This paper examines the meaning and role of intangible heritage in its relationship to tangible heritage and its understanding through the lens of UNESCO. In this context, it is necessary to approach the subject from the perspective of the legal instruments adopted to protect intangible religious heritage, such as the 1989 Recommendations on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore, the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. These are the main legal instruments to make an assessment of the key concepts that have been introduced in the field of immaterial heritage. Interestingly, the current legal system raises the problem of instrumentalization and politicization of intangible heritage compared to tangible heritage and its strict dependence on tangible heritage. From this premise, it is therefore necessary to revisit some UNESCO nomination processes dealing with religious heritage (Old Town of Timbuktu, Four Medieval Monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija, the Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old Town of Hebron, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Temple of Preah Vihear). These are indeed useful examples to explore the use of religious intangible heritage as a tool to reinforce specific identity, cultural, political and religious features in global heritage selection processes.