Auditory Historical Religious Place Experience: A Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis for Identifying Experiential and Perceptual Indicators

The acoustics and soundscapes of historical religious places (HRPs) have been investigated in the literature. Some of these places are still used for their original functions and for tourism purposes. Being susceptible to alterations and renovations that directly affect the auditory environment, assessing users’ perceptions under these changes becomes important. To clarify users’ experience in HRPs, this study conducted a systematic review by following the PRISMA guidelines. Two phases of literature review were followed. The first phase focused on acoustics-related studies. The results indicated that they address the physical and architectural acoustics of HRPs without including perceptual or experiential assessment. This led to the second phase which used perceptual and soundscape-related keywords. The results showed that there were 24 studies that included subjective evaluation and perceptual descriptors. Based on these results, perceptual attributes (indicators) and assessment scopes were thematically synthesized. The findings revealed a significant gap in linking objective acoustics conditions with subjective experience in HRPs, calling for an integration of both approaches in future studies.