When you ask children to draw a house, they almost always draw a triangle atop a square, whether they actually live in such a building or not.  It represents the idea of ‘house’.   When I was in the South, I also discovered the template for the idea of ‘church’ and it is different from the sort that we have here in town.

Churches declare their identity with a pediment over columns on the front, and a complex steeple rising from the roof.  The building otherwise is just a large box, perhaps a bit like the idea of house.

They seem to also need to have the window in the pediment as part of the identifying features, although I can’t imagine it having a functional role.

Of course I wondered where the original models came from.

I’ve forgotten where I downloaded this image from, and also who the actual artist was that was inspired to immortalize this.  But I think it is a church somewhere in the New England states.

And then there is this London church, it has the columns in front,  but no pediment, with the round window and massive steeple.  I suppose the steeple was meant to make to building stand out against it’s surroundings.  And this church has the admonition written on the side (perhaps it should be the 11th Commandment) “Commit No Nuisance”.  Generally good advice.