Older and newer churches just feel different.
The weekly rituals, the yearly holidays may stay the same. Architecture, however, tends to evolve. And as places of worship change over time, so do the feelings they evoke.
David Loertscher worships at the the LDS 10th Ward Historic Complex on the corner of 400 South and 800 East. The ornate old church, with its stained glass and curved ceiling, bears little resemblance to the standardized, utilitarian design of modern LDS meetinghouses.
"The 10th Ward is unique in the LDS environment," Loertscher said. "You enter the chapel on a typical Sunday morning and everything is a warm yellow from the stained-glass windows. Part of it is the atmosphere which you never get over. You instantly get the feeling you're in a very special place."
Both the LDS and Roman Catholic churches have encouraged simpler chapels in the latter half of the 20th century in contrast to the more ornate ones built in the first half of the century with intricate stained-glass windows and decorative art.
Loertscher and Marty Seiner, an art historian and member of the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese committee on art and liturgy, agree the older designs evoke a certain feeling.
After the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, Catholic churches were asked to make changes that included moving the altar closer to the congregation and placing all baptismal fonts in the front of the church to remind parishioners of the vows as they enter.
Newer churches were designed with floor layouts and seating arrangements to bring the congregation closer together and to the altar.
"I can appreciate the group coming together," Seiner said. "That is the purpose of coming to church rather than always coming alone for individual worship. There's a lot to be said for that, it's the congealing of the parish into a single entity."
All the same though, Seiner likes to worship in the older Cathedral of the Madeleine, where she also gives tours.
"My personal preference is for the older form of worship because there's so many things to contemplate — images of the past. There's a lack of those suggestions in the newer chapels," she said. "The history of Christianity is all there, and you feel the tradition going back to St. Peter."
The Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 East and South Temple, is built in the traditional cruciform (cross) shape like St. Peter's in Rome. The first Catholic bishop in Salt Lake built the cathedral in 1909 and designed the interior with stained-glass windows from Munich, Germany, depicting images of the five mysteries contemplated during recitation of the Catholic rosary. The second bishop, who took over in 1916, redecorated the interior with a giant mural of the Holy Trinity and painting the walls with Spanish Gothic colors — yellows, purples, greens and reds, Seiner said.
Theresa Nebeker, member of the art and architecture committee for the Diocese, prefers the newer or more progressive chapels like St. Martin de Porres in Taylorsville and St. Catherine of Siena across from the University of Utah because they enhance the sense of community during the worship.
"Some feel Mass is a time to be alone with God, but actually it's communal, a celebration of the Eucharist," she said.
After the Second Vatican Council, pews were replaced by chairs, and instead of rows they were placed in circular formations around an altar placed in the middle of the room instead of in the front. The result: Congregation members could see each other and interact during the Mass.
Consequently, newer chapels have been designed in more circular forms. They also have less art, and the stained-glass windows are more abstract instead of depicting figures or scenes.
The changes are often unpopular with older parishioners accustomed to the traditional styles.
"They viewed that as the building was less sacred," Nebeker said.
Because it is the will of the church, she believes more education by clergy will help people make the transition. She herself used to have biases about what a church should look like until her pastor helped her see a broader view, she said.
But many Catholics in Utah still prefer the more traditional styles. St. Francis Xavier in Kearns was originally designed in the newer, more progressive style. But a new pastor in the early 1990s came in and was more comfortable with the old style and replaced the chairs with pews and moved the altar from the center of the room to the front.
Mass in all churches is exactly the same experience, but some people feel more comfortable in the older layout, Nebeker said.
The LDS Church has also decided to simplify its buildings. The result is chapels that are often built with similar designs.
Loertscher has been all around the country and seen many of these "cookie-cutter" chapels. He prefers the historic 10th Ward Chapel with its large stained-glass window depicting Christ knocking on a door, the large organ and a curved ceiling similar to that in the LDS Tabernacle on Temple Square.
He said he understands and agrees with the decision not to have more buildings like the 10th Ward Chapel.
"For one, it's terribly expensive, and the church has to build so many structures. It's nice, but it's not practical," he said.
But the opportunity to attend the 10th Ward is what drew him to the neighborhood, he said.
"It's nice to worship someplace special," he said.
Part of what makes the building special is its history. The modern facility is made from three historic buildings, the meetinghouse built in 1873, the school built in 1887 and the chapel with the stained-glass windows built in 1909.
According to the current bishop, George Parker, it is the oldest continuing meetinghouse in the United States.
"Every prophet except Joseph Smith has been there," he said.
"You get a feeling, an instant sense of special, an instant sense of history," he said.
In every service, he said, worshippers get out of it what they bring to it. But with the newer chapels they have to bring a little bit more.
For members of the church who don't have the opportunity to attend buildings like the 10th Ward Chapel, Loertscher thinks LDS temples fill that gap.
Because so many have now been built worldwide, no one has to miss out on the feelings of worshipping in a special place.
Sometimes there isn't much of a difference between old and new. The Greek Orthodox Church has two buildings for worship in the valley, the Prophet Elias Church at 5335 Highland Drive and Holy Trinity Cathedral at 279 S. 300 West. Neither is more modern because tradition is important in the faith, said Father Michael Kouremetis, head priest of both churches.
Everything, including size, space and where the icons are placed, is specified by protocol.
"In the Orthodox Church things that are traditional stay the same. Christ never changes. There's no reason to 'modernize,' " Father Kouremetis said.
But that doesn't mean the two buildings, built nearly 50 years apart, are the same. The newer Prophet Elias Church is actually more traditional.
At Holy Trinity the icons, images of important religious figures, are painted instead of traditional mosaic and more Renaissance than the prescribed Byzantine style. The reason: Holy Trinity was built in 1917 when trained iconographers from Greece were not available. When Prophet Elias Church was constructed in the mid-1960s, there were more iconographers in the United States who could be brought to Utah to do the work, Father Kouremetis said.
Many older Greek Orthodox buildings in the country are similar to Holy Trinity for the same reason.
But just as in LDS and Roman Catholic churches, the ceremonies are the same regardless of the style in buildings.