In the 20th century (c. 1901–2000), church monuments were shaped by modernity, global conflict, and changing attitudes toward religion and remembrance. Traditional commemorative forms declined sharply, replaced by modest wall memorials, inscriptions, and collective monuments, particularly those responding to the two World Wars.

Monuments of this century are generally restrained, textual, and commemorative rather than monumental. Figurative sculpture is rare, and effigial tombs largely disappear, surviving only in a small number of exceptional or consciously historicizing examples. Simplicity of form reflects both modern aesthetic sensibilities and theological caution.

Wall monuments dominate, often in stone, bronze, or marble, emphasizing names, dates, and collective sacrifice over individual display. Symbolism tends toward the universal — crosses, laurel wreaths, and abstract forms — rather than narrative or heraldic imagery.

The 20th-century church monument thus represents a profound shift in commemorative culture. Memory becomes communal, understated, and reflective, shaped by loss on an unprecedented scale and by a modern understanding of faith, identity, and history.