Religious buildings: General resources

Alcock, Susan E. (Editor), Placing the gods: sanctuaries and sacred space in ancient Greece, Oxford University Press, BL795.S47P53 1994 

Evans, Nancy A., “Sanctuaries, sacrifices, and the Eleusinian mysteries,” Numen, v. 49, 2002, p. 227-254 (PDF via Jstor)

“Greek temple architecture” (Jpegs of 4400+ images available via ArtStor)

“Roman temple architecture” (Jpegs of 7600+ images available via ArtStor)

Scully, Vincent, Earth, the Temple, and the Gods: Greek sacred architecture, Yale University Press, NA275.S3 1979

Spawforth, Tony, Complete Greek temples, Thames & Hudson, NA275.S63 2006 

“Temples,” Book 3 in Thomas Gordon Smith, Vitruvius on architecture, Monacelli Press, NA2515.V61352 2003

Waddell, Gene, “The principal design methods for Greek Doric temples and their modification for the Parthenon,” Architectural History, 2002, p. 1-31 (PDF via Jstor)

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Ancient Greece, Architecture, Classical, Religious,” and “Ancient Rome, Architecture, Introduction, Types, Religious,” etc.

George, A. R., House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia, Eisenbrauns, PJ4031 .H68 1993     

Kurth, Dieter, The temple of Edfu: a guide by an ancient Egyptian priest, American University in Cairo Press, DT73.I3 K8813 2004

Wilkinson, Richard H., The complete temples of ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, DT68.8.W55 2000

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Akkadian,” “Assyrian,” “Baalbek,” “Canaanite,” “Egypt, ancient,” “Iran, ancient,” “Mesopotamia,” “Nabataea,” “Sumerian,” “Syria-Palestine,” etc.

“Buddhist architecture” (Jpegs of 14600+ images available via ArtStor)

Fisher, Robert E., Buddhist Art and Architecture, Thames & Hudson, N8193.AS4F57 1993

Fowler, Sherry Dianne, Muroji: rearranging art and history at a Japanese Buddhist temple, University of Hawaii Press, N8193.F68 2005

Gutschow, Niels, The Nepalese caitya: 1500 years of Buddhist votive architecture, Menges, NA1510.8.N42K374 1997

Mannikka, Eleanor, Angkor Wat : time, space, and kingship, University of Hawaii Press, DS554.98 .A5 M36 2000

Sathåapitåanon, Nithi, Architecture of Thailand: a guide to traditional and contemporary forms, NA1521.N58 2013

Suzuki, Kakichi, Early Buddhist architecture in Japan, Kodansha, NA6053.2.S8913 1980

Wei, Ran, Ancient Chinese architecture: Buddhist buildings, Springer, NA6043.W4513 2000 (Oversize shelf)

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Bhutan,” “Borobudur,” “Buddhism,” “Myanmar [Burma],” “Cambodia [Kampuchea],” “China; architecture,” “Indonesia,” “Japan; architecture,” “Korea; architecture,” “Laos,” “Malaysia,” “Nepal,” “Pagoda,” “Sri Lanka,” “Stupa,” “Thailand,” “Viet Nam,” etc.

Bradley, Simon, Churches : an architectural guide, Yale University Press, NA5463.B73 2016

Buggeln, Gretchen Townsend, The suburban church: modernism and community in postwar America, University of Minnesota Press, 2015 (Ebook via Proquest Ebook Central) 

Finneran, Niall, "Built by angles? Towards a buildings archaeology context for the rock-hewn medieval churches of Ethiopia," World Archaeology, September 2009, p.415-429 (PDF via JStor)

Kilde, Jeanne Halgren, Sacred power, sacred space : an introduction to Christian architecture, Oxford University Press, 2008 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Krautheimer, Richard, Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Yale University Press, NA4817.K4 1986

Loveland, Anne C., From meetinghouse to megachurch: a material and cultural history, University of Missouri Press, NA4828.5.L68 2003

Murray, Peter, The Oxford companion to Christian art & architecture, Oxford University Press, N7830.M87 1996

Scott, Robert A., The Gothic enterprise: a guide to understanding the medieval cathedral, NA440. S428 2006 

Stock, Wolfgang Jean, European church architecture 1900-1950: towards modernity, Prestel, NA5458.S86 2006

Virtual St.Paul's Cathedral project, site links to visual and acoustic models of the cathedral (North Carolina State University)

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles "Chapel," “Christianity,” "Carolingian art," “Church,” "Gothic architecture," "Ottonian art," "Romanesque architecture," “Shakers,” "Stained glass,” etc.

