Project Details
Projekt
New Sacred Spaces by Example of Multifaith Spaces
Applicant
Dr. Kim de Wildt
Subject Area
Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
Term
from 2019 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 387623040
This project examines which new sacred spaces and concepts thereof play a role in this society-in-transition, and what this role entails (e.g. conflict potential, expressions of secular sacrality, or as a way to transcend longstanding dichotomies (e.g. sacred / profane, sacred space / secular space)). Are multifaith spaces regarded as "competition" for church buildings, or as complementary spiritual spaces in addition to existing ones? Or do they constitute a possible reuse alternative for endangered churches? This project raises the question of how the diversity of new sacred spaces and developments in society (secularization, religious diversity, individualization) relate to one another. Are there differences between these spaces in Aachen and Leipzig, or in international comparison in terms of usage, attribution of meaning and design? How do such spaces arise, and from what needs did they arise? Do they satisfy these needs? Who are the initiators of such initiatives? Do these spaces, for instance, serve the needs of Muslims, so that they have suitable prayer rooms within public institutions in order to conduct their daily prayers, or do they serve the needs of non-religious people who wish to individually experience their own spirituality? What potential for the development of multifaith spaces are offered by church reuse/church conversion? What requirements should multifaith spaces satisfy so that they are useful meeting places, and what, by contrast, contributes to their conflict potential? Is there a willingness to compromise in conflict situations, or is such a multifaith space a "monoreligious sacred space 2.0" rather than an interfaith meeting space? Are multifaith spaces utopias or heterotopias: ideal sacred spaces or compromise spaces in a period in which people are in search of themselves and their own identities?
DFG Programme
Research Units
