Religious place attachment, squatting, and “qualitative” research: A commentary

Abstract

Religious place attachment (Mazumdar & Mazumdar, 1993, in press) can lead people to long for particular places, go on pilgrimage, develop preferences regarding where to live, and take actions related to places. This commentary points out how the religious basis for place attachment can be identified, and how the actions people take to settle in specific places, as well as emergence of conflict among groups, though not inevitable, can be understood. Finally, it describes how "qualitative" methods, if done well, can be useful in answering questions dealing with understanding place attachment and place loss.