I so understand what you are saying. I visit India regularly and spend time in various Hindu temples. Purely to soak up the art and culture. Surely the best art is freely available to view in all religious temples, churches etc.

Here in England, almost every village and town has an old church - the oldest, at Greensted-juxta-Ongar in Essex, has stood for around 1,200 years. Every single one of them has something - art, or an historical or architectural detail - that is unique and interesting.

As I often say, "Christianity has a lot to answer for, but it's given us some damn fine buildings."

Incidentally, if you ever get the chance to see the 1974 BBC documentary "A Passion For Churches", in which poet John Betjeman takes a look at the medieval churches of Norwich, do so.

Yes I also enjoy visiting Churches. When I visited Sicily last year I visited as many as I was able to .One of the most beautiful Is St Patrick’s Cathedral here in N.Y. I always call churches Monuments to Superstition but I definitely enjoy the history, atmosphere ,and architecture that they represent

I have no problem seeing the beauty in things that just happen to have religious connections.

I LOVE churches, as well as medieval church artwork.

Like many others on this thread I love a lot of art and European architecture from the medieval, renaissance and other time periods. Anything by Michelangelo. His perspective on the human body is amazing. Fitting more into this thread Wieskirche in Bavaria is stunningly beautiful. I appreciate all the gothic churches but Wieskirche is such a nice counterpoint to the gothic shadowy heaviness. When I walked into it the bright airyness of it all felt like a weight had been taken off me. I think it important to remember too that during these periods the church was omnipresent in almost everyone's lives and therefore artistic expression was usually expressed in a religious manner.

Some of them are absolutely stunning but like you I agree most of what happens inside is of little importance to me.

I love many old churches and I photograph them when I get the chance.

I agree
They are beautiful and impressive.

I love architecture and love the feeling of calmness the space that some churches create. I would love to hold an Agnostic salon in a church!

One positive thing I can say about Grand Rapids is that as part of the annual Art Prize competition/exhibition, several churches host entries and are open for the public to tour the facility and enjoy the historical character of the buildings. The hosting churches have tended to be more open/inviting by GR standards (a couple have Open/Affirming symbols), but other churches have participated as well.

I love architecture and cathedrals have some of the best.

Architecturally, I think many churches are fascinating and beautiful.

Oh yes, I love good architecture this for me includes mosques and buddhist temples. are such amazing structures, I would love to visit St Basil in Moscow, Cathedral Notre-Dame in Paris, the one in Barcelona, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, The Hassan II Mosque in Morocco, Meenakshi Amman Temple in India. All I have to do is win the lottery! haha. Such amazing structures. And so many more.
Though my favourite church to visit is in Tekapo New Zealand, church of the Good Shepherd. So cute and beautiful.

Love Italian churches particularly Florence and Sienna. Wonderful architecture and very colourful and ornate. Churches in the UK can be a bit dull. We have the puritans to thank for that because they took out all the colour.

Living in the UK, there are some amazing churches, not just cathedrals, I love visiting then for the amazing architecture and sound.

All Jacksonville is colonized by large, modern churches... way too many of them. I enjoy cathedrals, the architecture, the art, the sweat involved, so I enjoy them in Europe... Specially when I was stationed in Stuttgart, GE... not that far from Tubingen, a college town was famous for medical school. A friend visiting from Denmark wanted to go to the town because knew people that attended the school. We found an old large church, the vampire storyteller in me was able to explore the whole facility as available of course... there was a room with a number of stone caskets... what I found interesting was inside that room there was not a single cross and I layed out a path from the outside to the room where you can walk without being in contact with the shade of a cross... perfect for my vampyre story of "the chronicles of the tainted blood". Work never finished but as a raised catholic I am use to the hoopla of the catholic church. In Hamburg there is a tower you can go up and at one point for about 3 years was the tallest structure in Europe, Spain and England also full of cathedrals too. They are interesting to look at. Signs when they were "managed" by god.

Hmmm....
I thought about my answer and it still reminds me of the slaves that built Charlestown South Carolina. I grew up there as a child. My dad was stationed at the Air Force Base thats how i got to see these structures. It was something to see. All of them. Today it represents another meaning. The blacks were slaves. They were taught to build these pluss persecuted. The Churches had their hold on the citizens. I really hate that this happened. Thats why i don't like religion. As safe as some people think others should have it. I say they should read their history books instead of shouting it out to the world that their religious.

As a photographer, I find the architecture of the oldest ones of particular interest. Some of the older, smaller rural churches are also noteworthy.

Absolutely! Some ecclesiastical aesthetics are worth going out of the way to see.

This summer, I had the chance to visit nearly a dozen incredible cathedrals and church buildings throughout the British Isles—among many other things, like museums, pubs, and castles —and the art and architecture is some of humanity's finest!

At the same time, it was also a profoundly effective way to learn how much of a mess the British entanglement of politics and religion has been. You could use such visits to point out such things to your son as well. Building and maintaining enormous splendor comes with many costs—monetary and social.

Wow. Interesting. No not at all. Maybe in Europe they are nice/:cool as you describe, or in NY City etc, but not in the places I've been. But sure. we've all seen the pics of the beautiful places like the Sistine chapel, so I get it. I'm afraid I'll spontaneously combust if I get too close to one, myself.

Ah, yes, the church and its edifice complex. Not only did the church have the money, they had the people who were willing to throw their lives into building one more monument to stupidity if all they got out of it was a stated assurance of salvation in the afterlife. Perhaps a plot in the burial ground if their contribution were noteworthy enough and they died before the contribution was forgotten. Exceed the 'use by' label and all bets were off.

I have stood amazed at the energy, talent, and money that was thrown into some of the great cathedrals around the world. Incredibly beautiful works of art -- all based on a lie. They represent the follies of man on the one hand and stand as monuments to the brilliance of the lie's perpetrators on the other.

If you go to Europe there are more architectural papal palaces than you can imagine. I actually had a hand in The Solar Church Book. Did you know there are solar churches in this country.

Yes