A space by itself is not inherently sacred. Individual beliefs enhance the feelings and actions that occur within places, making some spaces more sacred than others. People develop certain feelings about spaces that are not always universal; these can be individually tailored sentiments that are ever-changing and differ between people and their beliefs. “The Power of Human Experience Within Sacred Space” chapter with explore how sacred space involves both emotional and physical attachment and. Without these elements, anything could be seen as sacred to anyone, which ultimately means nothing would be sacred.

The personal experience is a critical component of religious expression and serves to make space sacred. Ritual performances, evoked emotion, and the physical body act as mediums and allow space to be perceived as sacred. “A Building is Just A Building,” written by Sophie Ahava, will focus on how the actions, feelings, and performance within spaces contribute to its sacredness. Through the way people dress and move their bodies in religious spaces, to prayers said, to the feelings that are evoked, and the rituals performed, all of these factors help to form sacred space and differ among the individual as well as the religion.

The lives of humans are characterized by nonverbal interactions with living things and inanimate objects. Manufactured environments within sacred spaces are constructed with the purpose of influencing the behavior of those within it, thus resulting in performative actions. While these are influenced by personal experiences, religion and the environment, each individual will experience and attach meaning to spaces differently. “Sacred Space As a Stage,” written by Olivia Mason-Lucas, explores the boundaries between space, personal experience, and design. The intersection of these concepts accounts for the similar and differing interpretations of sacred space as they present themselves within the context of faith-based and secular societies.

The use, influence, power, and placement of sacred space have been consistent elements of religion and communities throughout time. The human experience and interaction with sacred space has always been an observable trait of mortal history. There is a mutual exchange between sacred spaces and the humans that inhabit them. The research in “The Influence and Power of Sacred Space,” written by Nicholas Buccella, delves into the interactions and powers of space and what makes it sacred, realizing that not only religious spaces that can be seen as sacred. The ways in which humans interact with space in recent history and what this lends to modern experiences with spaces are integral points to raise when looking at the sacredness of space.

Religious expression culminates within sacred space, which legitimizes the meaning assigned as it pertains to individuals and groups and thus differs among them. Behaviors in spaces that are not seen as sacred provoke feelings that are just associated to the surrounding elements. However, when religion is introduced, the performance manifests as a ritual based on norms, whether societal or spiritual and creates a supernatural element beyond everyday routines. Sacralization of space can be achieved in many aspects and differs among the individual and this chapter will explore the elements that help define sacred space. Actions that are carried out, emotions evoked, architectural designs, geography, and personal experience all combine to make a space sacred.

A Building is Just a Building

By Sophie Ahava

Sacred space encompasses religions all over the world. However, attention seems to always be focused on the physical buildings and places themselves rather than what happens within those spaces. A building is just a structure; what happens within certain spaces is what can determine its sacredness. The personal experience is a critical component of religious expression and serves to make space sacred. The body, mind, and ritual performance all contribute to the sacredness of a space. An individual’s body is what physically enters a space, the mind and soul controls the emotions to one’s feelings about the space, and ritual and performance adds meaning to the space. The body can be presented in different ways that add to the sacredness of space. Sacredness can be explored in many different aspects. Ritualistic actions, community, clothing, movement, power of mind and prayer, and emotions a space evokes for an individual all provide a sense of sacredness that a space alone, lacking these elements, could not provide.

Sacredness can have different meanings for different people. A general definition from Wikipedia states that, “sacred means revered due to sanctity and is generally the state of being perceived by religious individuals as associated with divinity and considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion.” (“Sacred,” 2018). For something to be sacred, it does not necessarily need to be associated with a building. As long as it connects to the divine than that is all something needs. A space can only become sacred if the people in the space believe it to be so. Gillian Rose, a geographer of religion states that, “Places are not only a medium, but also an outcome of action, producing and being produced through human practice” and that sacred space depends on the people that use that space (Rose, 2010). In most religions, sacred space is more about the actions that take forth and who occupies that space rather than the area itself. Roger Stump, author of The Geography of Religion: Faith, Place, and Space, believes, “through [a person’s] experiences of and within sacred space, the believer can fully assimilate the basic motivations, expectations, and emotions associated with living their religion” (Stump, 2008). In other words, religions are about the people more so than the space. Stump continues to say that “the importance of sacred space in a religion’s worldview derives from its role as the setting for various forms of interaction between the human and the superhuman realms” (Stump, 2008). No matter where the space is, social interactions between people who believe in the same ideas of divinity create a sacredness within space. Roy Rappaport wrote Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity and is known for studying the anthropology of ritual. Rappaport contributes by saying, “ sanctity by this account is a property of religious discourse and not of the objects sanctified in or by that discourse” (Rappaport, 2010). Sacred space is determined by the way people carry out the religion, not necessarily the physical objects within a space where the religion is practiced. In Everywhere You Are Is Sacred Space, author Donna Labermeier asks questions regarding if “sacred space is really confined to a particular space that each of us has to go to in order to feel centered and peaceful” (Labermeier, 2014). People can be religious and feel a sense of sacredness before even entering a specific space. That feeling can be translated and brought within a space, intensifying the sacredness. In short, sacred space can be seen in many different ways, but what differentiates an ordinary space from one more sacred is the people in the space and the actions that take forth there.

