ABSTRACT
First reflections might suggest that using architecture to initiate dialogue between the three great monotheistic religions has little prospect of success simply because the architectural traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam just seem so different. The author suggests that these first thoughts are in fact quite wrong, and in at least three respects. First, however simply each of the three religions may have begun, all three experienced pressures towards symbolic elements in their architecture with, as is now being increasingly acknowledged, such pressures existing even from a very early stage. Second, part of the explanation for this phenomenon lies in influences from one to the other in each of the three cases. Finally, these movements do rather more than just reflect changing architectural tastes in the wider culture. In effect, they embody various theological ideas that, if handled carefully, could actually encourage dialogue to continue today and at a deeper and much more explicit level.
