TABÚ

In religious societies the value system is dominated by metaphysical notions and supernatural phenomenona rather that factual knowledge and individual's desire. In the heirachy of a religious value system, Individual's desire for things appears as the least of importance. In fact, due to the infinite eminence of the holy and supernatural concepts, all humanistic and individualistic feelings and desires are viewed as selfish, looked down upon and are highly suppressed. Desires are the beginning of putting self ahead of the holy, hence they have become the first and foremost taboo of such a society.
Yet interestingly, to glorify the holiness of the supernatural, religions apply the element of awe. An overwhelmed individual is prepared to worship the unknown; he might even create something greater than the given descriptions in his mind. Religious arts and architecture -especially in the dark ages- are the media for the emotional suffocation. These works use conceptual perfection as the symbol of unearthly matters; as a sign of existence of the phenomena that are inaccessible, nonhuman, and non-material. One of these techniques had been the use of symmetry -perfect symmetry is almost impossible to be found in human's surroundings. In almost all the religions, symmetry is a sign of holiness, a emblem for god, an indicator of flawless perfection. These artists and architects created symbolic design languages, using complex mathematical and geometrical concepts, to depict the profound extraordinary. However no human can do the work of god; man can not create a flawless work of art, and even if he can he is not allowed to do so, since it is an insult to the holy. Therefor they always implemented a conscious imperfection in the work. If one pays attention to these works, he can find an intentional error in every single one. An artist, a creator, purposely deprives his work of perfection to pay respect to the holy. And that is one example of how influential and suppressive religions are...