(Re)locating sacredness in Shanghai. (March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hingley, Liz; Vermander, Benoît; Zhang, Liang
• Is Part Of: Social compass. Volume 63:Number 1(2016:Mar.)
• Page Start: 38
• Page End: 56
• Publication Date: 2016-03
• Subjects: Chinese religions -- city mapping -- imagined geography -- religious globalization -- sacredness -- urban rituals; cartographie urbaine -- géographie imaginée -- mondialisation religieuse -- religions chinoises -- rituels urbains -- sacré; Religion and sociology -- Periodicals; 306.605
• DOI: 10.1177/0037768615611993
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0037-7686

Abstract

Shanghai is a metropolis that sees itself as the cradle of Chinese 'modernity', the birthplace of the revolutionary movement, and a hub of cultural and religious diversity – a multilayered identity enshrined in a number of 'sacred spaces'. This article focuses on the way sacredness continues to be engineered in today's Shanghai, mapping the religious landscape through the exploration of four dimensions – namely, 'landmarks', 'compounds', 'privacy', and 'waterways'. The article assesses the role played by churches, temples, and mosques, by home and working spaces, by waterways and virtual networks, in the shaping of an urban sacred space satisfying a variety of needs and traditions while being symbolically organized into a consistent territory. In the context of a religiously vibrant global city, locating 'sacredness' means understanding it as a process of ceaseless dislocation and relocation.