In this article it is demonstrated that an analysis of how building metaphorswere used in the Flemish Catholic discourse of the interwar years can offermore insight into the way a community of believers tries to establish a culturalcohesiveness. The main argument is that in a period of deep transformations,building metaphors could become "instruments" for Catholics whowanted to defend and promote a traditional dimension of their religion.Building metaphors allowed Catholics to stress the stability of their own ideology(the fundaments) and to formulate their own cultural project (buildingplan). By analysing such strategic use of building metaphors in artistic andphilosophical discourses, it can become possible to shed more light on the roleneo-thomism, a main philosophical current in interwar Flanders, played inartistic debates and more specific in discussions on the modernisation of religiousart.
