I think they're beautiful and I can easily separate myself from the religious intentions and just admire the artistry.

I love to take photos of mosques here in Thailand, but especially the glittering Buddhist temples, statues, etc.

Photos: is my daughter and I posing by the 99-foot reclining Buddha at Ko Yo Island, near Songkhla, Thailand, a Buddhist temple at a school where I was teaching, a Guardian Naga at a temple near Samila Beach, me at a Buddhist temple in Nakhon, Thailand.

As amazing pieces of architecture, and wonderful concert halls , I love the older ones. In that way, crazy beliefs inspired the most remarkable buildings !

I can appreciate the building without condoning what goes on inside it.

I love beautiful architecture, but it has nothing to do with the purpose of the building. I love all kinds of art. To me it's what makes us human.

The older the better especially if they have an adjacent cemetery or crypt!

I've been to Europe for the past 6 years and thats all I do is visit Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels along the way. The art work and architecture, frescos, wood work, ceilings and doorways are unknown and these artists spent their lives creating what no museums in America can compare. Germany is second to Italy which I need to go back because I was so amazed by it. Even the floors are original so you know that Kings, Popes and Royalty renown walked on the very floors and some are buried underneath them. The Organs and if you hear them play are totally like nothing else you would believe.

Beauty is beaty- even if people worship in it.

I don't care if the church or cathedral is of religeous origin or not, The superb architectural designs, mostly carried out during ancient times, are a source of wonder to me. I have seen the colon cathedral in Germany, and the Notre Dame in Paris, both are examples of superb design.The methods used to keep the block walls stable, like flying buttrusses, illustrate just how advanced these architects were. The coloured glass panels are breathtakingly beautiful. and well worth a visit..

It is impossible not to be impressed at the sheer ingenuity and artistry!

I saw the notre dame in montreal... it's pretty cool. and the organ. the church in santa fe with the staircase is pretty awesome too. that staircase is cool how it goes up and (originally) didn't have a handrail... just the staircase going up with no center support. it's a cool story how it was made. I drove by robert tilton's joint in ft worth or wherever it is and that thing looks like a casino...that one's kinda funny

They are just beautiful buildings. The fact that they're also places of worship is irrelevant to me; after all, the Church had the money in those days, it's only natural that they'd pay for the biggest and prettiest buildings. Just like today, it's private companies, and in the early modern era, it was the monarchy.

Ive been in ely and york which is even bigger. love the workmanship especially if you realise what tools they had. you can't change history either. id love to buy an old church and make it a home as they stand alone and are lovely buildings.

Yes and no. I've studied architecture and spent many years admiring religious architecture (not just Christian) but I find that in the past few years, I get angry because I know the theology that the architecture is based on and that gets me in a tizzy. I'd still visit famous religious architecture for the history and to experience them first hand. I don't know that I'd spend a ton of time studying them at this point though.

I certainly admire the architecture of the old churches. How they were built, and over a long time. And their stained glass windows, art, etc.

I love looking at the art & architecture of old churches..

History is beautiful- religion is bad

I wouldn't call it a 'passion', in reference to cathedrals and churches in specific. I am passionate about history and these structures are, and represent, an important part of our history. Regardless of how I believe, that is a truth.

Great architecture and architectural achievements are the work of man and whatever prompted it is beside the point.

when nobody had a clue what made the world those craftsmen at least gave us something to think about unlike secular money and their glass towers that probably won't last more than 200 years

Gothic churches are rather appealing to me.

I can stare for hours at all kinds of architecture (except modern). The way I see it, with medieval churches and cathedrals, is that our ancestors (peasants, etc.) built and paid for them by extortion through tithes and taxes. They should be public buildings, not owned by the greedy religions. So they belong to everyone to appreciate, even us heathens.

When we were visiting Cebu, I spent one very long day visiting most all the very old churches on the island. I guess some of my companions thought I must be pretty religious but I did get a lot of great pictures. A lot of them date back to the 1500s.

I think it’s also important to keep in mind what great works could’ve been done without religion. Or what could’ve not been destroyed by religion.