Ritual performance significantly influences the sacralization of spaces. Lily Kong, an expert geographer of religion, advocates that people “need to discover individuality of personal religious experience as well as the social and material relations pertinent to that experience” (Kong, 1993). Places provide a space for religious communities to congregate and can provoke different emotions, but they are also the space where religious rituals take place which can intensify the sacredness of the space. Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin teaches that in Judaism, “all of this becomes beautiful when we enter: each of us who is made holy by our daily choices that are inspired by the Torah and the community…a prayer goes forth from each soul” (Mason-Barkin, 2010). The action of prayer that occurs within Jewish synagogues amplifies the sacred feeling of the space, as does the community gathering in which it happens. The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, in Jerusalem is also an example of ritual performance that helps serve to make a space sacred. Not everyone reveres the Wailing Wall as sacred, but for Jews it is one of the holiest, most sacred sites within the religion. People place personal notes that consist of prayers and dreams that they hope God will hear. The Western Wall is a place Jews can go to feel closer to God and the actions that take place there allow this to happen. Other religions have rituals as well that contribute to the sacredness of space. For example, Stump explains how “prayer, baptism, and fasting…all manifest explicit intersections between body, space, and belief” (Stump, 2008). Space can be transformed by the actions that take place there. In the textbook, Geography of Religion: Where God Lives, Where Pilgrims Walk, many denominations of Christianity, baptism can occur in any body of water, whether it be a religious pool or the open ocean (Hitchcock, 2012). The act of baptism can allow any space to be sacred, no matter where the ceremony takes place, and allows Christians to be close to God and Jesus Christ anywhere this ritual takes place. Hinduism also finds sacredness within water, more specifically the Ganges River. The Ganges River in India is not seen as a universal sacred place, in fact it is severely polluted due to environmental factors; yet this is one of the holiest places for Hindus. According to Stump, “water from the Ganges has the power to heal and purify the living and the river itself represents an important site for cremation and disposal of the dead” (Stump, 2008). The rituals that are performed within the Hindu faith help create the sacredness that is associated with the Ganges. Additionally, there are rituals within Islam that take place at specific places. Mecca, for example, is revered as one of the holiest cities within Islam, but it is seen as an ordinary city to outsiders of the religion. One of the five pillars of Islam consists of the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Those who take the pilgrimage engage in specific ritual performances that intensify the sacredness associated with the city. Those who take the Pilgrimage engage in the same rituals that Sarah did in ancient biblical times which serves to make the space in which these rituals occur, sacred. In addition, tragedy serves to make space sacred. Certain events can turn an ordinary space into something others find intense meaning in. After September 11, 2001, the area where the Twin Towers in New York City stood is now memorialized and remembered. The space became sacred after being associated with a tragic event. Memorials can cause once ordinary spaces to become sacred due to the events that occurred there. Space is not sacred by association of just being space; the actions and performances that occur in these places serve to make the space sacred.

The physical human body and sense of community are important in many religions and major contributors in what makes space sacred. Stump understands that, “the body provides an essential medium for articulating the religious character of self, through dress, ornamentation, and other aspects of personal experience” (Stump, 2008). In other words, the human body helps serve to make space sacred through individual’s physical beliefs, clothing, and way the body moves within religion. In an essay written by Stephanie Are it is believed that, “incandescent body connects to and with the world and the other, unifying the human and the divine” (Arel, 2014).  An individual is the one who connects directly to the supernatural, and a space can provide that medium, but ultimately the feeling of sacredness comes from within. A sacred place is not going to be sacred to everyone, but it is sacred to those who connect within the space to get closer to the supernatural. The body is revered as sacred in many religions and when a person enters a space, that space can become sacred as well. OB Frothingham, author of The Sacredness of the Body, states that, “religion concerns primarily the body” (Frothingham, 2018). Individuals with the same belief system make up a religious community and the space in which the religious community congregates becomes sacred due to its association with the divinity and beliefs of the religion’s followers. Many religions have a strong emphasis on community gathering and believe sacred space comes from the people that make up a space. In Christianity, it is believed that, “a building with no worshipers cannot really be a church in the biblical sense” (United Church of God, 2011). A church is more about the people that gather in it than the building itself.  Within Islam, “Muslim jurists recognized that human beings are guaranteed universal rights by default…the most important of which is the right to life” (Elias, 2015). One can then infer that the body of an individual is much more sacred than a space itself in Islam. Abu Amina Elias pursues Islamic studies at University of Wales and continues to say, “every human life is sacred in Islam and every person has been granted God-given fundamental and universal rights at birth,” regardless of being Muslim or not (Elias, 2015). Sacred space is useful within religions, but it would not exist unless the people within that religion congregated to continue their worshipping beliefs as a community. Judaism is another religion that generates a focus on community. From the beginnings of the religion, Jews have been forced to move around due to prosecution. Judaism is still prominent today due to its focus on community; for a long time, the people were the temple. In other words, and place could become sacred so long as there was a community of people to gather there. MJL Staff, a Jewish author, explains how “Judaism offers an optimistic view on life, the union of body and soul” and how “The body is a gift from God to be protected and tended” (Staff, 2002). Emphasis on the personal individual that makes up this religion is important to acknowledge because each body is uniquely sacred within Judaism. The physical gathering of people within a specific space creates a sense of sacredness.

