The Production of Religious Space

This study examines the production of religious space in the Sunan Ampel area of Surabaya through a sociological-historical approach, emphasizing the concept of lived space and the dialectics between sacrality and economy. Departing from Henri Lefebvre’s the­ory of space production, this article argues that the sacredness of Am­pel is not a static entity that is inherited ahistorically, but rather the result of social construction that continues to be produced and repro­duced through ritual practices, social relations, economic activities, and collective memory that are formed historically. This research uses a qualitative method with in-depth interviews, field observations, and historical document analysis. The study’s findings show that, socio­logically and historically, Ampel evolved from a religious settlement into an urban religious pilgrimage and tourism area with layers of sym­bolic, social, and economic meaning. The dialectic between sacredness and economics does not exist as a structural conflict of a binary na­ture, but rather as an everyday social experience negotiated by the ac­tors. In the Sunan Ampel lived space, economic activities are tied to religious ethics and the moral economy, thereby supporting the sacred space’s sustainability. Keywords: space production, lived space, sacrality, economy

Dialectic · Everyday life · Pilgrimage · Tourism · Architectural and Urban Studies · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces