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July 5, 2026ReligionsOpen Access

Embodied Sacred Orientation: A Comparative Spatial Theology of Ritual Directionality in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Architecture

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Authors

SBSertan BakarAMAli Mehdizade

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Overview

Comparative analysis reveals distinct spatial theologies of worship direction in Abrahamic religions, suggesting deeper connections to sacred space.

Key Points

  • This article seeks to explore how the directionality of worship in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam shapes their respective spatial theologies.
  • Hermeneutic reading of selected sacred texts and liturgical sources
  • Comparative analysis of synagogue, church, and mosque spaces
  • Criteria included orientation, architectural focus, bodily posture, and ritual surfaces.
  • Judaism emphasizes a horizontal orientation toward Jerusalem, related to covenantal connections.
  • Christianity embodies a vertical axis linked to the cross and transcendence.
  • Islam focuses on downward orientation during prostration, signifying submission to God.

Cite This Study

Bakar et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a49f70df5d1d45b288011e2https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070800
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  4. 4Nature, Place, and the Sacred: Biophilic Design as a Mediator of Spiritual Experience in a 13th Century Anatolian Seljuk Mosque2026
  5. 5Spiritual Affect and Spatial Experience: Vernacular and Generic Architecture Through Sufi Ḥāl Concepts2026