Clothing and religious dress influence the sacredness of a place. Clothes can allow an individual to feel closer to their religious practice which in turn makes them feel closer to the higher power in which they are worshipping. In both Islam and Christianity there are religious ceremonies in which an individual wears white. White is worn during the Hajj for followers of Islam and during baptism for Christians (Stump, 2008). The feeling of innocence and purification the white garments represent allow a space in which they are worn to feel special. In Judaism, a head piece called a kippah, or yamaka, is worn within the synagogue “as a sign of respect to God and as a reminder that their worldly existence lies below the greater divine presence” (Stump, 2008). Some sects of Judaism even require men to wear the kippah at all times, no matter the space, implying that no matter where a person is, God is present. This signifies the idea that the person within a space is more important than the space itself because God can be found anywhere. Clothing adds meaning to space and allow certain spaces to be more sacred than others.

Movement within space also contributes to its sacredness. Dancing is a motion that uses one’s body to get closer to the divine. Certain religions like Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, use the individual body to get closer to God through dance. Taoist Tai Chi also emphasizes the movement of body in sacred space. Dr. Caitie Finlayson, a successful geographer and professor at University of Mary Washington, states that “Tai Chi is meant to be flowing, in harmony with nature” (Finlayson, 2012). Participating in Tai Chi can allow one’s body to further connect to the space being occupied, causing it to have this feeling of sacredness. WOE Oesterley, an English theologian, explains “the origin of sacred dance was the desire of early man to imitate what he conceived to be the characteristic of the supernatural powers” (Oesterley, 2016). Since sacred space is associated with the divine, allowing one’s body to engage in dance can permit someone to get close to God anywhere. The idea that an individual’s physical body can be used to get closer to the supernatural serves to make any space sacred.

The mind and soul are focuses within certain religions and allow the space in which the individual occupies to be sacred. Through personal experiences, any space can become sacred. Buddhism is a major religion that directs a lot of its teachings to the individual mind. Tenzin Legtsok, and American monk, argues “that nothing exists inherently or totally independent of other things, from its own side,” therefore space and the individual in that space correlate to one another (Legtsok, 2015). Without individual’s beliefs about a space, an area will just be seen for what it is, plain and simple, with no real emotional attachment. The power of prayer within religions also help to create sacredness within spaces. Labermeier believes “having a close connection to one’s soul, not just one’s physicality” is critical (Labermeier, 2018). Prayer can make one’s mind change about the space someone occupies. In Buddhism, it is understood that “the power of prayer or aspiration is one of many qualities of the wisdom of truth body” and helps to focus the thoughts of individuals within a certain space (Legtsok, 2015). Prayer can be practiced anywhere and it can allow a person to look inward on themselves and practice their religion constantly no matter the location. The worship and prayer that exists within religious buildings helps to intensify the sacredness of those spaces in the sense that prayer brings individuals closer to divinity. Tai Chi along with Yoga are also religiously focused on the mind and soul within spaces. In Finlayson’s Spaces of Faith article, she talks about how there is a spatial context within which emotional and religious experiences occurs and that affective experiences are a critical faucet of lived religious experience (Finlayson, 2012). People’s individual emotion and perceptions of spaces is what makes that space sacred. The gardens within the Tai Chi religion cause people to feel like they are in a sacred place, outside of reality. People elicit different emotions within different spaces and that is going to change based on religion and individual beliefs of the space. Ultimately space becomes sacred when it evokes certain emotions within individual’s minds. For author and yoga instructor, Natalia Karoway, “[she] always invites spirits into [her] sacred space…of mother earth, the sun, moon and stars” (Karoway, 2018). Karoway teaches mindfulness through yoga, which does not pertain to a god necessarily, but more so to the feelings one has about the space they take up in this world. Sacred space is determined by individuals feelings about an area within their mind and soul.

Religious expression is dependent on individual experience and crucial for creating a sacred space. There are many factors that influence the sacredness of space and by accepting the body, mind, and ritual performance within religions, sacred space can be acknowledged. Karoway believes “sacred space does not need to be limited to the confines of certain places. No matter where we are in any moment, we can create a sacred setting to perform the work of the soul” (Karoway, 2018). In reality, any space no matter where it is can become sacred as long as there is a connection to the divinity or high power. Actions and performances that occur within space give it meaning and purpose. The processes that take place within a building or area create sacredness due to the meaning and intentions to get closer to God or a  higher power. The clothing someone wears within spaces can help differentiate a sacred space from one that’s ordinary. Dancing and the way one moves their body within space can bring someone closer to the supernatural elements within space. The way space can affect the mind and evoke different emotions for every individual allows sacredness to transcend into that place. Not every space is sacred universally, but that is what makes religion unique. If everything was inherently and universally sacred, technically nothing would be sacred.Views on space, beliefs within certain religions, gatherings of people with similar values, inner thoughts within the mind, and physical performance and ritual action all serve to make space sacred. This may differ between religions, but ultimately these characteristics lead to the sacredness within space anywhere. A building is just a building until an individual comes along to add meaning to the space to make it sacred.

Works Cited

Arel, Stephanie. “Reading The Road with Paul Ricoeur and Julia Kristeva: The Human Body as a Sacred Connection.” Text Matter, no. 4 (2014). 99-115.

Buttimer, Anne. “Afterword: Reflections on Geography, Religion, and Belief Systems.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96, no. 1 (2006): 197-202. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.2006.00509.x.

Elias, Abu Amina. “All Human Life is Sacred in Islam.” Faith in Allah. September 30, 2015. https://abuaminaelias.com/all-human-life-is-sacred-in-islam/.

Finlayson, Caitlin Cihak. “Spaces of Faith: Incorporating Emotion and Spirituality in Geographic Studies.” Environment and Planning A 44, no. 7 (2012): 1763-778. doi:10.1068/a44580.

