Architecture is an expression of human consciousness. During the early Middle Ages, the external world was aligned with the inner world of consciousness. The concept of a creator of all things was never questioned. Religion was embedded into the concept of church and society that controlled all aspects of life.
The word religion has its origins in the Latin “religio”. St. Augustine followed the interpretation of other scholars who saw the origins in the word “ligo”, meaning to bind or connected to something. Religion is closely associated today with a fixed “belief” in something.
Competing beliefs and religions sowing the seeds of conflict
Religious doctrines of a belief in a God or higher deity, which had a monopoly over thought and belief over centuries, today compete with many other thoughts and beliefs in an age of information overload. Never before has humanity had access to so much information and knowledge. At the same time, humanity is losing its compass with increased access to knowledge going in line with the loss of wisdom.
Our journey as human beings is ultimately like a river flowing into the sea with our path taking us from the body into the spirit, from the form into formlessness, and from time into timelessness. The disconnect between external material an inner soul need and purpose is one of modern man’s biggest calamities.
The consumerist “God“
The architecture of modern cities is a stark expression of the religion of material and consumerist worship. It is the dominant religion of today. God whispers through nature and nature has been exploited, destroyed, and pushed to the outskirts of life.
