Public expressions of religiosity in urban space: governance, heritage, and religious diversity. The case of public iftars
Abstract
This article analyzes public expressions of religiosity as a lens through which to understand the urban transformations of religious diversity. In contexts characterized by the coexistence of secularization and religious pluralization, practices such as processions, collective meditations, and religious festivities are becoming increasingly visible in streets and urban squares. The article conceptualizes these expressions as hybrid urban devices situated at the intersection of different regimes —heritage, regulatory, relational, and devotional— that shape the conditions of visibility and legitimacy of religions in public space. Drawing on an analytical framework structured around four dimensions —spatial inscription, governance, social representations, and cultural resources (e.g., gastronomy or music)— the article examines how these events produce specific forms of sociability and religious hierarchization. Focusing on public iftars as the main empirical example, the article highlights both their potential to foster interaction and interreligious dialogue and the persistent inequalities that structure access to urban space.
Received: 27 March 2026; Accepted: 13 May 2026
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