Frothingham, OB. “The Sacredness of the Body.” Herald of Health (1867): 1-5. Accessed March 19, 2018. file:///Users/home/Downloads/reasearch%20source%201.pdf.

Hitchcock, Susan Tyler., and John L. Esposito. Geography of Religion: Where God Lives, Where Pilgrims Walk. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic (printed for Barnes & Noble,), 2012.

Legtsok, Tenzin. “How Do Holy Objects Work?” fpmt. 2015. https://fpmt.org/mandala/online-features/how-do-holy-objects-work/.

Karoway, Natalia. “Defining Sacred Space.” Teach.Yoga. 2018. https://teach.yoga/defining-sacred-space/.

Kong, Lily. “Negotiating Conceptions of Sacred Space: A Case Study of Religious Buildings in Singapore.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 18, no. 3 (1993): 342. doi:10.2307/622464.

Labermeier, Donna. “Everywhere You Are Is Sacred Space.” Huffington Post. Oath Inc. February 13, 2014. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-labermeier/sacred-space_b_4415078.htm.

Mason-Barkin, Sara. Rabbis in Relationship: A Feminist Critique of The Rabbi as a Symbolic Exemplar. 2010.

Oesterley, W. O. E. Sacred Dance: A Study in Comparative Folklore. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press, 2016.

Rappaport, Roy A. Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010.

Rose, Gillian, Monica Degen, and Begum Basdas. “More on ‘big Things’: Building Events and Feelings.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 35, no. 3 (2010): 334-49. doi:10.1111/j.1475-5661.2010.00388.x.

“Sacred,” Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sacred&oldid=831507352 (accessed March 22, 2018).

Staff, MJL. “Body and Soul.” My Jewish Learning. 2002-2018. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/body-soul/.

Stump, Roger W. The Geography of Religion Faith, Place, and Space. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.

United Church of God. “The Church Is Not The Building.” United Church of God. February 23, 2011. Accessed April 03, 2018. https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-study-course/bible-study-course-lesson-10/the-church-is-not-the-building.

Influence and Power of Sacred Space

By Nicholas Buccella

The use, influence, power, and placement of sacred space has always been a constant element of religion and communities throughout human history and across the world. This paper will explore the rich history of sacred space and how we as humans have utilized and made sacred space a constant theme in our daily lives. To display the ways in which humans have affected sacred space and how it in turn has affected us, I will delve into the history of sacred space itself. Where it really began, how it became what it is today, and how we perceive sacred space as individuals. Sacred space is an integral part of society even today, although a good number of people are not aware of this. Whether it be the church down the road or a personal favorite coffee shop, sacred space takes on many different and numerous forms that are often over looked in the study of space itself. Looking deeper and analyzing the beginning of sacred spaces and connecting the dots to the modern world, the connections become clear to how our everyday lives are affected by sacred space, no matter how small or large, it is almost always there. Those are the dots that this paper will connect, the past and present of sacred space and how it has played into human history and into individual lives.

One of the most difficult issues when dealing with sacred space is defining what a sacred space is. There is no real clear cut definition of what exactly a sacred space could be, but a good starting point is that, “A sacred place is first of all a defined place, a space distinguished from other spaces”(Thomson). Meaning that a sacred place is just a place that is different in some way than any normal place. This is where the definition gets a little tricky. Going off the assumption that a sacred space is just a space that is different from others, that means that anything could be sacred based on who is interacting with that particular area. This helps us understand why the exact definition of a sacred space is very difficult to get right, is because it could vary drastically from person to person.

The history of sacred spaces is as old as human history itself. There has always been some form of sacred space that humans have always gathered around or revered in a special way. Looking at the early Abrahamic religions, sacred space held an important precedence over the followers of religion and how they lived their lives. The easiest and most prominent example of important sacred space in the Abrahamic religions is Jerusalem. This city holds extremely important sites and spaces that involve Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. There are many sites to examine within the city of Jerusalem, many of which are only sacred to certain groups of religious followers. This once again begs the question of what makes something sacred or special? Reverend Samuel G. Candler of the St. Philip Cathedral explains it like this, “I think of awesome places outside our comfortable homes that we call holy. Wide beaches, where our eye meets the mystery of the horizon. Mountain views, where the clouds move constantly into new and mesmerizing configurations. And, of course, I think of churches.”(Candler) This is obviously a Christian point of view on the matter but I think it sheds some light on the question of what is sacred, and expands sacredness to the whole world. Mainly nature and like the Reverend pointed out, churches. Within Jerusalem one of, if not the holiest sites for Christianity sits in the old section of the city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church within Jerusalem that contains “the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified,[2] at a place known as “Calvary” or “Golgotha”, and Jesus’s empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected.”(Wikipedia). The Church is where the figure head of one of the world most prominent religions is said to have resurrected, imagine being a follower at the time this event is said to have taken place. The sway this must have had over the people of Christianity at the time is immense. The history of this sacred space is a testament to how space influences humanity and how we interact with the world around us. This church has stood since the founding of Christianity and has maintained a status that few places ever acquire, it has attained almost a state of timelessness. Remaining almost exactly how it was when Jesus was crucified at the site, is a display of how sacred space is maintained and revered by humans. The space has been cared for and protected for thousands of years. Protected because it is seen as sacred. It has a level of significance that is almost awe inspiring because of its trait of timelessness. This is a trait of almost any historical sacred space anywhere in the world. Being that timelessness is such an important element in the history of sacred space it is easy to see that, “ One of the most important things about any sacred space is the way in which it transcends our normal sense of time, and by that I don’t mean that it has no connection to a time, but only that shows us with absolute clarity what the meaning of the word “timeless” is.”(Goldberger) timelessness could also be connected to spirituality of a space as well because most sacred spaces “all share at least one common quality: an intense spirituality that makes them special”(The Gale Group) I find the play between time and spirituality very interesting. Throughout history it has seemed that the more time that passes the more holier historical sites get. With garnered holiness comes more sway over the people of that faith. This has been the model for almost all historical sacred space throughout human history. Like Stonehenge being one of the oldest sites in the world, it was a sacred space to the people who built it and with time it has garnered more importance and spirituality. The same with important religious sites in the Middle East and in Europe. The more time that a sacred space exists the more it is respected and the more people connect with it spiritually. This is the history of all sacred spaces around  the globe because spirituality and time transcend borders and races as well as religions themselves. These spaces are anointed and revered for the feelings they evoke in followers and that is why the history of sacred spaces is so easy to track and understand, is because of the timelessness they hold.

