Religious precinct

For other uses, see Precinct.

A religious precinct is the area around a religious site, such as a temple, that is dedicated to religious purposes. A religious precinct may be defined by a physical enclosure, although this is not always the case.^[1] Religious precincts are an aspect of the spatiality of religion.^[2]

Gateway to the Precinct of Montu at the Karnak Temple Complex.

Religious precincts in urban settings often serve a mixture of religious and non-religious purposes.^[2] In some cases, a religious precinct may take up a substantial part of a city: the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan encompassed 78 buildings.^[3]

In polytheistic faiths, a religious precinct may encompass sites dedicated to multiple gods. The ancient Roman sacred precinct at Altbachtal encompassed more than 70 distinct temples.^[4]

See also

• Churchyard
• Fanum
• Temenos