Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory, and Identity

by Philip Sheldrake

In Spaces for the Sacred , Philip Sheldrake brilliantly reveals the connection between our rootedness in the places we inhabit and the construction of our personal and religious identities. Based on the prestigious Hulsean Lectures he delivered at the University of Cambridge, Sheldrake's book examines the sacred narratives which derive from both overtly religious sites such as cathedrals, and secular ones, like the Millennium Dome, and it suggests how Christian theological and spiritual traditions may contribute creatively to current debates about place.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Nature, Theology

214 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2001

About the author

Philip Sheldrake is a theologian who has been closely involved with the emergence of Christian Spirituality as an academic field. Sheldrake is Past President of the International Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and was Leech Professor of Applied Theology at Durham University. His publications have focused on the interface of spirituality, theology, and religious history, and he has also written on religious reconciliation.

Sheldrake trained in history, philosophy, and theology at the universities of Oxford and London, and later taught at the Universities of London and Cambridge. Sheldrake is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Senior Research Fellow, Cambridge Theological Federation, and Honorary Professor, University of Wales. He has also regularly been a visiting professor in the United States.

Reviews

[Zoe Matties · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book on the theology of place. He suggests that Christianity isn't just a religion of pilgrims and rootlessness and gives us many ways in which the theological tradition helps us be "in place" with God and with others. Sheldrake writes, “Place is space that has the capacity to be remembered and to evoke what is most precious.” I appreciated his reflection on the eucharist as a place where people learn to “make space’ in love for the other”. I also thought the chapter on the failure of the modern city to be “places for living” was very helpful. He suggests that the only safe city is one in which the streets are “crowded, multifunctional, open to every kind of passing and staying.”

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this was the culmination of a series of six books dealing with space, and place. I appreciate how Sheldrake deals with space and place in the context of catholicity and sacramentality. For Sheldrake, the ubiquity of sacred space is not a way of saying that all things are vaguely 'of God,' but that each thing in its very particularity is deemed sacred under the cosmic Christ. Sheldrake's vision of the world zooms in and pulls back in a helpful way. He explored the mystical traditions, particularly in reference to the assertion of God as place. It's a fascinating read, full of fodder for reflection and discussion. Well worth the read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking and well-written. It’s interesting to read this alongside some native theology, as he is addressing more of a medieval sense of place and space in Christendom, & our Native siblings have an even more ancient sense of the word.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one has taken me six years...really. it's one of those I sat w/, read along b/c could only digest a bit at a time. Sheldrake writes about the Eucharist like no one else I've ever read: writes about it as a shared space, a space in which all boundaries are transgressed. ah, my paraphrase falls feebly short, but I recommend this one heartily.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very specified to the catholic religious context--which is okay, but I was expecting a broader interpretation of "Place, Memory, and Identity."

[Kyle Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great. Read for a research paper on why church building design still matters.