Theology and Architecture
Of all the art forms that human beings create, architecture is the one that we experience the most. The built environment surrounds us much of the time and profoundly shapes the way we live our lives. From a humble shelter erected in a forest glade to the houses we live in, and on to such buildings as the Parthenon in Athens, the Pantheon in Rome, St Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Sky Tower in Auckland, or the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, we construct buildings that speak of our values and aspirations and that determine in no small measure the ways we inhabit the world. As we inhabit our buildings they accrue meaning. They become repositories of memory, symbols of triumph or oppression, places of sorrow or joy.
This course will explore the ways that architecture speaks. It will explore the varying testimonies that buildings offer to what it means be human and the gods they call us to worship. Above all the course will focus on how the art of architecture might prompt new ways of seeing and reveal fresh ways of thinking about the subject matter of Christian theology.
The paper will cover the following topics:
- Doing Theology through the Arts
- Construing the world through architecture
- Inhabiting the world through architecture: Theological considerations
- Cities of Earth and the City of God
- Church architecture
Taught by Professor Murray Rae, Theology Programme
Dates: Monday, 7 – Friday, 11 July 2025 (finishing at 12:00 noon)
Venue: University of Otago
Cost: $300 per person (including GST)
Register for the Theology and Architecture course