Church

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Cathedral, Chapel, Ecclesiastical Site

Category

Public Facilities, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a church
Note: The message Prayer Room is not included

	Source	Description
	STVO D	Side view of church with steeple
	STVO A	Side view of church with steeple
1)	ÖNORM A 3011	Side view of church with steeple
	Slovenia 2015	Side view of church with steeple and window
	Dumbar-WH	Side view of church with steeple and round window
2)	Picto'grafics	Side view of church with steeple and door
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of church with steeple, door and two windows
	Erco	Side view of church with steeple and four windows
	Hablamos Juntos	Front view of church with steeple, door, and window
	Québec	Front view of church steeple with window and cross on top
	CNFC	Front view of church with steeple, door, and window plus cross on top
	Bolivia	Front view of church with steeple, door, and windows plus cross on top
	EJP	Front view of church with steeple and cross on top
	SIS	Front view of building with cross on top
	Nova Scotia	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	Galicia	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	Ota	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	CNIS	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	La Clusaz	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	ARIB	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	Ecuador	Front view of church with door and cross on top
	OCHA	Front view of church on base, cross on top
	Unknown	Front view of building with cross on wall
	SVI	Front view of church with steeple, cross on wall
	Aragón	Front view of church with steeple, cross on wall
	Catalunya	Front view of church with steeple and window, cross on wall
	Widmer	Front view of church with two steeples and several details
	DER	Front view of church with two steeples and several details
	BS 8501:2002	Front view of church with two steeples and several details
	UKDT	Front view of church with two steeples and several details
	Unknown	Mitre like shape with bands forming a tau cross
	BEV	Cross on top of triangle
	Unknown	Latin cross on top of inverted V
	BEV	Circle with cross on top
	BEV	Filled circle with cross on top
	Dreyfuss	Filled square with latin cross on top
	BTA 1989	Latin cross
	BTA 1989	Latin cross with round knobs at the ends of each arm
	Unknown	White dove flying

Discussion

The collection shown above is only a small selection of the wide variety of pictograms used all over the world for the messages Church, Cathedral, and Chapel. Besides the pictograms displaying various types of churches there is a complex Christian iconography with symbols - mostly crosses - identifying specific Christian traditions and doctrines, most of which have been left out in this compilation.

Kraft (1976) studied nine pictogram variants for Church in an Appropriateness Ranking Test conducted in Austria. The pictogram judged as most appropriate was a traffic sign almost identical with pictogram No 23 of ÖNORM A 3011 marked 1), followed by the church pictogram from Picto'grafics marked 2). Several symbols just based on a cross as shown at the end of the table above - like conventional signs used in maps - and the flying white dove were judged as less appropriate.

When pictogram No 23 of ÖNORM A 3011 was examined in two Comprehension Tests in Austria (Brugger, 1977, 1978), more than 90 % of the responses were either Church, Chapel, or Church Service. In Brazil 93.4 % of the respondents of a Comprehension Test answered correctly when a map symbol showing a front view of a church with door and cross on top plus a steeple on the right side was presented (Fiori, 2008).

Probably most of the side and front views of churches depicted above will be identified correctly, but the more detailed renderings possibly could be interpreted as Religious Architecture or Buildings of Cultural Interest just as well. Variants with larger number of details also seem to highlight more local or architectural characteristics limiting general use.

Tests of pictograms of referent Church

Brugger, Ch. (1977): Abschlußbericht über den Erkennungstest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute, Vienna, 1977-10-04.

Brugger, Ch. (1978): Bericht über die Auswertung des Erkennungstests vom November/Dezember 1977. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute, Vienna, 1978-03-06.

Fiori, S. R. (2008): Mapas para o turismo e a interatividade - proposta teórica e prática. Tese de Doutorado - Depto. de Geografia, FFLCH-USP.

Kraft, E. (1976): Ranking-Test. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 09/76, Vienna.