The Sacred in the City

by Gómez, Liliana; Van Herck, Walter

• ISBN13: 9781441172952
• ISBN10: 1441172955
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-12
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

This book reflects the way in which the city interacts with the sacred in all its many guises, with religion and with the human search for meaning in life. As the process of urbanization of society is accelerating thus giving an increasing importance to cities and the 'metropolis', it is relevant to investigate the social or cultural cohesion that these urban agglomerations manifest. Religion is keenly observed as witnessing a growth, crucially impacting cultural and political dynamics, as well as determining the emergence of new sacred symbols and their inscription in urban spaces worldwide. The sacred has become an important category of a new interpretation of social and cultural transformation processes. From a unique broader perspective, the volume focuses on the relationship between the city and the sacred. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, combining the expertise of philosophers, historians, architects, social geographers, sociologists and anthropologists, it draws a nuanced picture of the different layers of religion, of the sacred and its diverse forms within the city, with examples from Europe, South America, and Africa.

Author Biography

Liliana Gmez is Assistant Professor of Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies at the Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Walter Van Herck is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors	p. vii
Framing the Sacred in the City: An Introduction	p. 1
The Sacred and the City: Theoretical Approaches
Sacred Horror Vacui: A Philosophical Reflection	p. 15
The Urbanization of Society: Towards a Cultural Analysis of the Sacred in the Modern Metropolis	p. 31
The Lingering Smell of Incense: Exploring Post-secular Public Space	p. 52
Religion, Built Environments and Urban Societies
Religion in the Built Environment: Aesth/Ethics, Ritual and Memory in Lived Urban Space	p. 73
Kinhin in a Megacity - Implicit Meanings of the 'Walking-in-the-Park'-Movement in Sao Paulo	p. 96
Life Stance and Religious Identity in an Urbanized World: The Meaning of Life as Modern Predicament	p. 108
Sacred Symbols, Sacred Spaces
Sacred Symbols of the City: Babel, Barbara and their Towers	p. 127
Communicating the Elemental Cosmos: The Hereford Mappa Mundi, Sacred Space and the City	p. 141
Relocating and Negotiating the Sacred: The Reception of a Chapel in a Shopping Mall	p. 161
Politics of the Sacred in Contemporary Urban Spaces
Kinshasa and its (Un) Certainties: The Polis and the Sacred	p. 191
The Politics of a Sacred Place: Revisiting an Israeli Development Town	p. 244
The Sacred in the City: Havana. Alejo Carpentier or 'Fieldwork' in the Urban	p. 227
Remaking Sacred Spaces after Socialism in Ukraine	p. 244
Index	p. 263
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