Sacred spaces, culture and politics: the importance of the representation of space in the constitution of public religion. A case study

Abstract

“Cultural” approaches in Geography have opened new perspectives on the relationship between religious beliefs and practices and the different theoretical and existential dimensions of space, often related to the construction of subjectivity and bodily experience. In this context, this paper presents a case of study (based on ethnographic research) in which the sacred and urban spatial practices become the subject of a dispute about the urban structure of the town in the province of Toledo (Spain). Through the dispute for spatial practices, collective emotions come into play and symbols of collective identity are constructed and deconstructed. The paper addresses first the description of the municipal context in which events occur, followed by the description and analysis of the conflict, ending with some conclusions about the case.