ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a set of definitions and criteria by which we might gauge the ecological and social sustainability of green pilgrimage and assess its prospects for spreading ecological understanding and for cross-cultural and cross-confessional peace-building. The literature on ecotourism provides a useful starting point for thinking about the ecological sustainability of pilgrimage activities. A pilgrim to Mecca or Jerusalem may be setting out on his sacred journey' with little more than a sense of social obligation or personal curiosity. Aside from the greening of traditional forms of religion, there has also been the development of new forms of pilgrimage associated with ecological or environmental themes. The concept of civil religion' is of particular relevance here. These new forms of global pilgrimage can be distinguished into those focused around natural sacred sites and those focused around cultural sacred sites. Green politics has often overlapped with pacifism and peace activism.