Ackerman, James S., “My passage to India: a Jain temple and the fate of narrative in sacred architecture,” Harvard design magazine, #35, Fall-Winter 2012, p. 16–21

Bafna, Sonit, “On the idea of the mandala as a governing device in Indian architectural tradition,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, March 2000, p. 26-49 (PDF available via Jstor)

Bakker, Hans, “Construction and reconstruction of sacred space in Vārāṇasī,” Numen, v. 43, 1996, p. 32-55 (PDF available via Jstor)

Davidson, Julian, Introduction to Balinese architecture, Tuttle Pub., NA1526.6.B3D28 2003

Deva, Krishna, Temples of India, Aryan Books International, NA6201.K75 1995 (volumes 1 & 2)

Hardy, Adam, “Śekharī temples,” Artibus Asiae, v. 62, #1, 2002, p. 81-137 (PDF available via Jstor)

“Hindu architecture” (Jpegs of 7600+ images available via ArtStor)

Meister, Michael W., “Mountain temples: Masrur,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, March 2006, p. 26-49 (PDF via Jstor)

Michell, George, The Hindu temple: an introduction to its meaning and forms, University of Chicago Press, NA6002.M57 1988

Packert, Cynthia, The art of loving Krishna : ornamentation and devotion, Indiana University Press, 2010 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Hinduism,” “Indian subcontinent, Architecture, Introduction, Forms, Temples,” “Mathura,” etc.

Becker, Elisabeth, Mosques in the metropolis : incivility, caste, and contention in Europe, University of Chicago Press, BP65.A1 B43 2021

Bloom, Jonathan M., “Five Fatimid minarets in Upper Egypt,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, May 1984, p. 162-167 (PDF via Jstor)

Bloom, Jonathan M., The Minaret, Edinburgh University Press, NA4670.B55 2018

Ecker, Heather, “The great mosque of Córdoba in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,” Muqarnas, #20, 2003, p. 113-141 (PDF available via Jstor)

Frishman, Martin & Hasan-Uddin Kahn, Mosque: history, architectural development and regional diversity, Thames and Hudson, NA4670.M67 1994

Kahera, Akel Ismail, Deconstructing the American mosque, University of Texas Press, 2002 (ebook via ProQuest ebrary)

Kuban, Dogan, Muslim religious architecture, Brill, NA4610.K83 volumes 1 & 2

Peterson, Andrew, Dictionary of Islamic architecture, Routledge, NA380.P43 1996 (ebook also available via Ebook Central)

Roose, Eric Reinier, Architectural representation of Islam: Muslim-commissioned mosque design in The Netherlands, Amsterdam University Press, 2009 (ebook via ProQuest Ebrary)

Saleh, M. A. A. Ibn, et al., Proceedings of the symposium on mosque architecture, College of Architecture and Planning, King Saud University, NA4670.S24 1999 (volumes 1-10)

Serageldin, Ismail, Architecture of the Contemporary Mosque, Academy Editions, NA4670.A73 1996

Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman, “China's earliest mosques,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, September 2008, p. 330-361 (PDF available via Jstor)

Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman, China's early mosques, Edinburgh University Press, NA6043 .S74 2018

Sun, Dazhang, Ancient Chinese Architecture; Islamic buildings, Springer, NA1543.5.J813 2003 (Oversize shelf)

Trevathan, Idries, et al, The art of orientation: an exploration of the mosque through objects, Hirmer, BP187.62 .A78 2020

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Minaret,” “Mosque,” etc., & the Kappe Library Research Guide Islamic traditions & the Middle East.

