They were awakened in the morning, they were clothed, fed, received two meals a day,

and at the end of the day they were put to bed in their own chambers within the temple.

Hello, I'm Neil McGregor, and in this series of podcasts,

I'm looking at objects to see how shared beliefs have helped shape societies. Now we're focusing on the

theatre of faith, exploring the public ceremonies where whole communities come together to sacrifice

and to celebrate. And we start with what it means to build a house for a god. This is the BBC.

Police in the American state of South Carolina

say a gunman has shot dead nine people

that a method...

...dozens others injured in an attack on a Sunni mosque.

It happened during Friday prayers.

They said they shot both the attackers dead inside the synagogue.

...was smashed by the intruder, who was overpowered and arrested by police.

When mosques or temples, churches or synagogues are attacked, they make the news in a very particular way.

Because we all understand that targeting buildings like these is in fact targeting those who worship in them.

A sacred space is so much more than just a building.

It carries within it the beliefs, indeed the identity of a community.

In this program I want to explore the idea of sacred buildings.

Sacred spaces take many forms. buildings.

Sacred spaces take many forms. It can be a soaring Gothic cathedral, like here at Salisbury.

These wooden pieces here, they show where the original building actually ended.

Sacred spaces can just as easily be modest extensions

...