How Christians Deal with Times of Transition: Comparing and Contrasting the Fourth Century Basilica with the Modern

Location

CSU 253

Start Date

25-4-2006 8:45 AM

End Date

25-4-2006 10:15 AM

Student's Major

College of Arts and Humanities

Student's College

Arts and Humanities

Mentor's Name

Thomas Hagen

Mentor's Department

College of Arts and Humanities

Mentor's College

Arts and Humanities

Description

Architecture provides a cultural window into peoples' thoughts, actions, and beliefs. This is especially true of religious architecture. The modem phenomenon of the "megachurch" has resulted from a period of transition for Christians which is strikingly similar to the situation which faced Christians in the 4th century A.D. How the early Christians dealt with their building needs and how modem Christians are dealing with theirs provides an insight into how both the practice of Christianity and the culture in which it is practiced has changed. Research showed that the situations in which these stmctures were built had much in common: a growing political acceptance, an explosion of converts to the church, and a desire to move from non-religious buildings (for the early Christians this was homes, for modem Christians it was schools, homes, and theaters) to buildings set aside primarily for religion. But whereas the basilica became a giant icon in itself the megachurch today tends to be "desacralized." That is, religious symbols and icons are kept to a bare minimum. The influence of politics, fellowship, missions, technology, theology, iconography, clergy/laity relations, and pop culture on the architecture of the megachurch show why and how Christians have dealt with these similar situations in such different ways.

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Apr 25th, 8:45 AM Apr 25th, 10:15 AM

How Christians Deal with Times of Transition: Comparing and Contrasting the Fourth Century Basilica with the Modern

CSU 253

Architecture provides a cultural window into peoples' thoughts, actions, and beliefs. This is especially true of religious architecture. The modem phenomenon of the "megachurch" has resulted from a period of transition for Christians which is strikingly similar to the situation which faced Christians in the 4th century A.D. How the early Christians dealt with their building needs and how modem Christians are dealing with theirs provides an insight into how both the practice of Christianity and the culture in which it is practiced has changed. Research showed that the situations in which these stmctures were built had much in common: a growing political acceptance, an explosion of converts to the church, and a desire to move from non-religious buildings (for the early Christians this was homes, for modem Christians it was schools, homes, and theaters) to buildings set aside primarily for religion. But whereas the basilica became a giant icon in itself the megachurch today tends to be "desacralized." That is, religious symbols and icons are kept to a bare minimum. The influence of politics, fellowship, missions, technology, theology, iconography, clergy/laity relations, and pop culture on the architecture of the megachurch show why and how Christians have dealt with these similar situations in such different ways.

Recommended Citation

Dauer, Tysen. "How Christians Deal with Times of Transition: Comparing and Contrasting the Fourth Century Basilica with the Modern." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 25, 2006.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2006/oral-session-J/2