The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Heritage in Contemporary Europe

Abstract

This open access Handbook provides state-of-the-art scholarship on religious heritage in contemporary Europe, aimed at scholars, practitioners and policy makers. It contains articles by both scholars and heritage practitioners, and explores the key challenges facing organizations, churches, and governments, as well as academics studying religion and heritage. Divided into three parts, the book brings together critical analysis and an exploration of best practices, structured along major themes, including tourism, the (post)secular, economics, multiple usages, Jewish heritage, Muslim heritage, museums, contemporary art, and architecture. The book explores how historic places of worship, including churches, synagogues, and mosques in Europe, are among the most heavily visited heritage sites worldwide, yet declining church attendance means that many, historic churches are being repurposed. It also examines the key role religious heritage plays in political discourse, both in the interest of including and excluding religious minorities. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.