In retrospective: EuARe Congress 2026: Adaptive Reuse of Religious Buildings
During the EuARe Congress in Rome last June, discussions focused, among other topics, on how churches and other religious buildings across Europe are being repurposed, shared, or adapted to changing religious and ritual practices.
You win some, you loose some
During the EuARe Congress in Rome this June, Samuel Goyvaerts (Tilburg School of Catholic Theology and board member of IRiLiS) together with Karen Lens (UHasselt), and Kate Jordan (University of Westminster) organized the panel “You Win Some, You Lose Some: On Adaptive and Hybrid (Re)Use of Religious Buildings.” The session explored how churches and other sacred sites across Europe are being repurposed, shared, or adapted amid religious and ritual transformations.
Preservation of cultural heritage
Nine researchers from Italy, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the US presented on the tensions between preservation and transformation, balancing cultural resilience with the loss of ritual coherence and symbolic meaning. The well-attended discussion highlighted the challenges of reimagining sacred spaces in a rapidly changing society. An edited volume based on the panel is currently in preparation.
