Layered Landscapes

This book examines the construction of sacred spaces across diverse faiths, including Christianity and Islam, highlighting the importance of layered landscapes.

This volume delves into the conceptualization and construction of sacred space across various faith traditions, including Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and the religions of Japan. Through the lens of 'layered landscapes,' it highlights the critical inquiries made by religious believers regarding the sacred's location and its manifestation in the landscape during the early-modern era.

Layered Landscapes employs the idea of layering to explore how different practices and beliefs have accumulated over time. It examines the tensions between traditional and contemporary devotional patterns, as well as the introduction of new religious concepts onto pre-existing spiritual terrains. The book takes readers through a selection of significant locales, such as Cuzco, Edo, Geneva, and Jerusalem, revealing how these settings have been shaped by the interplay of faith and cultural identity.

The work also addresses the intricate relationship between sacred spaces and political authority, ritual practices, and broader cultural expressions. Importantly, Layered Landscapes illustrates that the creation of sacred space often transcended mere architectural endeavors, involving historical imagination and textual narratives. By contrasting various faith traditions and their sacred landscapes, the volume poses essential questions about the nature and significance of the sacred in the early-modern world.