Thursday, November 1, 2018

Churches

America is vast, with a variety of people, climates, and resources. Also, in their early years, the Non-Denominational Church tried to appeal to many localities, usually with their own identities religious majorities. Trying to appeal to such a disparate group, the various Church buildings can have their own distinct flavor.

Ohio: Veering towards the imposing but austere, Ohio's major cathedrals and Church centers are made of limewashed granite with wide open rooms and angular figures, while the churches themselves tend to have rounded roofs. The windows are sizable, but largely geometric in their imagery. Pulpits are often in the center.

Iowa: Many Iowan Non-Denoms are recent converts, and the New Israelite ancestry means the Churches are kept very low key. They're made of lumber, and there's very little imagery besides simple crosses.

The Gulf Coast: Being on the rosary belt, and with a diverse and Carribean-descended population, any Non-Denom presence in places like Florida is infused with a good deal of syncretism, including frescas full of creatures from Voodoo mythology. While Madonnas are generally more popular here than in other churches in the Non-Denom world.

Piedmont: The most gilded imagery you'll find anywhere east of California, Churches in Piedmont are also very fond of using marble columns. These guys like to employ top sculptures, and flaunt their mineral wealth.

New England: Due to New England's revolving door history of Puritanism to Catholics to Secularism, the religious imagery and architecture can be quite contradictory. The the most part they've settled into simple unassuming masonry with the iconic white pointy roofs. However, the carpentry can be quite elaborate, with stained glass widows being an art unto themselves. Being the backyard of the Non-Denominational Church, capital cities like Boston and Providence can also have larger cathedrals for offices higher on the ladder.

New Jersey: New Jerseyans had to be talked very hard out of their Catholic faith, and most Non-Denom Churches in New Jersey don't look too indistinguishable from their Catholic counterparts.

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting update on how culture would make churches and cathedrals different.

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