American Sanctuary: Understanding Sacred SpacesLouis P. Nelson This volume examines a diverse set of spaces and buildings seen through the lens of popular practice and belief to shed light on the complexities of sacred space in America. Contributors explore how dedication sermons document shifting understandings of the meetinghouse in early 19th-century Connecticut; 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
7 | |
2 New England Orthodoxy and the Language of the Sacred | 9 |
The Design of Sacred Space in New Yorks Central Park | 29 |
4 The Urban Practice of Jewish Space | 57 |
II Identity | 79 |
Recent African American Yard Shows | 81 |
The Sri Siva Vishnu and Murugan Temples in Metropolitan Washington DC | 95 |
Anglican Constructions of the Sacred | 149 |
American Judaism and Constructions of Domestic Sacred Space | 174 |
Memorial Architecture and the Struggle for Meaning | 195 |
IV Toward a Method | 215 |
A Method for Focusing on Religious Meaning | 220 |
Select Bibliography | 237 |
255 | |
257 | |