From the history of sacred space comes the placement of sacred space and the power it emits in the lives of humans across the world. The placement of spaces that individuals hold sacred speaks to the importance these places hold for humans. For the followers of certain religions the placement of sacred spaces varies drastically, whether it may be the church at the center of town or a Buddhist monastery high in the Tibetan mountains, they all carry a certain weight of importance upon the followers of that religion. A sacred space is not always linked to a religion either, a non religious person could feel that a certain mountain or waterfall is sacred. These spaces in nature and the spaces created by man are sacred because of the emotions they evoke in the followers who visit. I would argue there is a sizable difference between a religious sacred space and a natural space that is held as sacred to a few individuals that see it that way. The context of a religious space has the element of the divine deity or divine power within a space. Looking again at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the element of the divine and its hold over the followers of Christianity is very evident. This is relevant because, “It may be argued that most of the world’s religions — from the most ‘primitive’ to the most highly developed — were established through manifestations of the sacred. It is of vital importance to religion that the manifestation is perceived not as generated by the beholder but as the purposeful revelation of god (or some lesser deity or saint) to the mortal beholder”(Witcombe)Within the space of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre it is said that Jesus rose from the dead out of a tomb. This makes that area practically ooze with divine power and would most likely make the experience of that space extremely sacred. The placement of these spaces is very important to understand the power that they emit into the world. In medieval times churches of the Christian faiths were the centerpiece of towns and more often than not the first real part of a town that is permanently built. This is because of the devotion followers shared for not only their religion but also to the sacred spaces their religion demands. In small villages these churches might have been the first things built but they were often not very striking or imposing. They were meant more as a community gathering place for worship and for important governing decisions. Everything was done through the churches. When the Christian faith grew more and more there were bigger and bigger churches constructed solely for the purpose of displaying the grand power of the church. In Europe “The cathedrals and former monastery churches are much larger than needed for the local population.”(Spanswick) for the express purpose of making the church goers feel the power of the space they were occupying and appreciate their god. This is true with most famous churches throughout the world that are well known. Most churches that are well known are known because of how immense they are. There was never a need for a church the size of three football fields, except for the purpose of displaying divine power. The power being displayed is not always a negative, people often draw happiness and personal power from religious spaces that emit divine power. The power of their sacred space often boosts their own personal power making the day or week easier to manage. This is also true of non religious sacred space. Non religious people and even religious people have sacred spaces that do not have to do with a religion. As the exact definition of sacred space is difficult to express, a clear consensus among the Geographers of Religion is that a sacred space is any space that makes an individual feel a sense of peace or spirituality. This leads to many non-traditional sacred spaces. Like I had mentioned earlier in this paper, that any space could be sacred depending on the individual viewing it, like maybe the coffee shop that is an individuals sacred space to escape reality and feel at peace. If that is the case then there would be sacred places everywhere for that individual as that is where they feel their peace. Whether religious or not, a space where one draws emotional and mental power can be regarded as sacred, along with the placement of the space and how it influences the individuals that regard it as sacred.

This takes us to the present day where the element of sacredness seems to be forgotten in most areas. I would argue that this is not the case. As the world seems to become more secular it would be logical to assume that sacred space would go out the door with religion. I find that this is not correct. In our modern world where everything is changing rapidly and there is a new scientific discovery every other day, sacred space has changed and evolved as well. With change comes criticism and approval. Michael Foster writes in the Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art, and Architecture that,

“Sadly the role of sacred spaces has gone the way of big box retail, with the mega-church model moving congregations to large suburban parking lots far from the vibrant urban fabric. Much-needed renovations of existing churches, synagogues, and mosques in urban areas are challenged by changing demographics and are often deferred indefinitely, until the buildings become obsolete or abandoned. Many are lost to redevelopment, and others are at risk of deterioration beyond the point of feasible renovation.”(Foster)

I do agree with Foster that for the Christian faith the mega churches have a way of taking the sacred and turning it into more of a show than a church. Although it does depend on the people within these mega churches as well. If the large number of people who attend these mega churches find the area or congregation sacred, than who are we to judge what they see as sacred? This is a fundamental issue with the modern perspective on sacred spaces and how we analyze them. When thinking of a sacred space we usually assume a small church or comfortable space that holds and importance, not a giant stadium with 15,000 church goers. The temptation to say that these aren’t sacred spaces is very strong as they do not fit in the narrative of traditional sacred space. Yet they are, or could be, because of the evolution of sacred space in our modern era. The point that foster makes about the decaying and demolished sacred sites is valid as well. Many urban areas upscale to more modern standards and the older spaces are either forgotten or have to be preserved, which can be extremely costly, especially to a nonprofit church. This is a issue that more and more religious denominations must deal with in order to survive in urban areas.

