Faith, diversity and impact

This issue of focuses on sacred spaces and religious buildings. As Ursula de Jong outlines in her introductory essay (page 13), recent statistics demonstrate an accelerating incidence of Australia’s population reporting no religion, yet “there is still a marked interest in sacred spaces and religious buildings, Angelo Candalepas reflects on the contradiction of designing the Punchbowl Mosque, “an anachronism when considering the rise of the non-faith position of the world.” Regardless of society’s shifting relationship with religion and the many differences between denominations and faiths, the projects in this issue are witness to the transformative spiritual impact that sacred spaces can have.