Spiritual Economy: Resources, Labor, and Exchange in Glastonbury and Sedona

abstract: Current data indicates that a growing number of individuals in the English-speaking world are identifying as “spiritual, but not religious” (SBNR). Using ethnographic data collected at two important sites of spiritual pilgrimage and tourism—Glastonbury, England and Sedona, Arizona—this pro...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Vann, Jodie Ann (Author)
Format: Doctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.50431
Description
Summary:abstract: Current data indicates that a growing number of individuals in the English-speaking world are identifying as “spiritual, but not religious” (SBNR). Using ethnographic data collected at two important sites of spiritual pilgrimage and tourism—Glastonbury, England and Sedona, Arizona—this project argues that seekers at these places produce spirituality as much as they consume it. Using the lens of economy, this project examines how seekers conceptualize the (super-) natural resources at these sites, the laborious practices they perform to transform these resources, and the valuation and exchange of the resultant products. In so doing, the project complicates prevailing notions, both among scholars and the public, that contemporary unaffiliated spirituality is predominantly an individualistic consumer process. === Dissertation/Thesis === Doctoral Dissertation Religious Studies 2018