Cultural Heritage as a Concept in Religious Studies: Paradox and Contradiction

This chapter address the concept of cultural heritage from the perspective of religious studies. Though ‘religious’ heritage and heritage of ‘spiritual interest’ are features of international and national heritage lists, specific protocols and principles that might govern and guide the handling of religious heritage have proven slow to develop. This tardiness can be attributed to shifting uses of the term ‘religious’ in various instructions and conventions, and, on the other, to biased presuppositions about the nature of ‘religion’ as such. Secondly, much contemporary scholarship on heritage and religion presumes an inherent tension between religious communities and secular heritage practices, that tends to favour the understanding of religion of the dominant group, and may not apply in non-European/North American
contexts. The chapter concludes with considerations of ‘living heritage
practices’ within communities as a key aspect of religious heritage.