This book asks us to consider what is absent, rather than what is present, when studying religions. Priya Swamy argues that absent religious spaces are in themselves abstract locations that painfully memorialize feelings of shame, oppression and marginalization. She shows that these 'traumas of absence' – the complex, entwined and emotional responses to absent spaces – can be articulated through mob violence and destruction, but also anticolonial struggles or human rights issues. This study focusses on the absence of temples across the global Hindu diaspora, taking the tumultuous narrative of the Devi Dhaam community in Amsterdam Southeast as a central location to detail the over thirty-year struggle to build a Hindu temple in a neighbourhood of vibrant mosques and churches. In 2010, their makeshift space was pulled away from them, provoking tears among elderly devotees, rage among board members and devastation in the wider community. Leaving their goddess with no place to live, some devotees feared for the dangerous repercussions that would follow from uprooting a divine presence from its home. By exploring the ways in which the trauma of absent religious spaces has become a formative aspect of localized but also globalized Hindu identity, this book rethinks the way that empty lots, piles of rubble and abandoned buildings around the world are themselves powerful monuments to the trauma of absent temple spaces that mobilize campaigns for Hindu spaces.

Jesus never promised that we would be free of difficulties in this life, that neither suffering nor hardship would cause us pain. What he did promise was to be with us no matter the situation—“even to the end of the age.” Sacred Space: A Little Book of Encouragement offers seventy short chapters to comfort us with God’s presence in the midst of life’s challenges and to remind us that Jesus journeys with us step-by-step. Each entry—which includes a Gospel reading, a short reflection, and a prayer—is given a descriptive title so that readers can easily find the encouragement they need depending on their situation at the time. Lovingly compiled by Vinita Hampton Wright using select material from Sacred Space (the online prayer site that serves millions of spiritual pilgrims), this inviting and reassuring little book gently reminds us of the compassion, care, and calm that God provides in our moments of need.

Lent, a holy time of introspection and penance in preparation for the passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ, can be further enriched with Sacred Space for Lent 2020, a daily prayer experience from Sacred Space, the internationally known online prayer guide. Sacred Space for Lent invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. What we know and trust about the Sacred Space online prayer experience is now available in a compact print format to heighten our Lent prayer practice in a way that is accessible, engaging, and meaningful to daily life. Throughout the Lenten season, each day includes a Scripture reading and points of reflection, as well as a weekly topic enhanced by six steps of prayer and meditation. With its small size and meaningful message, Sacred Space for Lent is a simple way to build a richer relationship with God and embrace the Lenten season as a sacred space.​

Sacred Space for the Missional Church examines the strong link between the theology and mission of the Church and the spaces in which and from which that theology and mission are lived out. The author demonstrates that the built environment is not incidental or even subservient to mission. Rather it is a key player in the fulfillment and the communication of that mission. The book begins with a working definition of the missional church, underscoring the connection between God's mission (missio Dei) and the Church's mission. The reader is presented with historical and theological frameworks for sacred space, and reminded of the pivotal role of the built environment in the fulfillment of the mission of the Church. The design and construction of sacred spaces are shown to be fundamentally a theological exercise and not solely a matter of function, pragmatics and fiscal astuteness. The author questions the uncritical application of blanket statements such "form must follow function," and challenges the conviction that it does not matter where worship occurs, only that it occurs. The book addresses genuine concerns such as legitimizing the cost of church buildings and concludes with practical suggestions and essential questions that must be considered in posturing the built environment within the missional praxis of the Church.

Dodson examines the history of traditional religious practices in the Oriente region of contemporary Cuba.

Nature, Space and the Sacred offers the first investigative mapping of a new and highly significant agenda: the spatial interactions between religion, nature and culture. In this ground-breaking work, different concepts of religion, theology, space and place and their internal relations are discussed in an impressive range of approaches. Weaving together a diversity of perspectives, this book presents an innovative and truly transdisciplinary environmental science. Its broad range offers a rich exchange of insights, methods and theoretical engagements.

This book explores the geography of religion and the space of the sacred in the dynamics of the different manifestations of contemporary Christianity, in the face of the growth of Protestantism. For this, the analysis of the spirituality of Opus Dei is prioritized and the history of the emergence of the Roman doctrine and its dissemination until the present day is detailed. In order to understand the evolution of Western civilization, a sensitive approach to its religious spatiality is necessary. This spatiality manifests itself concretely in its territory, transforming the landscape of the place continuously over time. With this in mind, the book promotes a geographical discussion which identifies the possible causes of the decline of Catholicism in Brazil, as well as analyzing the Catholic Church’s loss of believers and territories.

This book, the first in the field for two decades, looks at the relationships between geography and religion. It represents a synthesis of research by geographers of many countries, mainly since the 1960s. No previous book has tackled this emerging field from such a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, and never before have such a variety of detailed case studies been pulled together in so comparative or illuminating a way. Examples and case studies have been drawn from all the major world religions and from all continents from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Major themes covered in the book include the distribution of religion and the processes by which religion and religious ideas spread through space and time. Some of the important links between religion and population are also explored. A great deal of attention is focused on the visible manifestations of religion on the cultural landscape, including landscapes of worship and of death, and the whole field of sacred space and religious pilgrimage.

Now in its third year, the 2009 edition once again provides an easy, portable way to pray and reflect during Lent. Based on the popular Sacred Space website and the successful series of the Sacred Space prayer books (over 100,000 copies sold since 2005), Sacred Space for Lent 2009 includes a fresh supply of readings, reflection questions, and prayer starters for each day of the Lenten season. It features a scripture reading for each day along with a Lenten theme and the six stages of prayer for each week. Whether you already visit the site, use the annual Sacred Space prayer books, or are simply seeking a fresh way to pray for Lent, you'll be glad you found Sacred Space for Lent.

Written for students of comparative religion, this volume introduces Judaism through the exploration of ten core themes ranging from the depiction of the divine to the role of sacred texts.