“This Is Religious Environment”

This article examines discourses about environmental change and their impact on environmental behavior of different social groups at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Vrindavan in India, which receives more than 6 million visitors annually. Using concepts from social spatialization, religious socialization, and cultural theory, it explains how religious culture shapes the attitudes and worldviews of these groups, which are then used in articulating environmental problems and contesting environmental responsibility. Interviews with social groups, including religious gurus, priests, visitors, government officials, local residents, and community leaders, reveal the recurrence of four dominant themes: denial, indifference, helplessness, and stewardship. “Denial” and “indifference” are common with those engaged in the cultural economy of pilgrimage rituals as they use the language of transcendence framed through myths, religious ideologies, and ritual practices. Others operating outside religious domain readily recognize environmental impacts but feel “helpless” and only a few demonstrate environmental stewardship.