Lesson 2.6 — Space

Space in the study of religion is not a “preexisting static container isolated from other spaces.” In Thomas Tweed’s article “Space”, he describes religious space as a mixture of defining features including differentiated, kinetic, interrelated, generated, and generative. Spaces can be defined as “special” or “religious” if it appeals to “suprahuman forces and maps the ultimate horizon of human life.” Tweed mentions that there are no spaces that are purely profane and solely sacred that exists. This means that differentiated space is kinetic because nature, culture, and some secular forces impact religious spaces. This lesson can be connected to the concept of culture and religion because it is not a fixed or static entity.