Christianity - as most know - has two divisions - Catholics (the original) and Protestants (who "protest"ed and rebelled against the all powerful Church in thirteenth century Europe).
American Christianity is mostly Protestant (around 75%).
The Protestant Ethic - Sparse, Severe, Serious. Remember, the first boat - the Mayflower - was a bunch of "puritans" whose religion was too severe for fifteenth century England. The frame below is from an educational farm nearby - Rancho San Antonio.
One manifestation of the ethic is the extremely boring churches in America (because hey, too much colour, ornamentation, intricate architecture, etc are all associated with the Catholic church - which is what the Protestants rebelled against). So, most churches here are very simple, modern and yes - not beautiful.
I love looking at stained glass artwork and some of the good ones I have seen locally have always been in Catholic churches.
Both of these are from the Saint Thomas Aquinas church in Palo Alto
