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Ceiling of the Sagrada Família (photograph by SBA73/Flickr user)

The architecture of churches has always aimed to awe. Yet while some houses of worship convey the staggering unknowable nature of the spiritual with flying buttresses and ornate rose windows, other churches seem ready to take off for the heavens all on their own.

Below are 20 churches from around the world that look like space ships, from brutalist behemoths to stained glass-studded modernist cathedrals. We start with the futuristic 1918 concrete Third Church of  Christ, Scientist, in Washington, DC, which, if development plans go forward, will soon be torn down. Perhaps it’s time for it to become the rocket ship it dreams of being and escape to the stars. 

THIRD CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST
Washington, DC, United States 

article-imagephotograph by rodeomilano/Flickr user

article-imagephotograph by rodeomilano/Flickr user

SAGRADA FAMILIA
Barcelona, Spain

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photograph by Danny Fowler

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photograph by David Fernández

CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE LIGHT
Oakland, California, United States

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photograph by Christian Ortiz

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photograph by Jim Hawksworth

ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL
Tokyo, Japan

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photograph by Morio/Wikimedia

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photograph by Shinjuku1/Wikimedia

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photograph by Sizuken/Flickr user

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photograph by Morio/Wikimedia

SAINT-PIERRE
Firminy, France

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photograph by Duncan Standridge

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photograph by Pieter Morlion

ST. JOSEPH THE BETROTHED
Chicago, Illinois, United States

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photograph by iryoda/Flickr user

CLIFTON CATHEDRAL
Bristol, England

article-imagephotograph by the_justified_sinner/Flickr user 

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photograph by Dauvit Alexander

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photograph by mtgf/Flickr user

PILGRIMAGE CHURCH
Neviges, Germany

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photograph by seier+seier

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photograph by Xavier de Jauréguiberry

ST. JOHN’S ABBEY CHURCH
Collegeville, Minnesota, United States

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photograph by Heather Seneff

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photograph by Johnny Clark

RIO DE JANEIRO CATHEDRAL 
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

article-imagephotograph by Rodrigo Soldon

article-imagephotograph by romanlily/Flickr user

OUR LADY OF TEARS
Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

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photograph by Marco Bellucci

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photograph by Stefan L.

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photograph by Stefan L.

CATHEDRAL OF BRASILIA
Brasília, Brazil

article-imagephotograph by paul74/Flickr user

article-imagephotograph by illuminaut/Flickr user

METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL
Liverpool, England

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photograph by Arthur John Picton

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photograph by catholicism/Flickr user

STYKKISHOLMSKIRKJA
Stykkishólmur, Iceland 

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photograph by Chris Zielecki

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photograph by jerrroen/Flickr user

DIVINE MERCY SHRINE
El Salvador City, Philippines

article-imagephotograph by Allan Donque

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
Geneva, Switzerland

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photograph by stonechat/Flickr user

OAKLAND CALIFORNIA TEMPLE
Oakland, California, United States

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photograph by moregoodfoundation/Flickr user

ST. FRANCES CABRINI CHURCH
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States (demolished)

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photograph by Karen Apricot

TEMPPELIAUKIO CHURCH
Helsinki, Finland

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photograph by Matthew Duncan

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photograph by ken.h/Flickr user

HALLGRIMSKIRKJA
Reykjavík, Iceland

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photograph by extramundane/Flickr user

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photograph by O Palsson

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photograph by Daniel Williams