The Production of Religious Architecture in a Diverse World

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Northern Ireland is a country where place, religion and identity are inextricably linked. Religious identity is fundamental to many within the Northern Irish community as it permeates education, locality, geography, the built environment and much more. While the religious denominations of Christianity, Protestant and Catholic, are predominant, religious minorities are growing in Northern Ireland. These include Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism, particularly with the increasing numbers of those from ethnic minorities moving to the country. Local self 'identity' is determined at a very young age with religious segregation occurring at primary and secondary school level among many communities. This research proposal aims to investigate how teenage children from different religious backgrounds perceive certain elements of place, religion and identity, in particular, how they interpret the spatial layout of religious buildings and perceive the relationship between the space and the religion itself.20 children (4 from each religious background) will be taken to one architectural example of each religion. By means of conversation, drawing and photography, the young people will be encouraged to represent and discuss the space. This will hopefully not only offer insight into the way young people from different cultural backgrounds perceive different religions, but also how they perceive religious space and identity.