The Religious Dimensions of Shared Spaces: When and How Religion Matters in Space-Sharing Arrangements

Space sharing by groups and organizations is widespread in the United States, from commercial partnerships, to government and private sector joint use agreements, to the use of public facilities and commons, and more. Drawing upon a variety of historical examples and contemporary cases, The Religious Dimensions of Shared Spaces offers a focused and systematic analysis of space sharing involving religious groups or organizations. All space-sharing arrangements are similar in most respects, so what difference does it make when religious groups or organizations are involved? How do they invest meaning in the spaces they use and share, including “sacred space”? When and why do they enter into space-sharing arrangements with other parties, religious and/or secular? How do religious space sharers structure and maintain their arrangements, including handling tensions that arise? What can secular space sharers learn from their religious counterparts, and vice versa? The book also teases out when religion does not matter in space sharing, even when religious groups or organizations are involved. Case studies include internal congregational groups that negotiate the use of shared facilities, arrangements between congregations and external groups or organizations, multifaith partnerships, and shared spaces in secular venues.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Space Sharing Part One: The Space-Sharing Phenomenon Chapter One: Extent and Reasons Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework and Research Methods Part Two: Space-Sharing Cases Chapter Three: Congregational Proprietors Chapter Four: Other Religious Proprietors Chapter Five: Secular Proprietors Part Three: Understanding Space Sharing Chapter Six: The Religion Factor Chapter Seven: Space-Sharing Takeaways Appendices Bibliography Index About the Author

About the Author :
Paul D. Numrich is professor in the Snowden Chair for the Study of Religion and Interreligious Relations, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, professor of World Religions and Interreligious Relations, Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, and visiting scholar, McNamara Center for the Social Study of Religion, Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago.

Review :
The Religious Dimensions of Shared Space is an excellent resource, not just in terms of its case studies and theory, but also in its appendices… His work is [invaluable] to leaders of faith-communities as they seek to live well among and within diverse religious communities. This is an excellent book that adds to the sociological literature on the space sharing phenomenon, with insightful analyses of varied, rich, and evocative cases in the United States. Valuable and timely given the contemporary landscape. Paul Numrich tells an important story in this book about how religious groups share space. His examples and case studies are rich and provide important insights into the lived religious experiences of many people and groups across the country. I encourage those interested in the geography and lived experience of religion and spirituality in the United States to read on.