"This Is Religious Environment": Sacred Space, Environmental Discourses, and Environmental Behavior at a Hindu Pilgrimage Site in India
This article examines discourses about environmental change and their impact on environmental behavior of different social groups at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Vrindavan in India, which receives more than 6 million visitors annually. Using concepts from social spatialization, religious socializati...
| Published in: | Space and Culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publications
2011
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| In: |
Space and Culture
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| Further subjects: | B
Vrindavan
B Religious Socialization B Hindu pilgrimage sites B environmental discourse B social spatialization |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article examines discourses about environmental change and their impact on environmental behavior of different social groups at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Vrindavan in India, which receives more than 6 million visitors annually. Using concepts from social spatialization, religious socialization, and cultural theory, it explains how religious culture shapes the attitudes and worldviews of these groups, which are then used in articulating environmental problems and contesting environmental responsibility. Interviews with social groups, including religious gurus, priests, visitors, government officials, local residents, and community leaders, reveal the recurrence of four dominant themes: denial, indifference, helplessness, and stewardship. ?Denial? and ?indifference? are common with those engaged in the cultural economy of pilgrimage rituals as they use the language of transcendence framed through myths, religious ideologies, and ritual practices. Others operating outside religious domain readily recognize environmental impacts but feel ?helpless? and only a few demonstrate environmental stewardship. |
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| ISSN: | 1552-8308 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Space and Culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/1206331211412280 |