No Place for God: The Denial of Transcendence in Modern Church Architecture

In their quest to adapt to and speak to the present age, Catholics over the last forty years have unquestioningly allowed the trends in modern architecture to fashion their churches, and the outcome has been the construction of the ugliest and emptiest churches in history, according to author Moyra Doorly, an architect from England.

Doorly traces the principles of modern architecture to the ideas of space that spread rapidly during the 20th century. She sees a parallel between the desacralization of the heavens, and consequently of our churches, and the inward search for a god of one's own. This double movement—away from the transcendent God, who reveals himself to man through Scripture and tradition, and toward an inner truth relevant only to oneself—has emptied our churches of the majesty and beauty that once inspired reverence in both believers and unbelievers alike. Illustrated with many photographs.