PhD (African Studies) / Centre for African Studies / Sacred sites are the preferred space for ritual performances and identity construction from which the issue of sensitive structures, distinctive features, individual interpretations, and symbol and meaning emanates. The history and importance of Motouleng, Mautse and Mantsopa caves (Eastern Free State, SA) for different religious persuasions, indigenous knowledge and ancestral veneration of Africans and traditional healers, were investigated apropos of the following: namely, how sacred sites are exemplifications of African indigenous religion; why they form locations of cultural and spiritual expression, and why they may be regarded as pertinent nodes of identity construction in a vibrant, changing, South African society. This study explored the way in which interpersonal experiences of the cave dwellers shape their sense of self, and the conflict they encounter in the context of interaction, in which identities are constructed and deconstructed in various ways. African religion, landscape and social identity theories are the basis of all theoretical claims utilised here. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research method was explored, to provide a detailed personal experience and examination of the participant’s life world on various issues pertaining to contestation and identity construction at the sacred space of the Eastern Free State. The existence of these sites poses a number of challenges to cave dwellers, land owners, heritage practitioners, and to continued preservation, management and restoration of the said sites. Crucial to this debate is how these sites may be protected both physically and legally. The study used qualitative findings to discover new ideas on identity construction and adjunct belief systems. The study also used thematic analysis to evaluate the research findings and make predictions on the effects on protest and contestation by cave dwellers around sacred spaces. / NRF

Univ., Diss.--Tübingen, 2000. / Literaturverz. S. 370 - 392.

The thesis entitled Sacred space in the era of Gothic thinking, art and architecture deals with a certain specification of the sacred space, the function and meaning of the medieval church, events leading to the beginnings of Gothic art which left its imprint on the general medieval art and whose influence radiates from the 12th century and ends in the 15th century An essential part of the text is dedicated to using the given rules in the sacred space of the castle Karlstein.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-37). Also available via the World Wide Web.

No description available.

This thesis examines the religious experiences of American-born converts to Islam. The social nature of religion has been long ignored in research on the lives of religious people. A review of research on Muslim identities reveals an emphasis on immigrants, women, and youth in the British context. However, there is little to no research on the unique constituency of converts to Islam and the importance of social aspects of faith for establishing a sustainable and transformative practice of Islam. This research closes this gap through a case study of the religious experiences of American-born converts to Islam. Through in-depth interviews with converts and community leaders, and sustained engagement with the Cincinnati Muslim community, I examine the extent to which social interaction (understood as both site and process) shapes convert identities and their understanding of religious belief and practice. My research suggests that religion not only occupies a variety of everyday lived spaces for converts, but that Islam can be understood as a way of being in the world. Since understanding of religious belief and practice is multifaceted and diverse, I explore the influence of social interaction and community on converts’ spiritual modalities. I argue that spaces not deemed officially sacred (e.g. places of worship or pilgrimage sites) are just as influential in shaping the religious identities of converts, and help converts develop a religious way of being that is self-transformative and sustainable in the American context.

Exploring human rights violations in areas of conflict is a very challenging endeavor as the consequences of conflict wreak havoc on communities and the built environment. When sacred space, specifically, has been intentionally and maliciously damaged, a group's right to cultural heritage has been potentially violated. As laid out by numerous international covenants, this is a denial of basic human rights. Therefore, using international human rights laws to set precedents, definitions and guidelines, the preservation of a sacred space after intentional damage can help protect those rights and rectify a wrong committed against a group. Studying the racially motivated bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama as a case study and using human rights legislation to frame preservation work in general, the inherent yet complicated connection between historic preservation and human rights can be explored and understood.

