The Spiritual City: Theology, Spirituality, and the Urban

The meaning and future of cities is arguably one of the most important and challenging issues of our time.  In A Spiritual City, Philip Sheldrake provides a broad examination of the meaning and importance of cities within Christianity, uncovering some of its rich historical sources of urban thought and practice, as well as discussing some of the criticisms that Christianity has been hostile to cities and public life.  The result is a deeply informative and thought-provoking account of cities and city-making that invites readers to rethink the idea of the urban life.

The book unites contemporary thinking about urban space and the built environment with the latest in urban theology.  Sheldrake discusses the history of Christian urban thinking and practice in the first half of the book. He addresses its long-standing anti-urban bias and emphasis on inwardness and pilgrimage. In the second half, he reflects on the potential of cities to create a strong human community and a sense of sacred space. He delves into topics such as place identity, re-conceiving the sacred, redeeming memory, transformation and regeneration, and urban virtues. In doing so, Sheldrake puts forth a positive vision of the city in relation to Christian thought, along with ample ideas for its reinvention in the future.