Religion and the city Flashcards
Kong (2010)
We must avoid the globalising discourse of secularisation.
Religion has become one of the most important variables for socio-geographic investigation; particularly due to the emergence of more varied and complex religious landscapes (linked to migration). As a consequence, religious pluralism is occurring in traditionally mono-confessional states. The rise in interest in religion must be contextualised in the aftermath of 9/11.
Religion has a fundamental impact on the architecture of urban landscapes. This is symbolic of the politics of representation and it the heart of contestation. However, this is no longer restricted to the city alone- it is becoming suburban.
It is important to realise that indications of religion in the urban landscape can be official or unofficial. Geographers are increasingly interested in the everyday practices of religion, beyond sacred sites. This is moving to properly recognise religion as neither spatially or temporally confined to reservations.
Vertovec and Wassendorf (2009)
There has been a multiculturalism backlash in Europe, with an increase in assimilation policies. This backlash has become an important framing device for how we understand religion in the city (especially in terms of urban morphology).
This has happened for a variety of reasons:
a) MC is a singular doctrine with no other alternative
b) this stifles debate through a tyranny of political correctness
c) fosters separateness
d) denies inequalities
e) provides a safe haven for terrorists
Lindekilde (2009)
Identifies that there is a crisis of European liberalism arising out of conflicts between secularism and religious sensitivity. We see these conflicts play out in the urban morphology of the city.
This is especially pertinent when we consider the role of Islam in non-Islamic countries.
The visible presence of religious architecture is crucial in reflecting the populations that live within it.
Lentin and Titley (2012)
Explores the relationship between mosques and urban morphology in the context of Europe. We see these conflicts play out in the urban morphology of the city.
What is a stake here is the denial of lived multiculturalism- this can be seen through anti-mosque campaigns such as those in Switzerland. These mosques act as evidence for the ‘alien within’.
De Witte (2006)
In Accra (Ghana) there is intense competition for public presence in terms of who has the right to the city.
The soundscape of a city is never neutral or objective; sounds transgress the spatial boundaries of traditional claims.
There are tensions between the Pentecostal Churches and the traditional practices of the Ghanian people. In the Festival of Homowo, silence is required to concentrate on the growth of crops. However, between 1998-2002 there were violent conflicts that arose due to the Churches not abiding by this claim.
Beaumont and Baker (2011)
Argue that post-secularity reflects the widespread belief that the 21st century is radically different to the prior; religion, spirituality and faith is returning to the centre of public life.
This can be seen in public policy, governance and social identities.
Religious practices are increasingly creating new alliances with secular sectors. These organisations are even filling the gaps where the state fails to provide support (for example, helping the homeless).
Middleton and Yarwood (2015)
Argue that we are increasingly exposed to new spaces of religious encounter within the city. For example, faith based patrolling of the city on nights out etc.
Cloke and Beaumont (2013)
Explores the emergence of urban spaces in which secular and people of faith are coming together to offer care, welfare and justice to socially excluded people. This can be termed ‘post-secular rapproachment’.
This cannot be explained away as the incorporation of religious capitalism into neoliberal governance. This has become a significant feature of the post-welfare state; transcending differences in religious belief.
Example: The House of Hope in Rotterdam.
This was set up by a group of Christians as a means of providing assistance and basic services to multicultural communities made up of recent immigrants. The people who work here are a mix of secular and religious people. This is an example of these two groups coming together where they were once divided by difference.
Holloway (2003)
Examines the embodied experiences of the sacred. The body is both a producer of sacred space-time and a site of signification in itself.
Through the performance of rituals, the body is central to the making of sacred space. Ritualistic repetition reinforces religious meaning and reproduces sacred space and time.
The body is equally a space of signification of faith- for example, Muslim women wearing a veil. The body inscribes religious meanings and social values.
Gale (2005)
There is a growing body of research that has developed insight into Muslim integration and segregation. This has been focused on changing urban landscapes and the (re)negotiations of identity. This is particularly in relation to women (for example, Ban the Burka).
Islam worship has a clear spatiality. However, it is ritualisation and sanctioned space that gives it it’s value; this space does not require any juridical claimed territory or formally consecrated space.
It is the contestation and negotiations of such spaces that have provided lines of geographic enquiry.
