Sacred Architecture and Public Space under the Conditions of a New Visibility of Religion

Autor(en)

Helmut Jakob Deibl, Natalie Eder

Abstrakt

Embedded in the paradigm of the “New Visibility of Religion,” this article addresses the question of the significance of sacred buildings for public spaces. ‘Visibility’ is conceived as religion’s presence in cities through the medium of architecture. In maintaining sacred buildings in cities, religions expose themselves to the conditions of how cities work. They cannot avoid questions such as how to counteract the tendency of public space to erode. Following some preliminary remarks on the “New Visibility of Religion,” I examine selected sacred buildings in Vienna. Next, I focus on the motifs of the city, the “ark” as a model for sacred buildings and the aesthetic dimension of public space. Finally, I consider the contribution of sacred buildings to contemporary public spaces. What is at issue is not the subject that moves in public and visits sacred buildings with the aim of acquiring knowledge or with the urgency to act, but rather the subject that feels and experiences itself in its dealings with public space and sacred buildings. In this context, I refer to the experience of disinterested beauty (Kant), anachronism, multi-perspectivity (Klaus Heinrich), and openness (Hans-Dieter Bahr)

Organisation(en)

Forschungszentrum Religion and Transformation, Institut für Systematische Theologie und Ethik

Externe Organisation(en)

Unknown External Organisation Österreich

Journal

Religions

Band

11

Anzahl der Seiten

18

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080379

Publikationsdatum

2020

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

603206 Fundamentaltheologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Religious studies

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/sacred-architecture-and-public-space-under-the-conditions-of-a-new-visibility-of-religion(ace3d03b-56fb-494a-bd4d-a347bc13efb7).html