Sacred Preservation: Approaching Religious and Sacred Historic Properties with Appropriate Recognition as Cultural Heritage
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2019-06-19
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Welch Center for Graduate and Professional Studies
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MA in Historic Preservation
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Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Abstract
This study examines current preservation criteria and treatment considerations specific to sacred and religious properties and identifies opportunities to increase understanding of religious importance as cultural heritage. Cultural heritage, the ability to worship, and teach a culture or belief to the next generation, is inherently living. It is future-oriented with deep roots in the past. It cannot be separated from the reason for the existence and history of a site, as is now common. The current interest in cultural heritage is an opportunity to recover the religious and sacred meanings of buildings and sites throughout the United States. This study presents examples across many cultures, and uses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a case study for sacred preservation due to the organization’s many religious historic sites, preservation efforts, and application of treatments in varying ways.
Much of the history in the United States of America is closely tied with religion. Yet, from Native American cultures to all aspects of Euro-American communities, religion is often underrepresented in the evaluation and interpretation of historic sites. Due to the National Register guidance, preservationists recognize churches for architecture, famous speeches or social movements, or even as a contribution to a larger district rather than its primary purpose.
This study exposes the contradictions in how we evaluate sites with religious and sacred meanings and how preservation treatments focus only on tangible aspects of sites and often do not support cultural heritage. Specifically, for properties affiliated with religious and sacred value, a three-part categorization of meaning is introduced and applied to existing historic religious sites. The relationships between the meanings, sites, and preservation treatments are explained through examples at Nauvoo. The application of the categorization illustrates value with regards to belief, and correlates the preservation treatments that are most appropriate to those values. Additions and slight alterations to the current Criteria for Evaluation and Criteria Considerations with regards to cultural heritage sites, specifically those sites that are religious or sacred, are proposed to create appropriate recognition.