Stained Glass: Relationship Between Art And Religion

Philosophical history teaches us that religion was the first cradle of art. Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. The relationship between religion and art could be considered exceptionally common in today’s society. In religious places of worship art is mostly served as the visual counterpart of religious stories. Without art religion could possibly be to complicated to visually understand. Throughout religion there is a recurrent of art in places of worship, in a broad sense as, stained glass windows, paintings, ceilings, statues or sculptures, even the architectural design of the building itself. It wasn’t until the twelfth century that producing stained glass became an art form like sculpture or painting. In the medieval period many churchgoers were illiterate, so the stories in the stained glass were not just for design they were ways of delivering messages to all viewers. “Stained glass embedded religious beliefs into the very walls”(History of stained …show more content…
Together they make understanding the philosophical message that religions send easier with visual interpretations. There are many forms of art that religions use to show their messages as mentioned before statues, paintings, sculptures, and stained glass. Without these we might not know religion the way that we know it today. Although many religions are different they all use art to show and portray their meaning and praise to the higher power that they believe in. There will never be a separation from art and religion, as it will forever continue to strive in today’s modern