Gharipour, Mohammad (editor), Synagogues in the Islamic world : architecture, design, and identity, Edinburgh University Press, 2017 (via Proquest Ebook Central)

Goldhill, Simon, The temple of Jerusalem, Harvard University Press, DS109.3.G65 2005

Hachlili, Rachel, Ancient synagogues - archaeology and art : new discoveries and current research, Brill,, 2013 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Kadish, Sharman, “Constructing identity: Anglo-Jewry and synagogue architecture,” Architectural History, v. 45, 2002, p. 386–408 (PDF available via Jstor)

Levine, Lee I., The ancient synagogue: the first thousand years, Yale University Press, BM653.L38 2000 (ebook also available via Ebook Central)

Mann, Vivian (Editor), Jewish texts on the visual arts, Cambridge University Press, N7415.M27 2000

Palmer, Michael Craig, Eric Mendelsohn’s synagogues in America, Lund Humphries Publishers, NA4690 .P35 2019

Stolzman, Henry & Daniel, Synagogue architecture in America: faith, spirit & identity, Mulgrave, NA4690.S76 2004

Weizman, Eyal & Herz, Manuel, "Between city and desert: constructing the North London eruv," AA Files, no. 34, 1997, p. 68-76

Wilkinson, John, From synagogue to church: the traditional design, Routledge, 2002 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles “Jewish architecture” & the Kappe Library Research Guide, Architectures of Islam & the Middle East: Nations with Islamic Traditions; Israel.

Bales, Alexander Fernández, “Mapping rituals in a Carthusian monastery: La Certosa Di Calci,” Journal of Architectural Education, v. 54, #4, 2001, p. 264–267 (PDF available via Jstor)

Evangelisti, Silvia, Nuns: a history of convent life, Oxford University Press, 2007 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Fawcett, Richard, et al., "Monastery," Oxford Art Online, 2016

Hills, Helen, “The veiled body: within the folds of early modern Neapolitan convent architecture,” Oxford Art Journal, v. 27, #3, 2004, p. 271–290 (PDF available via Jstor)

Kinder, Terryl N., Cistercian Europe: architecture of contemplation, W. B. Eerdmans Publ, NA4828.K56 2001

Lin, Wei-Cheng, Building a sacred mountain : The Buddhist architecture of China's Mount Wutai, University of Washington Press, 2014 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

“Monastic architecture for women,” Gesta, v. 31, #2, 1992 (Theme issue via Jstor)

Silk, Jonathan A., Managing monks: administrators and administrative roles in Indian Buddhist monasticism, Oxford University Press, 2008 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Valone, Carolyn, “Women on the Quirinal Hill: patronage in Rome, 1560-1630,” The Art Bulletin, v. 76, #1, 1994, p. 129–146 (PDF available via Jstor)

Walsh, Michael, “Efficacious surroundings: temple space and Buddhist well-being,” Journal of Religion and Health, v. 46, #4, 2007, p. 471–479 (PDF available via Jstor)

Walsh, Michael, Sacred economies: Buddhist monasticism and territoriality in medieval China, Columbia University Press, 2010 (via Ebook Central)

Sears, Tamara I., “Constructing the guru: ritual authority and architectural space in medieval India,” Art Bulletin, March 2008, p. 7-31 (PDF via Jstor)

Glover, William J., “Shiny new buildings,” Future anterior, Summer 2012, p. 37-47 (On reconstructions of Sikh gurdwaras; PDF available via Jstor)

Qiao, Yun, Ancient Chinese architecture; Taoist buildings, Springer, NA1543.5.J813  2001b (Oversize shelf)

“Religious structures,” in Art & Architecture Thesaurus Online, Getty Research Institute (Structured vocabulary of building types and structures)

Shinbunsha, Asahi, Ise, prototype of Japanese architecture, MIT Press, NA6057.I8 A83 1965 (Library office)

Sun, Dazhang, Ancient Chinese architecture; ritual and ceremonious buildings, Springer, NA1543.5.J813  2002 (Oversize shelf)

“The workshops at the Grand Shrine of Ise,” October 2002 (PDF available via Detail Inspiration)

Also see Oxford Art Online articles … “Aboriginal Australia, Religion,” “Africa: Architecture, Shrines and other religious buildings,” “Africa, Religion,” “Confucianism,” “Daoism,” etc.

