268
The Politics of Religious Heritage: Memory, Identity and Place. Part I

Tuesday, 12 July 2016: 14:15-15:45
Location: Hörsaal 42 (Main Building)
RC22 Sociology of Religion (host committee)

Language: English

Debates on religious heritage are gaining prominence in the contemporary world amid processes of secularization, diversification and religious revitalization. As dynamics of transnationalization and global migration unsettle inherited understandings of citizenship, nationhood and belonging more broadly, questions of how religions relate to imaginations of national communities are becoming more and more important. In this scenario, processes of negotiation, contestation and reinterpretation of religious pasts take on greater saliency in the public, cultural and political spheres.
The session suggests that these processes feed into new forms of politics of religious heritage redrawing symbolic boundaries around affectively charged cultural cores, and explores how these politics play out in different fields. We welcome contributions examining the framing of religion as heritage in pilgrimage, festivals and religious travels, as well as exploring the notion of religious heritage in the political, legal or cultural domains.
Session Organizers:
Mar GRIERA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, Marian BURCHARDT, Inst Study Religious & Ethnic Diversity, Germany and Avi ASTOR, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Chair:
Marian BURCHARDT, Inst Study Religious & Ethnic Diversity, Germany
Posters:
Sacralizing Evil: Applying Durkheim to Genocide Studies
Edward A. TIRYAKIAN, Duke University, USA
Religious Legitimization and Social Change: From Ethnic to Ethical
Sinisa ZRINSCAK, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Akshardham Temple in New Delhi: Conjuring ‘Heritage', ‘Strengthening' Community
Saswati BHATTACHARYA, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, India