DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2706-6185/63/66-70
Culturological Discourse of Christian Architectural Heritage in Azerbaijan and the Identity Paradigm in the Development of Religious Tourism
Riad Safarli 
Abstract. This article examines how Christian architectural heritage in Azerbaijan is interpreted within cultural discourse and how it contributes to an identity paradigm for the development of religious tourism. The study applies a qualitative literature review, content analysis of policy documents, and cultural-semiotic interpretation. Academic and institutional sources on the early Christian architecture of Caucasian Albania, collective memory, heritage discourse, multicultural identity, and responsible tourism are compared. The findings indicate that a Christian monument is not merely a religious building: architectural form, stone, ornament, epigraphy, landscape, and living community practices together constitute a cultural text. This text presents national identity not as a monoethnic or monoreligious category, but as a layered and negotiable process. Religious tourism can increase the public visibility of heritage, local socioeconomic benefits, and intercultural dialogue; however, the commercialisation of sacred functions, simplified attribution, and visitor pressure must be managed. The proposed analytical classification combines historical-architectural continuity, semiotic systems, multicultural integration, identity discourse, governance, and education. It therefore provides a framework for linking conservation, interpretation, community participation, and visitor management within a coherent cultural heritage policy.
Keywords: christian architectural heritage, cultural discourse, identity paradigm, religious tourism, multiculturalism