Notions of urbanity shaped the discourses around religious group formation, for instance the Heavenly Jerusalem as a key aspect of Puritanism. Adaptations to religious rituals and belief systems because of urban demands could lead to the emergence of religious groups that could later spread beyond the urban environment.

The working hypothesis of the workshop is that by considering the mutual formation of religion and urbanity, we can also gain new insights into the phenomenon of religious group formation(s) and find new ways to understand how, when and why, groups formed and how they were visible (or invisible) in cities. Many of the processes of group formations show that both local and trans-regional points of reference played a part, which is why the workshop takes a broad geographical view. It addresses religious group formation and urbanity in a long-term perspective and in a wide range of different settings, in order to ask:

- What are the motives of individuals gathering as groups and which (legal) tools were used for gaining recognition? How were groups named, promoted and how did they become (in)visible in urban settings?
- Where are religious semantics and practices used for non-hierarchical segmentation, where for pragmatically (ir)relevant differentiation or even discrimination? Where do they intersectionally reinforce or conceal different kinds of inequality?
- How was cohesion within a group formed? What role did urbanity play in this process?
- How do religious groups relate to each other and what role does urbanity play in their (self-)definition vis-à-vis other religious groups?
- When can we speak of a group in a meaningful way?