Risk, faith and religious tourism in Second Modernity: visits to Mount Athos in the COVID-19 era

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Christos N. Tsironis ◽  
Stella Sylaiou ◽  
Evangelia Stergiou
Author(s):  
Reeti Gupta

Government of India launched a ‘Swadesh Darshan Scheme’ in January 2015 that pinpoints 13 designated circuits including Ramayana circuit, Krishna Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, and Spiritual Circuit to promote religious and cultural tourism in the country. Kurukshetra is a ‘Holy City’ of State of Haryana that is recently been added in ‘Krishna Religious Tourism Circuit’. ‘Krishna Circuit’ embraces inherent mythology and beliefs pertaining to Lord Krishna and includes different place of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujrat, and Odisha for tourism facilitation. This scheme is alleged to contribute significantly in increasing the attractiveness of certain religious tourist destinations. Tourism entrepreneurs like hoteliers, restaurant owners, tour operators, travel agencies as well as religious entrepreneurs (Shinde, 2010) such as religious gurus, priests and managers of temples and ashrams are expected to get benefited from the initiatives proposed in the scheme in varied ways. Given the significant role of this scheme for growth of entrepreneurs, the present study aims to highlight the challenges faced by entrepreneurs that deserve attention of policy makers.


Author(s):  
Irena Carpentier Reifova ◽  
Sylvie Fišerová

This article proposes a theoretical framework for studying new media and its use by elderly people in risk society. Old people and their practices of new media use are discussed in light of the concepts of age cohort, generation and media generation. The article detects homology between individualization (a backbone of the second modernity as defined by Ulrich Beck) in the management of new risks and operation of new media language. Consequently, the concept of “double individualization of responsibility” is coined and connection is made to the effects of new media and new risks on ontological security. The argument is taken further onto the ground of critical gerontology, which claims that individual decision-making and fluidity of the second modernity is a source of insecurity and anxiety mainly for the old people. The article eventually presents the area of e-health as a research field for further exploration of how old people experience autonomy, individual decision making, and the absence of (or conflict with) external authority while dealing with the health risks on-line.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Yanchao Zhang

This article explores transformations in the worship of popular goddess Mazu as a result of (religious) tourism. In particular, it focuses on the role of transnational tourism in the invention of tradition, folklorization, and commodification of the Mazu cult. Support from the central and local governments and the impact of economic globalization have transformed a traditional pilgrimage site that initially had a local and then national scope into a transnational tourist attraction. More specifically, the ancestral temple of Mazu at Meizhou Island, which was established as the uncontested origin of Mazu’s cult during the Song dynasty (960 to 1276), has been reconfigured architecturally and liturgically to function as both a sacred site and a tourist attraction. This reconfiguration has involved the reconstruction of traditional rituals and religious performances for religious tourism to promote the temple as the unadulterated expression of an intangible cultural heritage. The strategic combination of traditional rituals such as “dividing incense” and an innovative ceremony enjoining all devotees of “Mazu all over the world [to] return to mother’s home” to worship her have not only consolidated the goddess as a symbol of common cultural identity in mainland China, but also for the preservation of Chinese identity in diaspora. Indeed, Chinese migrants and their descendants are among the increasing numbers of pilgrims/tourists who come to Mazu’s ancestral temple seeking to reconnect with their heritage by partaking in authentic traditions. This article examines the spatial and ritual transformations that have re-signified this temple, and by extension, the cult of Mazu, as well as the media through which these transformations have spread transnationally. We will see that (transnational) religious tourism is a key medium.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6905
Author(s):  
Maria Tătărușanu ◽  
Gina Ionela Butnaru ◽  
Valentin Niță ◽  
Angelica-Nicoleta Neculăesei ◽  
Elena Ciortescu

Recently, in line with the increased attention paid to cultural tourism in general and to religious tourism in particular, researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in the analysis of various aspects related to cultural heritage in order to capitalize on its value by means of its interpretation, thus providing beneficial effects both for tourists and for tourism’s sustainable development. The aim of this research is to analyze the extent to which the methods of interpretation of the religious cultural heritage: guiding tours, quality reception, and relic worship influence the satisfaction of tourists participating in the “Saint Parascheva” pilgrimage, held annually by the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi. The data were collected by means of a survey (N = 932) and the information was processed by using the SPSS version 25 program. Our results indicate the significant influence that the potential to worship relics has on pilgrims’ satisfaction compared to other interpretation methods, such as the relationship with the Cathedral’s staff or the possibility of participating in guided tours. Pilgrims’ satisfaction is also perceived differently depending on certain aspects of their socio-demographic profile, i.e., their age and the perceived faith level. This study is relevant for researchers, managers, and students interested in the field of cultural heritage interpretation in genera, and in the field of religious heritage in particular, and could significantly contribute to improving pilgrims’ satisfaction as well as cultural heritage preservation.


Author(s):  
Olga A. Balabeikina ◽  
◽  
Karine S. Gavrilova ◽  
Julia A. Kuznetsova ◽  
◽  
...  

By the example of the Arkhangelsk region, the process of religious tourism development on the northern Russian subjects territory in the dynamics of the post-Soviet decades, is analyzed. The northern regions of the country are far from its main economic centers, which is not only a limiting factor, but also a competitive advantage for the development of niche types of tourism, which is determined by the creation and implementation of variety of tourist products that are competitive and generate stable demand. In modern conditions, a competent and consistent tourist brand development of the territory is necessary for the successful recreational services promotion on the market. The main purpose of the submitted research is to identify the religious tourism role in the tourist branding of the Arkhangelsk region.The Arkhangelsk region is a region of ancient development and settlement, characterized by a large number of Orthodox religious infrastructure objects. To identify the degree of its placement uniformity, calculations of territorial concentration coefficient were made. By results, the conclusion is justified that Orthodox chapels, temples and monasteries are dispersed and, accordingly, several administrative districts of the region are allocated, acting as the core of the development of Orthodox religious tourism. The list and structure analysis results of the already approved and announced routes of religious tourism in the Arkhangelsk region allow us to assert that the designated sub-sector of recreational economy contributes to the development of local folk crafts, individual entrepreneurship, the preservation and historical and cultural heritage objects revival, as well as the preservation of settlements remote from large centers. The arguments are given in favor of the fact that religious tourism occupies an essential place in the tourist branding of the Russian Federation studied subject. This is confirmed by the results of a survey specially developed and conducted by the authors, which was carried out in order to identify the importance of Orthodox religious infrastructure objects in the Arkhangelsk region perception system among the population of the Russian Federation. The main effective conclusion based on the article results is that the role of religious tourism in the tourist branding of the Russian Federation studied subject is undeniably high, and the further development and improvement of the Arkhangelsk region tourist brand can be largely associated with religious tourism in the organization of a systematic approach to the use of marketing tools.


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