While the shift away from religion seems to just be beginning, it is still significant in this changing world. In America, “The percentage of adults who describe themselves as “religiously affiliated” has shrunk 6 points since 2007, from 83 percent to 77 percent.”(Gjelten). So it becomes very apparent why the major religious groups would be worried about this shift. The spaces that have been held as sacred for generations might be forgotten in another hundred years as religion is left behind by more people. This comes back to the point that not all spaces that are sacred have to do with religion. Speaking for myself I find the most sacred place to me to be at the top of a mountain. The peace I feel within myself at the summit of a hike is one of the most sacred things I can describe and it has nothing to do with religion. This is the mindset of many people in more recent generations. Many factors can go into the reason as to why this is happening but I think it mainly has to do with the advancement of science and younger people wanting to be free from the constraints of organized religion. The mindset of younger people in todays world is more how to please oneself and discover who you are, rather than learn who god is and devote time to the church. With this comes a whole new swath of sacred spaces. While mine is the top of Old Rag Mountain, the student sitting next to could name the Starbucks next to campus as their sacred space because of the peace they feel their. And while that Starbucks may be their sacred space today, in a couple of years their definition of sacred space could have changed multiple times. This is the current state of sacred space today. It is ever changing and its definition will change from person to person.

To conclude I find the importance of sacred space has not diminished at all. The thing that has changed is what we consider to be sacred space. In the past there was a clear cut definition of what spaces could be seen as sacred, but in today’s world this definition of sacred space could be so vastly different depending on the person. I personally think this is magnificent. We as humans are no longer containing the sacredness of spaces to religions. We are exploring what sacredness is and where to find it. The fact that anything could be sacred is mind blowing and confusing at the same time, but I think that is why it works so well. The young people of the world are creative and free thinkers, always thinking outside the box and innovating. Sacred space being affected by the new innovators of tomorrow is something everyone should be excited about, because as more space is defined as sacred or not, more things change and more ideas of the interpretations of the sacred are opened up. Nevertheless the sacred is a constant theme in our lives, even if we do not see it or think of it, the sacred is there. It has shaped us in the past and the sacred continues to shape us into the future as we shape the sacred as well.

Works Cited

Candler, Samuel. “What Makes a Place Sacred?” The Cathedral of St. Philip – Atlanta, GA, Cathedral Times, 28 Oct. 2012, www.stphilipscathedral.org/Sermons/what-makes-a-place-sacred/.

DeWitte, Debra. “Sacred Spaces.” Art History Teaching Resources, 23 Dec. 2016, arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/sacred-spaces/.

Edmonds III, Radcliffe. “Holy Places: Some Theorizations of Sacred Space.” Society for Classical Studies, Bryn Mawr College, classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/148/abstract/holy-places-some-theorizations-sacred-space.

Foster, Michael. “Sacred Space in the City: Adapting to the Urban Context.” Faith & Form, faithandform.com/feature/sacred-space-city-adapting-urban-context/.

Gjelten, Tom. “Poll Finds Americans, Especially Millennials, Moving Away From Religion.” NPR, NPR, 3 Nov. 2015, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/03/454063182/poll-finds-americans-especially-millennials-moving-away-from-religion.

Goldberger, Paul. “LECTURES.” Paul Goldberger, Chautauqua Institution, www.paulgoldberger.com/lectures/architecture-sacred-space-and-the-challenge-of-the-modern/.

Scott, Michael. “Sacred Space in Greece and Rome.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion,19Oct.2017,religion.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-257.

Spanswick, Valerie. “Medieval Churches: Sources and Forms.” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval world/romanesque1/a/medieval-churches-sources-and-forms.

The Gale Group, Inc. “Sacred Places.” New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Encyclopedia.com, 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/history/latin-america-and-caribbean/cuban-history/sacred-places.

Thomson Gale. “Sacred Space.” Encyclopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia.com, 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sacred-space.

Witcombe, Christopher L. C. E. “SACREDNESS.” Sacred Places: Sacredness, witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/sacredness.html.

Wikipedia, “Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre.

Ziettlow, Rev. Amy. “Creating Sacred Space in Life and Death.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Mar. 2011, www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-amy-ziettlow/creating-sacred-space-in-_b_831544.html.

Sacred Space As a Stage

By Olivia Mason-Lucas

Behaviors within all spaces are not mere products of the individual’s personal feelings, perspectives, and experiences. The individual projects these factors onto their environment and the environment reciprocates. The design and architectural choices made by the overseer of the project made a choice predating the individuals that visit it; at one point in time, someone decided how they wanted the space to feel. This sense of ‘feeling’ can be positive or negative, empowering or humbling. The human experience is largely based on communication, both with other living beings and inanimate objects. When one acts in the presence of others in a space designated for a specific purpose, such as worship, it can be qualified as a type of performance that’s a product of multiple factors. Behavior is influenced by personal sentiments, the structure and design itself, and a combination of the two. Architecture as well as structural choices impact one’s feelings about any given space, which creates a manufactured response, or a performance, in reaction to the given stimuli. In the realm of sacred spaces, special attention is given to the intended meaning of each choice made by the designer and architect, and what the end result means for the structure it produces.

