the globe, pilgrims and tourists, locals and foreigners flock to sacred sites and houses of worship. Why? Because throughout time, humans have directed extraordinary amounts of energy toward the creation of architecture that expresses their religious beliefs.

From Stonehenge to the Sagrada Família; from the Acropolis to Angkor Wat, The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces offers fascinating insights into some of the most impressive man-made structures in the world. By revealing how these historical places of worship were used and how tenets of a faith were encoded in their structures, the book enhances our understanding and appreciation of the human mind and spirit.

The superb full-color photographs that can be found on every page are supplemented by ingenious 'decoder' sections. These zero in on the most important design elements, combining close-up detail with fascinating explanatory detail.

The book emphasizes the key living faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism), but early chapters also look at the great sites of prehistory and antiquity, including the stone circle at Avebury in southwest England and the Pyramids at Giza.

Genres: Architecture, History, Religion, Art, Spirituality, Art History, Travel

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[David Bisset · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a coffee table book; the text is dense and erudite with numerous illustrations.

[Joseph Pearce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very beautiful and informative book. On how architecture conveys religious thoughts and understanding.

[Mark McTague · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed on several levels with this book. I found it via the Folio Society's website, and my respect for them suffered as a result. They produce excellent books, and I'm happy to have about a dozen in my library, but someone at Folio was asleep at the switch when they advertised this text on their site. It's a coffee-table book, and I know now why that term is dismissive. This book is long on flash (it has some lovely photos) and short on content. Fortunately, those lovely photos take up about half of the 210 pages, because the text is numbingly uninspired. The title is quite misleading. There may well be a "secret" language of the architecture of churches, temples, mosques, etc, but this book does not deliver it. I bought this expecting an analysis and description of how the architecture of these religious buildings reflects some of the theological ideas of the religion, and there is some of that. It's not absent, but it amounts to little more than 25% of the text (and I'm being generous, I think). Instead one gets an unending string of loosely connected facts of history (names, dates, sites, architectural nomenclature in the language of the religion's adherents), seasoned ever so lightly with a few comments that can be read as a bit of "decoding" of the architecture of these sacred buildings. Overall, however, the dominant impression is of an utterly boring travelogue that gives you a vague impression of having been told something, but you're hard pressed to say what it was. I have taught writing for decades, and this book is weakly cohesive and quite incoherent. It never delivers on the thesis implied in the title. I wish I had my $28 back. Run, don't walk, away from this book.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

The Secret Languages of Sacred Spaces is a beautiful book detailing the different meanings behind the architecture of sacred places around the world. The book showcases sacred places from thousands of years ago to more recent "modern" constructions. There is a wealth of knowledge in this book interspersed between stunning photographs. I can honestly say that after reading this book there are several new places added to my "to visit" list.

I enjoyed the details about why these spaces look the way they do, and enjoy learning about religions I am not as familiar with. I did find, though, that the book ended abruptly. It had an introduction, but felt after the shinto entry that there should have been a conclusion.

A pleasure to read!

[Ariste Egan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and comprehensive "handbook" for anyone who is fascinated by the connection between architecture and function and meaning. As an Art History major, I took my fair share of courses in the History of Religious Architecture. This book re-awakened my love of this unique style of building. From the clear introduction to the beautiful photographs to, finally, the commentary that beautifully connects the form with the function, this is a must read -- A must "own".

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of religious architecture from a wide range of faiths. The full-color photographs are especially stunning. I don't understand how a book of this type with so many specialist terms doesn't include any sort of glossary, but fortunately in most cases the descriptions were still fairly clear.

[Tosca Wijns-Van Eeden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing artwork well depicted in a lot of glossy coloured pictures. Very informative texts and explanations. Loved it, recommend it.

[Amy Qualls · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reference-ish than I was expecting. Turns out I knew more than I realized, too.