A religious or sacred precinct is the area around a religious site, such as a temple, that is dedicated to religious purposes. A religious precinct may be defined by a physical enclosure, although this is not always the case.[1] Religious precincts are an aspect of the spatiality of religion.[2]
Religious precincts in urban settings often serve a mixture of religious and non-religious purposes.[2] In some cases, a religious precinct may take up a substantial part of a city: the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan encompassed 78 buildings.[3]
In polytheistic faiths, a religious precinct may encompass sites dedicated to multiple gods. The ancient Roman sacred precinct at Altbachtal encompassed more than 70 distinct temples.[4]
Whether visible (as in the case of temples, churches, and synagogues) or invisible (as in the case of African spiritual traditions) the sacred precincts established and preserved by these minority groups attest to the maintenance of their cultural and religious identities.
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