Debate: Religion in the city

The coexistence of various religions in Europe, as well as a great deal of mutations happening inside these belief systems, essentially occur within major European metropolises. The city has become a crucible where two interesting phenomena can be seen happening side by side: on one hand, the increasing detachment towards rigorous and traditional religious standards; on the other hand, the appearance of new religious dynamics. So, is religion in the city a medium for social cohesion or, instead, a vector of identitarian closure?  Isn’t religion at the core of the social and spatial segregation seen all over Europe? What role does religion play in the transformation of the urban landscape? And what is to happen of the religious culture and heritage in the urban space, between memory and oblivion?

Flagey, Le Soir, Université Libre de Bruxelles, l’Observatoire des Religions et de la Laïcité, CEFRELCO