Religious tourism: its nature and function

Assistant professor and faculty member at The University of Religions & Denominations This paper aims to review religious tourism (also commonly referred to as faith tourism). The subject matter of this study is firstly investigated with respect to content and meaning and then its function and role in three following levels of reality are explored: social, cultural and spiritual. In these threefold levels, religious tourism is recognized as a social construct as well as a cultural and spiritual need which plays an important role in human solidarity and convergence. And finally in a triple conceptual framework, God-seeking, altruism and self-discovery are explained and classified in Islamic view.