American sanctuary : understanding sacred spaces / edited by Louis P. Nelson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Nelson, Louis P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sacred space--United States.

Sacred space.

United States--Religion.

United States.

Religion.

Physical Description:

x, 280 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2006]

Summary:

Why do Americans hold certain places sacred? These studies of popular belief and sacred space examine a diverse set of spaces and buildings to shed light on America's complex understanding of "hallowed ground," both public and private. They examine some of the ways that, in response to a wide range of deeply held beliefs or profound experiences, human action constructs sacred space. Contributors to the book explore how dedication sermons in nineteenth-century Connecticut document the ideological transformation of the meetinghouse to the elegant and graceful modern church; the changes in evangelical church architecture during the same century and what that tells us about evangelical religious life; the impact of contemporary issues on Catholic church architecture; the impact of globalization on the construction of traditional sacred spaces; the urban practice of Jewish space; nature worship and Central Park in New York; the mezuzah and domestic sacred space; and, finally, the spiritual aspects of African American yard art.

Contents:

New England orthodoxy and the language of the sacred / Gretchen Buggeln

God in Gotham: the design of sacred space in New York's Central Park / Paula A. Mohr

The urban practice of Jewish space / Jennifer Cousineau

Salvage/Salvation: recent African American yark shows / John Beardsley

Spaces for a new public presence: the Sri Siva Vishnu and Murugan temples in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. / Joanne Punzo Waghorne

Getting beyond Gothic: challenges for contemporary Catholic church architecture / Paula M. Kane

Word, shape, and image: Anglican constructions of the sacred / Louis P. Nelson

The Mezuzah: American Judaism and constructions of domestic sacred space / Erika Meitner

Mythic pieties of permanence: memorial architecture and the struggle for meaning / Jeffrey F. Meyer

Reading megachurches: investigating the religious and cultural work of church architecture / Jeanne Halgren Kilde.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-267) and index.

ISBN:

0253346991

0253218225

OCLC:

61123048