Urban Religious Events: Public Spirituality in Contested Spaces (Bloomsbury Studies in Religion, Space and Place)

How might we best understand the relationship between the vibrant religious landscapes we see in many cities and contemporary urban social processes? Through case studies drawn from around the world, contributors explore the ways in which these processes interact in cities. This book argues that religious events – including rituals, processions, and festivals – are not only choreographies of sacred traditions, but they are also creative disruptions that reveal how urban cultural hierarchies are experienced and contested. Exposing the power dynamics behind these events, this book shows how performative uses of urban space serve to destabilize dominant genealogies and lineages around urban identities just as they lay claims to cultural supremacy or heritage. Through exploring the affective disruptions and political controversies caused by religious events, the contributors engage theoretical discussions in urban studies, the sociology of religion and the ethnography of ritual. This book is a significant contribution to understanding emerging patterns in contemporary religion and also for theories related to heritagization, eventization, and urbanization. 1. Introduction -- Part 1. After the secular city: religion and urban effervescence. 2. Religion in the street: a popular neighborhood in Mexico City / Hugo José Suárez (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico) ; 3. Staging green spirituality in the parks of Lausanne and Geneva: a spatial approach to urban ecological festivals / Irene Becci (Université de Laussane, Switzerland) and Salomé Okoekpen ; 4. Constructing a religioscape: the case of Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow / Nadezda Rychkova (Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia) ; 5. Festivals of religions and religious festivals: Heritigized Heterotopias / Alberta Giorgi (University of Bergamo, Italy) and Mariachiara Giorda (Roma Tre University, Italy) -- Part 2. The politics of religion in urban spaces: power and symbolism in the city. 6. A bridge too far: yoga, spirituality, and contested space in the Pacific Northwest / Paul Bramadat (University of Victoria, Canada) ; 7. "It's the first Sukkah since the Inquisition!": Jewish celebrations in public spaces in Barcelona / Julia Martínez-Ariño (University of Groningen, the Netherlands) ; 8. Spatial discourses of sanctity as means of struggle and empowerment in a contested city / Nimrod Luz (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, Israel) ; 9. Decoding strategic secularism in Madrid: religion as ambience in three scenarios / Monica Cornejo-Valle (Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain) -- Part 3. Public religious rituals, urban transcendence and embodied spirituality. 10. Urbi et Orbi: Pope Benedict's visit to Berlin and the emplacement of communicative events / Hubert Knoblauch (TU Berlin, Germany) ; 11. Turning spirituality into a public event: the popularization of collective meditations and mindfulness marches in the urban space / Mar Griera (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain), Anna Clot-Garrell (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain) ; 12. God's warriors: embodying Evangelical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro / (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Switzerland) ; 13. Feeling sufis: an essay on intimate religion in Berlin, Omar Kasmani (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) ; 14. Epilogue / Sophie Watson (The Open University, UK) Cover Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: Religious Events in Contemporary Cities Mar Griera, Marian Burchardt, Paul Bramadat, and Julia Martínez-Ariño Part 1 After the Secular City: Religion and Urban Effervescence 2 Religion from the Street: Religious Expression in a Popular Hugo José Suárez 3 Staging Green Spirituality in the Parks of Lausanne and Geneva: A Spatial Approach to Urban Ecological Festivals Irene Becci and Salomé Okoekpen 4 Constructing a Religioscape: The Case of Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow Nadezhda Rychkova 5 Festivals of Religions and Religious Festivals: Heritigized Alberta Giorgi and Maria Chiara Giorda Part 2 The Politics of Religion in Urban Spaces: Power and Symbolism in the City 6 A Bridge Too Far: Yoga, Spirituality, and Contested Space in the Pacific Northwest Paul Bramadat 7 “It’s the First Sukkah since the Inquisition!”: Jewish Celebrations in Public Spaces in Barcelona Julia Martínez-Ariño 8 Spatial Discourses of Sanctity as a Means of Struggle and Empowerment in a Contested City Nimrod Luz 9 Decoding Strategic Secularism in Madrid: Religion as Ambience in Three Scenarios Mónica Cornejo-Valle Part 3 Public Religious Events, Urban Transcendence, and Embodied Spirituality 10 Urbi et Orbi: Pope Benedict’s Visit to Berlin and the Emplacement of Communicative Events Hubert Knoblauch 11 Turning Spirituality into a Public Event: The Popularization of Collective Meditations in the Urban Space Mar Griera and Anna Clot-Garrell 12 God’s Warriors: Embodying Evangelical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro Raphael Schapira 13 Feeling Sufis: An Essay on Intimate Religion in Berlin Omar Kasmani 14 Epilogue Sophie Watson Notes Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index "How might we best understand the relationship between the vibrant religious landscapes we see in many cities, and contemporary urban social processes? Through case studies drawn from around the world, this book explores the ways in which these processes interact in cities. Contributors engage contemporary theoretical debates in the social sciences to explain why it seems self-evident to many educated members of liberal democratic societies that religion is becoming privatized and marginalized in modern cities; and why, more recently, data has shown cities to be hubs of religious innovation and complexity. By examining religious events and festivals in specific urban settings, this book sheds light on the history and the future of religion as both an analytical category and as a set of observable phenomena. It is a significant contribution to understanding emerging patterns in contemporary religion and also for theories related to heritagization, eventization, globalization, urbanization, secularization, revitalization."-- Provided by publisher