“Religious heritage in a diverse Europe” will bring together leading scholars and professionals in the fields of religion and heritage studies to explore the ways that religious pasts interact with Europe today. The religious makeup of European societies has been significantly changing over the past few decades. At the same time that more people identify as non-religious, new arrivals and conversion mean that the religious landscape of Europe is becoming increasingly more complex. These dynamics simultaneously enrich and challenge organizations, government agencies and scholars engaged with maintaining and promoting cultural heritage. We invited panels that address such questions as:
How should Europe’s plural religious pasts be represented?
How can heritage be translated for audiences who do not self-identify with present religious traditions?
What role can heritage play in fostering dialogue between the religious and secular groups that make up contemporary European societies? The challenges of dealing with religious heritage in a diverse Europe will be approached from the perspectives of the academy, education, museums, preservation, as well as religious and secular organizational perspectives.