Introduction

Abstract This special section contributes to debates on religion and the city by focusing on the ritual body. The collection of articles reveals the bodily and sensory ways in which religious rituals relate to, impact, and co-construct the city. Bodies are means and sites of religious and gender performativity, as well as sites of regulation and negotiation. Exploring diverse ways of inhabiting and experiencing the city, the collection reflects upon the urban as created though embodied ritual practices, experiences, and memories. The examples of Chinese Protestant calisthenics in Nanping and Fuzhou, transgender funeral performances in Ho Chi Minh City, divine possession in Singapore, and Hindu fire-walking in London and Singapore provide diverse insights into the roles gendered bodies play in urban rituals.