Dynamic Nature of Spaces and Individuals

The idea of spaces as living entities will guide this discussion along. Spaces are comprised of three components: the physical makeup, the perceived, and the intended. Any of these three concepts can influence the way one experiences space, and oftentimes, all of them do. Due to the unique interpretation and perspective each person posesses, everyone will experience an environment differently. (Goleman 1987) Architecture, therefore, is not static as it is thought to be; surely, the structure itself may never change but that’s only one aspect. The environment is a chimera, or a shapeshifter, due to its tendency to represent and evoke different emotions and experiences in individuals. “[T]here are links between the design of the built environment and our behavior, both individually and socially. (Lockton 2011)” Each person, in turn, has a different conversation with a space while they occupy it; the tone or type of conversation is in no way obligated to be the same as they return, either. The interaction is constantly changing. Despite the tendency of humans to view themselves in one distinct way over long periods of time, they are dynamic creatures. It is only natural to assume that the are constantly learning, growing, and changing.

While this is maintained, it is necessary to note how familiarity changes interpretation of space. As people become more intimate with sacred spaces, they tend to only notice the same things over and over, as opposed to an outsider noticing everything for the first time.

Architectural Choices and Space

The architect of a space employs extreme privilege and influence in their ability to determine how a space looks and the feelings they want it to evoke. These choices lay the foundation for experiences within all spaces, even those considered sacred. Moods and feelings can be created through decisions concerning lighting, designation of space, color, and imagery. Architecture, in a way, encompasses the field of design. It concerns itself with the “technical, artistic, and social. (Architecture/Introduction 2018)” A great deal of the work goes into how what’s done will be received by those who will inhabit or view the space.  “[A]rchitecture is a technology increasingly deployed in order to encourage certain behaviours in human populations. (Rose, Degen and Basdas 2010)” This engineered environment sets the stage, literally, for reactions to it. This performative element can be subtle or distinct.

Large, open spaces are used to convey a feeling of insignificance, a feeling generally experienced in natural spaces, such as on beaches and mountains. The feeling of insignificance is difficult to replicate as size and the cost of land on which to place a grand structure can be either unrealistic or costly. In the same approach, small spaces create a sense of intimacy that is otherwise ignored or overlooked in other spaces. Despite the great influence of architectural choices, some interpretation can be limited due to lack of attention to design choices or specific aspects of a space. (Rummel 1976) Since each person is socialized differently, they give importance to different objects that peak their interest and may act in the absence of the intended catalytic choice made by the architect. (Abdel Moneim Abdel Kader n.d.)

Sacred spaces garner their power by othering themselves from the spaces directly around them. This intentional juxtaposition heightens the meaning of the space. (Rose, Degen and Basdas 2010) It is not that they are particularly spectacular or special in design or makeup, but that they differ in size, shape, or appearance from structures around them.

While it’s maintained that sacred space is highly personal and subjective, certain structures can be identified as notable for qualities possessed that aren’t explicitly attributed to religion or are aesthetically pleasing. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC is the largest Roman Catholic Church in the United States and bears religious imagery on the outside of the structure. 

However, its importance can be attributed to a variety of factors concerning its location, orientation, and design. The church’s location in the nation’s capital lends to a perceived sense of sacredness due to the association of importance with the city as well as the feeling of citizens of the United States to feel particularly separated from the territory, spatially and emotionally. The idea of a capital city lends to these feelings: the space is seen as significantly more relevant than small towns within the country, attributed to history, centralization of industry and political interactions, and concentration of people. The Basilica is situated atop a hill, not only towering over surrounding structures, but occupying the entire space around it. Its material composition of light stone and stained class exude dominance over the side of the street it inhabits. Though it is surrounded by numerous religious institutions for higher education, it comes through as the most religious or sacred space in the area, if not the entire city or country.

Ford’s Theater, also in Washington, DC, possesses some aspects of sacredness that overlap with those of the Basilica. The theater has more widespread appeal due to what happens there: theatrical productions and educational tours. (Lincoln’s Assassination 2018) From the street, one can almost walk right past the esteemed site of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination; it blends right in with the background of the city. Though it is relevant in the modern day, its prominence stems from its identification as a site of a tragedy that led to a chain of events which follows through to today.

Sacredness, as it pertains to religious geography, is a culmination of the actions of people within a given space, the architectural choices that influence those rituals, and the meaning attached by people. As it boils down, sacredness is attributed to humans, whether their ideas, actions, or the results of both. While the importance of architecture and design choices on behavior are significant, the lack of both in disenfranchised areas creates a transition from focus on an engineered atmosphere to a raw environment that may lack the same attention to interpretation and impact. In these instances, the behavior exhibited by individuals becomes a product of the space, their experiences, as well as their imaginations. This is not to say that these experiences are wrong or less relevant, it is to say that behavioral responses to accidental or coincidental spaces exist and are brought about in the same way as those in structured spaces.

