Religious urbanism in Singapore: Competition, commercialism and compromise in the search for space
This paper explores the recursive relationship between religious praxisand urban environments. It advances the concept of “religious urbanism” to showhow urban environments play an active role in shaping the praxis of religion,and how religious groups adopt secular logics in response to the pressure...
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| Format: | text |
| Language: | English |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
2019
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| Online Access: | https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2703 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3960/viewcontent/Religious_urbanism_in_Singapore_2018_afv.pdf |
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| Institution: | Singapore Management University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper explores the recursive relationship between religious praxisand urban environments. It advances the concept of “religious urbanism” to showhow urban environments play an active role in shaping the praxis of religion,and how religious groups adopt secular logics in response to the pressures ofurban environments. Such logics have given rise to new, more pragmatic forms ofspatial reproduction that lead to the desecularisation of space. Desecularisationinvolves religious groups diminishing the secular properties of space, ratherthan attempting to achieve any lasting notion of sacredness. Drawing on therestrictive religio-spatial context of Singapore, I demonstrate howfast-growing religious groups are forced to compete, commercialise, andcompromise in order to acquire space. Combined, these factors have come to definereligious urbanism in Singapore, and highlight the gulf between the planningand praxis of religion in urban environments. |
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