The modern church building, in other words, has become another vehicle of secularisation. Opponents of this argument point out that what we like to call tradition was merely the fashion of its day. Indeed, the term Gothic was originally applied to art in a pejorative sense to describe buildings of the Dark Ages which, under the influence of barbarous invading Goths, had usurped the Roman style. Advocates of modern design also accuse traditionalists of wanting to encourage antiquated and other-worldly shrines rather than living churches in which worshippers are able to give contemporary expression to their beliefs. In matters of aesthetics there is no right or wrong.
Time tends to be the final arbiter.
Chris McGillion is the Herald's religious affairs columnist. He teaches in the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University. Privacy Policy Copyright 2000.