Behavior Within Spaces

Recognition of the fluid nature of places aids in acknowledgment of behavior within these spaces as performances. These actions are brought about by norms instilled, whether cultural, regional, or familial; interpretations of environments; and personal experiences. There are expectations in every space one enters, regardless of whether they are explicitly posted or stated. Environments such as museums warrant different behaviors than amusement parks do, but the same core beliefs play into both. One is expected to be respectful of others and the space, not harm others, and leave the environment as they encountered it, to some degree. As children, these baseline rules, along with others, are delivered to guide behavior. When in any space, one assesses their personal inventory of norms and rules then proceeds to apply them to their surroundings. (About Behavioral Analysis 2018) This type of behavioral analysis drives humanity forward. Unspoken sets of rules and norms of behavior are utilized inside of, and not limited to the surrounding area of, an important structure. The distinct separation between different places allows for this performance or lack thereof. It can be argued that any actions conducted around others are performative, but this does not negate their genuine nature.

With the idea that all forms of behavior are merely reactions to the given environment, identified as performances, those acted upon within spaces designated as sacred overlap with rituals. “We as humans do seem to have a mechanism for instantly recognizing that something is going on, and we have several models of what that specific event might be, though it may be difficult for one to verbalize if asked. (van Beek 2013)” Oftentimes, humans may recognize that they are acting differently than they would if they were outside on the street, yet either pay little to no attention to it or are not self-aware enough to pinpoint what exactly is happening to them. In sacred spaces, behavioral norms are some of the most intense and require countless things from visitors: quiet, respect, nice clothing, assembled appearance, lowered voices. In an exhibition of this idea in action, the conduct of classmates will be presented and analyzed while on a trip to The, aforementioned, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In the February of 2018, a Sacred Spaces class from the University of Mary Washington, located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, went on a field trip to The Basilica in DC. The class regularly engaged in class discussions where ideas were exchanged concerning journal articles and chapters. The students were very limited with what wasn’t acceptable within discussions and were genuinely themselves, with little to mask. It is important to note that not all of the students of the class were Catholic, or even parishioners of religion. Despite this reality, every member of the class presented themselves with various levels of business casual to “dressy” attire, due to the air of their destination.

When first stepping inside the doors, nobody made a sound. The sounds made were hushed and whispered; the main chapel of the church was void of people, save for the class. Technically, there was no reason to be quiet. Throughout the tour and navigation of the space, the classmates continued to whisper, only raising their voices to ask the guide questions. This trend continued through most of the structure, even the stairwells, and broke when the group encountered the cafeteria, located beneath the main chapel. In this space, they returned to their sociable selves. (Mason-Lucas 2018) While a participant in the phenomenon I was observing, I couldn’t figure out what made this space so different from literally every other one around it. I considered it the whole bus ride back to campus. As soon as we arrived, I figured it out; it was the designation of space that made a difference. Behavior is influenced by designation in addition to all of the aforementioned tenets.

The communicative nature of humans is important to note as individual behaviors are brought about partially by the actions of those around them. (Douglas 1966) Therefore, they may act as a collective, or in response to those around them. This idea serves to explain how classmates observed each other when unsure of how to proceed within the space. They looked to each other quite often and explored the area in groups or pairs, as opposed to individually.

Unique Sacred Spaces and Performance

Informal spaces that manifest as sacred are more common than one might think and are often heavily dependent on a mood or feeling to convey the intended response. Ghost tours and locations associated with the supernatural draw from generalized fears of the public. The tour guides go the extra mile to create an atmosphere representative of possibility and the selling point is whether participants buy into it or not. (Holloway 2010) In these informal, or vernacular, environments, it is easier for individuals to remove themselves from what they’re being confronted with because it is that much easier to recognize that they’re being confronted in the first place.

Conclusion

The genuine nature of actions exhibited by humans is not cheapened by the performance aspect. Life is constantly riddled with the free will versus fate debate and this discussion of influence determines that behavior within all spaces, especially sacred ones, are a combination of both. Rituals, as well as other religious acts, are characterized by the interactions among people and the space they inhabit. While it is generally accepted that people themselves are where sacredness originates, the behavior they exhibit supplements and magnifies it. Personal experiences and architectural choices shape actions within sacred spaces so each person walks away with distinct interpretations of what went on in that given environment. Sacred spaces are stages for more than those who are not skilled but are performers just the same.

Works Cited

Abdel Moneim Abdel Kader, Walid. n.d. Architecture and Human Behavior: Does Design Affect Our Senses?

About Behavioral Analysis. 2018. Accessed April 14, 2018. https://www.bacb.com/about-behavior-analysis/.

Architecture/Introduction. 2018. April 1. Accessed April 2, 2018. https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Architecture/Introduction.

Douglas, Mary. 1966. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. New York : Routledge.

Goleman, Daniel. 1987. “Each Sibling Experiences Different Family.” The New York Times, July 28.

Holloway, Julian. 2010. “Legend-tripping in spooky spaces: ghost tourism andinfrastructures of enchantment.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 618-637.

Lincoln’s Assassination. 2018. Accessed April 15, 2018. https://www.fords.org/lincolns-assassination/.

Lockton, Dan. 2011. Architecture, urbanism, design and behaviour: a brief review. September 12. Accessed March 20, 2018. http://architectures.danlockton.co.uk/2011/09/12/architecture-urbanism-design-and-behaviour-a-brief-review/.

Rose, Gillian, Monica Degen, and Begum Basdas. 2010. “More on ‘big things’: building events and feelings.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 334-349.

Rummel, R. J. 1976. “Social Behavior.” In The Conflict Helix, by R. J. Rummel. Accessed April 20, 2018. https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/TCH.CHAP9.HTM.

van Beek, Walter E. A. 2013. “Ritual and the Quest for Meaning.” By Our Rites of Worship: Latter-day Saint Views on Ritual in Scripture, History, and Practice 15-36.