Sweden has a long history of Lutheran Christian influences, manifested spatially by the presence of churches in the build environment. In contrast, Sweden is also described as one of the world’s most secular countries. These secular individual’s experience of these churches is not well explored in geography of religion. Therefore, this study’s aim is to investigate what shapes non-religious individuals’ place attachment to religious spaces. To reveal this, the study is based on transcriptions from a Transect Walk with 12 non-religious individuals at Maria Magdalena church in Södermalm, Stockholm. These narratives are viewed through a place attachment framework together with theories of religion, sacred space and secularization, to answer the research question: What affects non-religious young individuals’ place attachment towards a sacred place? The attachment was formed by the subjective mosaic of combinations, which revealed that churches in general are instrumental venues to obtain the goal of participating in temporary ceremonies. In turn, it was affected by the subjects’ memories, connection to cultural Christianity, lack of religious attachment and the church as a unique place. This contributes to the field by revealing what affects place attachment of non-religious individuals to sacred spaces in a Swedish context.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:25:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EdianneSN.pdf: 1561923 bytes, checksum: 4007c699022ce7ecbacb7dc429428174 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-24 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / In this work, we discuss the construction of Juazeiro in the state of Cear? -, as a sacred space from the analysis of the testimonies of nine religious women called beatas in an Episcopal process in the late nineteenth century. This process was initiated in 1891 to investigate the occurrence of an Eucharistic miracle with beata Maria Magdalena do Esp?rito Santo de Ara?jo. We show that the punitive strategies of the Diocese eventually caused a reordering of pilgrimages to Juazeiro which until 1894 worshipped the Precious Blood and that after the condemnation of the phenomena by the Holy See are rearranged around the figure of Father Cicero Rom?o Batista, under the pretext of worshipping the priest himself and also Nossa Senhora das Dores, currently the patron saint of the city of Juazeiro do Norte. / Neste trabalho, discutimos a constru??o do povoado de Juazeiro localizado no interior cearense , como um espa?o sagrado a partir da an?lise do conjunto de depoimentos de nove beatas contidos em um processo episcopal do final do s?culo XIX. Esse processo foi instaurado em 1891 para investigar a ocorr?ncia de um poss?vel milagre eucar?stico com a beata Maria Madalena do Esp?rito Santo de Ara?jo. Demonstramos que o conjunto de estrat?gias punitivas da Diocese acabou por provocar um reordenamento das peregrina??es a Juazeiro que at? 1894 eram feitas a fim de prestar culto ao Sangue Precioso e que ap?s a condena??o dos fen?menos pela Santa S? se rearranjaram em torno da figura do padre C?cero Rom?o Batista, com o pretexto de prestar culto ao pr?prio padre e a Nossa Senhora das Dores, atual padroeira da cidade de Juazeiro do Norte.

Orientador: Ernesto Giovanni Boccara / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T21:33:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Campos_JoaoCarlosBaptista_D.pdf: 6534803 bytes, checksum: f05c1c400fe0140740838fa58979d3ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Através da análise do sagrado como linguagem e sua especificidade no contexto da Arte e da Arquitetura, como simbolização e construção espaço-temporal, a tese procura elaborar uma matriz conceitual e formal para a articulação de linguagens de uma nova sacralidade para a Arte e a Arquitetura. O caráter sensível e intuitivo próprio da criação em Artes e Arquitetura exige uma compreensão metafísica da natureza do real, uma dimensão ao mesmo tempo visual, mas também um olhar para além das formas, no âmbito da reflexão existencial. Classificam-se esses elementos pela análise intelectual daquilo que essa obra manifesta em sua dimensão simbólica, do significado dos elementos sígnicos que maneja, daquilo que exprime. Distinguem-se a partir do que mais as aproximam: uma análise metafísica sobre a forma na Arte e Arquitetura sagradas, que tem seus fundamentos no eterno, no transcendente, pois o sagrado não é senão a manifestação do eterno no temporal, do espiritual no tangível. Importante a análise da consciência existencial na Antiguidade, com sua característica de exatidão de simbolização, como forma de compreensão para muitos dos fenômenos contemporâneos na Arte e Arquitetura sagradas. Sempre coexistiu uma forma de arte sagrada que encarna uma autenticidade primordial quanto às verdades espirituais do cristianismo, com uma forma de arte religiosa. O conceito adjacente à Espaço que nos interessa é o do Espaço do Sagrado. Contudo o homem contemporâneo diante de mecanismos cada vez mais autônomos perde contato com as realidades do espírito. O empenho reconstrutivo que liga o arquiteto e o artista às suas raízes de expressão de ordem e harmonia com o cosmos e em especial na expressão artística do sagrado nas artes e arquitetura poderá renascer com vitalidade desde que suas fundações situem-se naquilo que as caracterizou ao longo da história da civilização: a importância transcendental do espírito / Abstract: Through the analysis of the sacred as language and its specificity in the context of Art and Architecture, as spatio-temporal symbolism and construction, the thesis tries to develop a conceptual and formal matrix for the articulation of language and a new sacredness for Art and Architecture. The sensitive and intuitive character of creation itself in Arts and Architecture requires a metaphysical understanding of the nature of reality, a dimension visual at the same time, but also look beyond the forms within the existential reflection. Classified these elements by intellectual analysis of what this work manifested in its symbolic dimension, the meaning of the sign elements that handles, what is expressed. They are distinguished from the more than approximate: a metaphysical analysis of the way in sacred art and architecture, which has its foundations in the eternal, the transcendent, since the sacred is nothing but the manifestation of the eternal in the temporal, the spiritual in the tangible. Important analysis of existential awareness in antiquity, with its characteristic accuracy of symbolization as a means for understanding many phenomena in contemporary art and sacred architecture. Always coexisted a form of sacred art that embodies a primordial authenticity as the spiritual truths of Christianity with a form of religious art. The concept space adjacent to what interests us is the Sacred Space. However, contemporary man facing increasingly autonomous mechanisms lose touch with the realities of the spirit. The reconstructive efforts linking the architect and the artist to his roots expression of order and harmony to the cosmos and especially in the artistic expression of the sacred in art and architecture can be reborn with vitality since its foundations situated in what is characterized by the throughout the history of civilization: the transcendental importance of the spirit / Doutorado / Artes Visuais / Doutor em Artes Visuais