Buddhist Temple

This is the Buddhist Temple that is inside the Multi-faith Center of Albright College. The Albright College Multi-faith Center is a building that has a long history with the religious organizations of Albright College. The College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but has placed a high level of focus on being multi-faith. The idea of being multi-faith seems a bit at odds when thinking about some religions though. I recently did a blog post about a neutral worship space that I found while visiting my great aunt in the hospital. I researched the topic and found that there were once chapels attached to just about every hospital but because of the changing dynamic of the melting pot we call the United States, Christianity is no longer among the majority. The solution to this problem was to build a natural space for everyone instead of specialized spaces that met the needs of the various religions. I questioned whether the neutral worship space would be able to properly accommodate the multiple religions that the singular room is trying to appease.

            The Buddhist Temple upstairs is decorated in multiple reds, oranges, pinks, and gold. There was a lot of symbolism in the room including a wall tapestry that I have posted above. In addition to the tapestry, there also was a shrine with a Buddha and candles on the shrine. I have not been to a session but I have had the opportunity to meet a couple of the members that come to meditate on Thursday nights. There are also incense that are burned to add to the atmosphere. I think that the multi-faith center of Albright College does a much better job at accommodating the multiple religions that pass through. The hospital has gone the utilitarian route by creating a universal neutral space. Albright College has pushed the same concept in a way because there is still only one dedicated space but inside the space there is still room for specialization as presented in the fact that we have a Buddhist Temple that is in use.         

            There is still, however, the question of how well a space can provide the necessary atmosphere when it’s attached to another space. This question does not only apply to hospitals and Albright College but the question also applies to the religious buildings in cities where they might be connected to other buildings that do not have the same vales. An example would be a catholic church is built, a complex is built around the catholic church as the place is developed, a Verizon Wireless store is built next to the church but goes out of business, and lastly planned parent hood moves into the Verizon wireless building. I know this is quite an extreme case and most likely will not happen but the question about proximity and the effect it has on religious spaces still remains.