Description
This paper will address two major connected themes. The first looks at the effects that urbanization and urban sprawl have had on the religious landscape (both physical and metaphorical), and how urban socioeconomic conditions interact with religiosity to turn religious practice, at some points, into a leisure-time activity. The second theme explores the different approaches to religious site organization and worship practice from urban areas (Kathmandu, Pokhara) through ex-urban areas (Pharping, Nagarkot) to rural areas (Dolakha district, Mustang district, parts of Gorkha district) with an eye towards how socioeconomic factors, such as time spent engaging in secondary economic activities and related observed cash flow, may affect the sites, practices, and local attitudes.
Religious sites and practices as economic indicators: A consideration of the rural and urban Nepal
This paper will address two major connected themes. The first looks at the effects that urbanization and urban sprawl have had on the religious landscape (both physical and metaphorical), and how urban socioeconomic conditions interact with religiosity to turn religious practice, at some points, into a leisure-time activity. The second theme explores the different approaches to religious site organization and worship practice from urban areas (Kathmandu, Pokhara) through ex-urban areas (Pharping, Nagarkot) to rural areas (Dolakha district, Mustang district, parts of Gorkha district) with an eye towards how socioeconomic factors, such as time spent engaging in secondary economic activities and related observed cash flow, may affect the sites, practices, and local attitudes.