"The Urban Religion Approach: Three Critical Moves"

This article aims to sketch out the main thrust of an urban religion approach to an ancient Mediterranean religion such as Christ religion1. In its essence, an urban religion agenda explores whether, to what extent, and how many characteristics that we generally consider as aspects inherent to a given religion (for instance, Christ religion) are actually the outcome of specific ways in which religious agents enact urbanity and interact with the urban space2. Methodologically, this means transitioning from perceiving religion solely as an explanatory factor (explanans) for urbanization processes to considering it as the phenomenon to be explained (explanandum) in the form of urban religion. To accomplish this change of perspective, three fundamental analytical moves are needed that correspond to three conceptual shifts: (I) moving away from religions as mere group identities and instead focusing on religion as a (risky) means of communication; (II) unseating the city from its (recent) position as a generous provider of material-cultural evidence for deciphering textual meanings and instead highlighting urbanity as driver for religious change; (III) zooming out from models and narratives of urbanization and zooming in on specific trajectories of citification. In what follows, I will briefly examine each of these critical moves.