Religion and Space: Competition, Conflict and Violence in the Contemporary World

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This is the first study to bring space into conversation with religious competition, conflict and violence in the contemporary world. Lily Kong and Orlando Woods argue that because space is both a medium and an outcome of religious activity, it is integral to understanding processes of religious competition, conflict and violence. The book explores how religious groups make claims to both religious and secular spaces, and examines how such claims are managed, negotiated and contested by the state and by other secular and religious agencies. It also examines how globalisation has given rise to new forms of religious competition, and how religious groups strengthen themselves through the development of social resilience, as well as contribute to resilient societies. Throughout the book, case studies from around the world are used to examine how religious competition and conflict intersect with space. The case studies include topical issues such as competing claims to the Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif in Jerusalem, opposition to the Ground Zero mosque in New York City, and the regulation of religious conversion in India and Sri Lanka. By helping readers develop new perspectives on how religion works in and through space, Religion and Space: Competition, Conflict and Violence in the Contemporary World is an innovative contribution to the study of religion.

Reviews

This is a timely book on an important topic. It surveys the whole field and provides case studies from recent conflicts -- a useful reference for academics, policy-makers and anyone concerned about how religious interests can rise above the competition over common turf. -- Mark Juergensmeyer, Founding Director and Fellow, Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, and author of Terror in the Mind of God (2003)
All those interested in religion and geography will find much to engage them here, but this interdisciplinary book will be especially welcome for those who want to understand how spaces can prompt religious conflict and how we might create a more peaceful world. -- Thomas Tweed, Department Chair and Professor, Department of American Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, and author of Crossing and Dwelling: A Theory of Religion (2008)
Timely, authoritative and compelling, Religion and Space encapsulates state of the art thinking within geographies of religion. While religions world-wide are often seen in light of conflict resolution and peace-building, the book centrally conceptualizes religions from the premise of competition, conflict and violence within pluralist societies under conditions of globalization. Drawing on several insightful sources, namely the Romanian religious historian Mircea Eliade and French Marxist philosopher Henri Lefebvre, the authors show how religious and secular claims to space have been and continue to be negotiated in the post-war period of modernity. The first study to confront sacred space with religious violence, we are provided with an important reminder of how a spatial perspective on religion explains the persistence of violence as well as a vehicle for social resilience and regulation. * Justin Beaumont, Spatial Planning & Environment, University of Groningen, The Netherlands *

Author Bio

Lily Kong is Lee Kong Chian Professor of Social Sciences and Provost at the Singapore Management University, Singapore. Orlando Woods is a Researcher at Asian Strategies, Singapore.