Heritagisation of Temples of Humankind

The Temples of Humankind have comprised a huge undertaking for the Damanhurians, through which they have intended to build their place of worship. Construction began at the end of the 1970s but was kept secret until 1992, when, started a four-year legal battle, the underground monument was finally returned to the Community. The Temples have transformed from a hidden place of worship to now being a monument and work of art through which the Damanhurian culture and way of life are presented to the world. The present chapter aims to investigate the modes and means transmitting immaterial meanings of religious and spiritual heritage. In particular, I investigate how the interpretation and mediation of this place of worship take place in the encounters between a Damanhurian and a non-Damanhurian. Also under investigation is how such a sacred place opposes or participates in the complex phenomenon of heritagisation (or heritage-making) in the religious and spiritual sector, as the Temples of Humankind are at the same time a sacred space, an outer social place and an attraction for spiritual seekers.