Religious Tourism As Leisure In India: Negotiating Tradition and Modernity through Sacred Mobilities

There has been an increase in awareness regarding the link between religion and leisure in sociology because of mobility of our era, as well as cultural consumption and experience travel. Experience of touring around such sacred destinations as Varanasi, Kumbh Mela, Ayodhya, Tirupati, and Rishikesh in India has transcended the traditional notion of pilgrimage to become leisure activities. It is not just about traveling for religious purposes; it is one step in the entire process of tourism and recreation.

The theme of religious tourism as a significant source of leisure in between tradition and modernity are encouraged in this session. By using the theories like sacred mobility, lived religion, cultural capital, collective effervescence, placemaking, commodification, and experience economy, this session will try to comprehend the construction and consumption of religious space in contemporary India. The mega-event of Kumbh Mela, as well as trips to temple towns and spiritual destinations, provide interesting settings within which one can understand the increasing convergence between religion and leisure, wellness, social networking, and citizenship.

Special emphasis of this session will be placed on negotiating authenticity, commoditization, belonging, and meaning via religious tourism. By foregrounding religious tourism as a leisure practice, this session aims to contribute to sociological debates on mobility, culture, consumption, and the reconfiguration of traditions in contemporary societies.

Keywords: Sociology of Leisure; Religious Tourism; Sacred Mobilities; Cultural Consumption; Lived Religion; Collective Effervescence