I have been thinking about this post for several days and trying to formulate my thoughts to reply, but I finally decided to just spew them out rather than make them too tidy, so here goes:
I visited Rome and Florence with my son-in-law in December and we both had a very similar experience as yours. In awe of the beauty, and at the same time mourning what Western culture has become. As we were walking through the Vatican museum we were almost physically revolted by the Modern art section. After all the beauty of the Renaissance, the rest seems just trashy. When we were in Florence we experienced the same when we came upon a large gray “sculpture” near the Uffizi gallery that basically looked like a pile of literal crap.
As far as Roger Scruton’s video goes, regardless of whether we go with the Platonic theory or some other explanation for why we have an aptitude for recognizing beauty, I think it’s difficult to try to argue against this universal recognition of beauty and ugliness by people across cultures and eras. The details might vary, but the basic concepts of beauty/ugliness are universal.
I very much agree with Scruton when he discusses the soul-deadening effects of contemporary architecture. I love his notion that if we aim primarily for utility we lose both beauty and usefulness but if we aim for supposedly useless beauty we gain both.
A minor point, but if I understand him correctly, Scruton implies that Newton’s theories led inevitably to the Deism that followed. Newton was in fact a very devout Christian and spent as much time writing a commentary on the book of Daniel as he did on physics.
I am VERY appreciative that you posted the link to the study connecting Christian conversion to the experience of visiting a beautiful church. I am a member of an Anglican community that is planting a church in my city, and while I have heard many anecdotes about young adults becoming more and more attracted to liturgical worship and liturgical churches (and the art and architecture associated with them), I had not been aware of the data in this study. Thank you for sharing it.
Sorry for the lengthy comment. Thanks for your post.