Atelier Warmbronn, et al., “Hajj tents,” Perspecta, #34, 2003, p. 40-43 (PDF available via Jstor)

Badone, Ellen, Intersecting journeys : the anthropology of pilgrimage and tourism, University of Illinois Press, 2004 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Blick, Sarah & Rita Tekippe, Art and architecture of late medieval pilgrimage in northern Europe and the British isles : texts, Brill, 2004 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Chou, Wen-shing, “Ineffable paths: mapping Wutaishan in Qing Dynasty China,” Art Bulletin, March 2007, p. 108-129

Elsner, Jas, et al., Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and early Christian antiquity: seeing the gods, Oxford UniversityPress, 2007 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Katz, Marion, “The hajj and the study of Islamic ritual,” Studia Islamica, #98/99, 2004, p. 94-129 (PDF available via Jstor)

Margry, Peter Jan, Shrines and pilgrimage in the modern world, Amsterdam University Press 2008 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Mehrota, Rahul & Felipe Vera, Kumbh Mela: mapping the ephemeral megacity, Hatje Cantz, BL1239.82.K85K85x 2015

Morpeth, N.D., Religious tourism and pilgrimage festivals management, CABI, 2007 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Peña, Elaine A., Performing piety: making space sacred with the Virgin of Guadalupe, University of California Press, 2011 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

“Pilgrimage in the Byzantine empire,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, v. 56, 2002 (Theme issue)

Andrews, George F., Pyramids and palaces monsters and masks: the golden age of Maya architecture, Labyrinthos, F1435.A6A54 1995 (volumes 1-3)

Ashmore, Wendy, & Jeremy A. Sabloff, “Spatial orders in Maya civic plans,” Latin American Antiquity, v. 13, #2, 2002, p. 201–215 (PDF available via Jstor)

The symbolism of Maya urbanism is a controversial topic: see Michael E. Smith “Did the Maya build architectural cosmograms?”, Ivan Šprajc “Astronomical alignments at Teotihuacan, Mexico”, etc.

Aveni, Anthony (Editor), The Lines of Nazca, American Philosophical Society, Q11.P612 1990 volume 183

Houston, Stephen D. (Editor), Function and meaning in classic Maya architecture, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, F1435.3.A6F85 1998

Jones, Lindsay, “The Hermeneutics of sacred architecture: a reassessment of the similitude between Tula, Hidalgo and Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Part I,” History of Religions, February 1993, p. 207-232; and “Part II,” May 1993, p. 315-342 (PDF via Jstor)

Kelly, Klara B, Navajo Sacred Places, Indiana University Press, E99.N3K3355 1994

Lucero, Lisa J., “Classic Maya temples, politics, and the voice of the people,” Latin American Antiquity, v. 18, #4, 2007, p. 407–427 (PDF via Jstor)

Morgan, William N., Prehistoric architecture in the eastern United States, MIT Press, E98.A63 M67

Parmington, Alexander, Space and sculpture in the classic Maya city, Cambridge University Press, 2011 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Schuetz-Miller, Mardith K. “Spider Grandmother and Other Avatars of the Moon Goddess in New World Sacred Architecture,” Journal of the Southwest, Vol. 54, #2, 2012, p.283–435 (PDF via Jstor)

Scully, Vincent, Pueblo: mountain, village, dance, University of Chicago Press, E99.P9S37 1989

Also see the Oxford Art Online articles … “Native North American art, Dwellings and other structures,” “Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica: Architecture, Monumental structures,” “Pyramid, Mesoamerica,” “Shrine, Pre-Columbian America,” “Talud – tablero,” etc.

Fisch, R. “Church conversions - sacred profane sub-optimal,” Detail (English edition), July/August 2014, p. 338–345 (PDF available via Detail Inspiration)

Garcia-Fuentes, Josep-Maria, “A nation of monasteries: the legacy of Víctor Balaguer in the Spanish conception of national monuments,” Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, History, Theory, and Criticism, v. 10, #1, 2013, p. 41–51 (PDF available via Jstor)

Glatz, Carol, “Vatican to draft guidelines on proper use for redundant churches,” Catholic Herald, July 11, 2018 (online edition)

Lens, K, et al., “Conservation of monasteries by adaptive reuse: the added value of typology and morphology,” WIT Transactions on the built environment, V.131, 2013 (PDF available via WIT Press)

Nyren, Ron, “Recycled religious buildings,” Urban land, October 2009, p. 50-54

Partners for Sacred Places (“helps congregations and others with a stake in older religious properties make the most of them as civic assets”)

Simons, Robert, et al. Retired, rehabbed, reborn : the adaptive reuse of America’s derelict religious buildings and schools, Kent State University Press, 2017 (ebook available via Ebook Central)

Strimmer, U., "Sleeping under the crucifix : ... the conversion of sacred buildings," Topos, #100, 2017, p. 76–81