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Paper short abstract

Based on ethnographic research in Greece and Italy, this paper examines how contemporary polytheist ritual sites function as agentive religious spaces that shape visibility, legitimacy, and coexistence in European public space.

Paper long abstract

Drawing on comparative ethnographic research among contemporary polytheist groups in Greece and Italy, this paper examines the agency of ritual spaces and religious buildings that are created, occupied, or temporarily appropriated by practitioners seeking to revive ancient polytheist traditions. Unlike institutionalised churches or officially recognised places of worship, these sites, ranging from archaeological ruins and natural locations to newly built temples and improvised ritual settings, occupy ambiguous positions within European public space shaped by heritage regimes and dominant religious frameworks.

Rather than approaching these places merely as patrimonial sites or symbolic backdrops, the paper analyses them as agentive relational phenomena that actively shape religious practices, public debates, and negotiations of legitimacy. Practitioners claim the right to perform rituals within ancient ruins, framing these spaces not only as archaeological heritage, but also as living religious sites. Such claims generate tensions with heritage authorities, state institutions, and publics around questions of access, legality and sustainability. At the same time, some groups engage in the construction of contemporary temples, asserting forms of material permanence that challenge dominant models of religious architecture and recognition.

Through both the ritual re-appropriation of ruins and the creation of new religious buildings, these spaces act upon practitioners and institutions alike, structuring forms of visibility, discretion, and public engagement. While they can become focal points of polarisation, they also enable negotiated modes of coexistence through temporal occupation, spatial compromise, and selective visibility.By foregrounding the agency of minoritarian ritual sites, this paper contributes to debates on religious spaces in Europe.