Religious Tourism and the Environment

The remarkable growth in religious tourism across the world has generated considerable interest in the impacts of this type of tourism. Focusing here on environmental issues, this book moves beyond the documentation of environmental impacts to examine in greater depth the intersections between religious tourism and the environment. Beginning with an in-depth introduction that highlights the intersections between religion, tourism, and the environment, the book then focuses on the environment as a resource or generator for religious tourism and as a recipient of the impacts of religious tourism. Chapters included discuss such important areas as theological views, environmental responsibility, and host perspectives. Covering as many cultural and environmental regions as possible, this book provides: -An in-depth yet holistic view of the relationships between religious tourism and the environment; -A conceptual framework that goes beyond listing potential environment impacts; -A strong focus on explaining the universality of the deeper environmental issues surrounding sacredness and sacred places; -A discussion of the role of disease and health-related issues at mass religious gatherings. From a global writing team and featuring case studies spanning Europe and Asia, this book will be of great interest to researchers and students of tourism and religious studies, as well as those studying environmental issues.