Religious communities inscribe themselves into the cityscape not only socially and politically, but also acoustically and architecturally. Global Prayers examines the mutual influence of religion and urbanism, looking at how various forms of faith manifest themselves in the cities of the world. Photo essays, interviews, reports, scientific texts, and artistic photo spreads inquire into the making of urban religion and the production of religious urbanity. With contributions by Nezar AlSayyad, Filip de Boeck, Hengameh Golestan, Brian Larkin, Aernout Mik, Werner Schiffauer, AbdouMaliq Simone, Camilo Jose Vergara, Paola Yacoub.

At the height of the middle ages, there were hundreds of abbeys and priories throughout England. The ruins of some of those that were destroyed at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries are today seen as iconic medieval buildings - such as Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, designated a World Heritage site, or Tintern Abbey on the river Wye, immortalised by Wordsworth. These monasteries - particularly those of the Benedictine and Cistercian orders - were not simply powerhouses of prayer, but major local landowners who improved agriculture, replanned villages and founded new towns. For this reason, Glyn Coppack's far-ranging study not only looks at the churches and the immediate monastic buildings, but at the full range of ancillary buildings.