Absolutely agree wrt combined function and form of big religion buildings. And some of the best architecture of those beliefs can definitely reach 'outside' of those buildings towards the context and environment around them. But not many. Most of the churches and mosques and synagogues etc could have been constructed anywhere and at any time during the past millennium, so little regard do they have for landscape and natural history. And the roofing over of worship places, with indoor ritual, seems to further emphasize the human/nature separation. An appreciation of the creative and artistic nature of the buildings was also filtered through that ideology - human made constructs for human religion. The aesthetic sense of the older constructions being totally embedded in and reflecting their natural landscapes isn't there.
The idea of large constructions within the country, saying something to and about that country, seems really odd nowadays. Which is a reflection of what's different.