Religion and place attachment: A study of sacred places

In this paper we claim that religion can play an important role in place attachment and present a conceptualization of it. We provide an understanding of the role of place in the experience of religious place attachment, describing in detail place, design, aesthetics, and special characteristics that facilitate devotion. Next, we describe how attachment to place is learned through the process of socialization involving rituals, use of artifacts, story telling, and place visits. We argue that there is an active socializing component to religious place attachment in addition to the experiential one. We conclude with a brief discussion integrating the complex issues of religion, place, identity, and attachment. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.