How religion shapes the home

Mormon pantries

Mormon tradition calls for church members to prepare for the possibility of hard times by setting aside a supply of food and water. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints urges congregants to build a three-month supply of food and water, which should be rotated to prevent spoilage. A long-term supply of nonperishable items should be assembled, as well.

This could pose a storage issue for large families living in less-than-spacious homes. But the Food Storage Made Easy website offers ideas for people living in modest spaces, including storing canned food and plastic bins full of dry pasta, in addition to placing flour and rice under the bed, in closets or behind the sofa.

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Buddhist altars

Buddhists may have altars in their homes. Typically, these are found in a dedicated room or quiet corner. The altar can be a table, shelf or cabinet that displays a statue or image of the Buddha. A Japanese Buddhist altar, or butsudan, includes a cabinet or similar structure that houses the statue or image of the Buddha, in addition to wooden doors that are closed at sunset.

Buddhist altars also have oil lamps or candles, plus seven bowls for placing offerings such as water, fruit, tea or rice. Other items that can be kept on the altar include incense burners and small bells.

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Jewish kitchens

Jewish dietary laws have implications for kitchen design. A requirement that meat and dairy be kept separate can mean having separate sets of plates and cutlery for the two types of food — or, for those who can afford it, even two sinks, two dishwashers and two ovens.

Another kitchen concern prohibits certain kinds of work on the Shabbat, or day of rest. Some interpret that law to apply to everything from preparing food to turning on a light. To help the observant comply, many appliances have a Sabbath mode. A compliant refrigerator, for example, will not automatically illuminate when opened, so opening its door is not effectively the same as flipping a light switch.

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Feng shui

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese discipline concerned with aligning buildings and their interior features to maximize their qi, or life force. Although feng shui isn't a religion, practitioners seek to take advantage of a site's positive energy to produce harmony and bestow good luck on a home's residents.

For example, because feng-shui practitioners believe a home derives its energy through the front door, entrances are important. Obstructions such as walls in front of the door are believed to inhibit the energy flowing into the house. Back doors that are in line with the main entrance are unacceptable because they allow energy to escape too quickly without nourishing the home.

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Catholic fonts

In Catholicism and some other Christian denominations, holy water — or water blessed by a priest — can help protect a home and its residents from evil. Catholic churches have basins or fonts containing holy water near their entrances. Although the practice has declined in recent years, Catholic homes may have the same.

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Orthodox Christian icon corners

In the early days of the church, Christians would meet in homes, rather than in formal temples or churches. With that tradition in mind, followers of Eastern Orthodox Christianity typically have a consecrated place in their home that can serve as the center for family prayer.

Known as an icon corner, this area traditionally is on an eastern wall. It houses icons of Christ, the Theotokos — the Greek name for the Virgin Mary — and any family patron saints.

According to the Orthodox Christian Information Center, a shelf or small table in the icon corner also should contain an oil lamp that burns continuously. It also may hold prayer books, a bottle of holy water and other religious objects.

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Baha'i furniture replacement

Adherents of the Baha'i faith are urged, if possible, to replace their furniture every 19 years. The injunction is contained in the Arabic Bayán, a book written around 1848 by Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shírází, who later took the title of the Báb, or "Gate." The Baha'i website compares the Báb to John the Baptist in Christian teachings, in that he prepared the way for the coming of a Bahá'u'lláh, who in Baha'i belief was a "manifestation of God."

The Baha'i Reference Library says Bahá'u'lláh added that the aim of the Báb's rule was to encourage followers to promote "refinement and cleanliness" by ridding themselves of old and shabby items. Keeping treasured family heirlooms, jewelry or antiques was and is perfectly fine.

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Shinto shelves

Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, and many practitioners maintain a miniature household altar called a kamidana, or "god shelf," in a prominent place in their homes. The shelf or cabinet, which typically is mounted high on a wall in an important room, houses sacred objects that may include small mirrors, tablets inscribed with prayers and sanctified by a priest, and lengths of braided rice-straw rope called shimenawa.

Worshippers may place daily offerings of food, drink or flowers at the kamidana.

Because many Japanese Shinto believers are also Buddhists, many homes with a kamidana also will have a butsudan.

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Spirit houses

In Southeast Asia, the Buddhist religion has embraced some characteristics of the animist faiths that preceded it. Spirit houses placed near most of the houses and businesses in the region reflect that.

According to the belief, construction of houses and other buildings may displace the spirits inhabiting the land. If not given shelter, those spirits can turn malevolent, bringing misfortune to anyone occupying the offending structures.

To appease these spirits, homeowners install miniature houses or temples — often including tiny models of people or work animals — where the spirits can reside, appeased.

Priests or Buddhist monks often help determine optimal locations for these structures, which should not be too near or in the shadow of the full-size building they are meant to protect.

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Hindu altars

A home altar, or pujasthana, is an important part of the Hindu tradition. Traditionally located in the northeastern corner of a home, it is the place where family members can perform the daily rituals of worship, known as puja.

These shrines can be elaborate or simple, taking up an entire room or comprising just a small collection of religious images on a wall. The deities whose icons or images are displayed at the home altar vary, too, depending on which gods or goddesses the members of the family find most inspiring.

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