Sacred space after Christendom: theology in the vertical city

Abstract

This article explores the theology of sacred space in the contemporary vertical city. It argues that densification and urban height are not only architectural changes but also spiritual and social ones, shaping how people move, belong and imagine value. Reading the city through the biblical story of Babel, the article suggests that vertical urban life often reflects hierarchies of power, access and exclusion. In response, sacred space is presented as a countercultural presence. It is a non-commercial, interruptive and hospitable place where human beings are not reduced to consumers, tenants or data points. Drawing on urban theology and biblical patterns of ascent and descent, the article concludes that churches in dense cities should be understood less as monuments of prominence than as places of encounter, receptivity and re-engagement with the world.