Paper long abstract:

Urban spaces in the Caucasus provide a specific arena for religious pluralization and their own experiences of lived and regulated faith. Multi-ethnic and multi-religious port cities such as Baku and Batumi are defined by post-colonial city branding based on neo-liberal privatization processes and modernization projects with the goal of positioning themselves nationally and internationally.

Along with a strong presence of atheist concepts of development, cities create new 'iconic' places which turn urban spaces in attractive destination for canonical aspirations and less-canonical spiritualities. They are manifested in different ways, so that the religious landscapes may include formal and informal ways of faith expression. Based on a mix of methods, this paper discusses the values and pragmatics of informal worship sites and street corners in Baku and Batumi that may generate the contestation and sociability in urban spaces.