This page groups sacred sites by whether their sacred status is still actively maintained. Wikipedia notes that Mircea Eliade "argues that while the concept of a sacred space is often associated with religious traditions, it is not exclusive to them," since secular societies can keep treating a place as significant too. Browsing this way lets a visitor tell a site with living religious observance apart from one preserved mainly for its history.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingHoliness bound to the land of Israel and above all to Jerusalem and the Temple, together with the tombs of patriarchs and sages and the synagogues of the diaspora. Several members are under contested control and are claimed by more than one tradition; where that is so the atlas records each tradition's claim under its own name for the place, and treats neither name as the place's own. 2 Learn More
The holy places of Judaism
This group gathers the sacred sites of Judaism, whose holiness is bound above all to the land of Israel and to Jerusalem, the site of the Temple. With the Temple long destroyed, its surviving Western Wall is the most venerated site in Jewish tradition, and the tombs of the patriarchs and sages are places of prayer and pilgrimage.
The browser will find Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the patriarchal tombs, ancient synagogues and other holy places. The entries describe each site's history and religious meaning across the long span of Jewish tradition.
Standing, but maintained as a museum or heritage monument
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Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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