Religious Space as Cultural Heritage

The settings of religious worship are rapidly transforming. Demographic changes, secularisation, and the attention of heritage institutions affect religious space and objects in various ways in different parts of the world. Some sanctuaries and temples lose their original purpose and are adapted to serve new functions, others stay consecrated but host new religious communities. Heritage tourism at some places thrives and intermingles with the ongoing religious practice. Other sites see declining worship, while sacred objects are turned into museum pieces or commodified and sold as precious antiquities. It is a fact that many Christian communities in Western Europe and large parts of the North-American continent have more church buildings at their disposal than they can either use or maintain. In Asia, the resurrection of the Buddhist temples is driven both by religious communities and by the growing heritage industry. Whether mainly related to religious contents or to cultural heritage, the significance of most places of worship is going through changes that have and will continue to have thorough effects on societal life. These changes and their consequences constitute the focus of this particular issue. The pastness of religious material objects can be determined as significant in two interwoven ways that depart from two likewise interwoven perspectives: internally, by the religious community, as part of a living tradition, and externally, by society, as a secular—scientific or cultural—heritage. The different, at times conflicting interests and motives of these two positions or stakeholders result in frequent interactions and negotiations that involve religious institutions, conservation professionals, tourism managers, and other local, regional, national, and international organisations. This Special Issue aims to address practical, ethical, and theoretical dilemmas related to the use, management, and significance of religious heritage in a comparative and global perspective. We welcome contributions spanning from reflexive case studies to historical and theoretical approaches.