Alice Jones: Atheists already have temples - they're called galleries and museums Religion. It's all about big buildings, isn't it? This week, Liam Neeson declared that he was considering converting to Islam - because the mosques are really nice. The actor, who was brought up a Catholic, has been filming in Istanbul, an experience which has led him to commune with his inner Muslim. "The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing," he told The Sun in an interview to promote his new film. "There are 4,000 mosques in the city," Neeson added. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim. Just like that. It's not clear whether he read the Koran to check if he agrees with the fundamentals of the faith first. Now take Alain de Botton, who has just announced his plan to build a series of "Temples for Atheists" around the UK, starting with a £1m, 150ft black tower in the City of the London. "Why should religious people have the most beautiful buildings in the land?" asked the writer/philosopher, who has a new book out. It's time atheists had their own versions of the great churches and cathedrals. Apart from the fact that organising atheism along the lines of a religion is wrong-headed, non-believers already have plenty of beautiful, secular buildings - galleries, museums, universities, parliaments - to thrill their souls. And while it is true that religions have always used art - awe-inspiring architecture, rousing song, compelling stories - to transmit their ideas and invoke a sense of the divine, to focus purely on aesthetics like De Botton and Neeson is to take a shallow pick'n'mix approach to faith. These people want to keep the best bits of religion without bothering to engage with its trickier depths. In fact, the only belief to which both seem to subscribe fully is that nothing sells a new book or film like a trite, superficially controversial aperçu about religion. Twitter.com/@alicevjones