Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
6-2013
Abstract
In this paper I examine the processes and politics associated with the formation of evangelical house churches in Sri Lanka. In doing so, I show how the sacred space of the house church is constructed through the development of sacred networks, which emerge when a group of Christians assemble for prayer and worship. Sacred networks grant the house church an important degree of mobility, but they also encourage church fission. Whilst the house church enables evangelical groups to grow in hostile environments like that of Sri Lanka, it is often a superficial form of growth that is unsustainable in the long term. To conclude, I suggest that an understanding of sacred networks can help inject a sense of scalar dynamism into the study of contemporary religious movements.
Keywords
house church, conversion of space, structural mosaic, sacred networks, evangelical Christianity, Sri Lanka
Discipline
Asian Studies | Religion | Urban Studies and Planning
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
Volume
31
Issue
6
First Page
1062
Last Page
1075
ISSN
0263-7758
Identifier
10.1068/d7912
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Citation
WOODS, Orlando.(2013). Converting houses into churches: The mobility, fission, and sacred networks of evangelical house churches in Sri Lanka. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 31(6), 1062-1075.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2424
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1068/d7912