Off topic, certainly, but I remember being distinctly surprised to hear most Western Europeans and Americans wear their shoes inside the house instead of taking them off at the door and either going barefoot or putting on slippers.
The idea of bringing the dirt and grime from outside is unthinkable in the East - particularly when it's raining. Even when it's dry outside, the idea of shoes that've trodden in spit, gum, bugs... and only Apollo knows what else. Oddly, even in times when the Japanese had floors of compacted earth, they wore slippers inside the house - the reasoning being that 'dirt inside the house is different from dirt outside'.
Naturally in cultures where shoes are taken off in homes, they are also taken off in places of worship.
The Biblical justification used for taking shoes off at the doors of Churches is what God said to Moses on Mt Sinai 'Remove your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground'.
Funny how Muslims do it, many Levantine Christians also do it, Buddhists do it, Hindoos do it... even educated fleas do it
