From theology to identity in contemporary religious architecture

Abstract

It is evident that the present temple, like that generated throughout history, must respond to the man it tries to serve, to its experience of faith and its expression of communion with God and men. In this sense, the consideration of the spiritual, liturgical, religious and sociocultural situation of each historical moment makes the temple manifest meanings that reproduce a concrete way of understanding, living and expressing the faith of man, in addition to those associated with the expression itself architectural of each moment.
Fixing our attention in the contemporary era, the temple is determined by specific theological conceptions and categories that underlie it. This analysis should go beyond the levels of mere technical or artistic quality to reach the deep meanings that the present moment presents to us, the way in which we transform them and the values ​​we want to bequeath to future believers. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up an explanation, reflection and relationship between different liturgical, architectural, anthropological and pastoral aspects that arise from the analysis and study of what is constituted as the identity of contemporary religious architecture based on theological principles who are behind them and who motivate them.