{{Short description|Religious souvenirs}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}} [[File:Lourdes bondieuseries 5.jpg|thumb|Religious merchandise in Lourdes, France]] [[File:Ex-votos in Fátima - Jul 2008.jpg|thumb|Religious merchandise near the Sanctuary of Fátima, Portugal]] [[File:Devotional souvenirs in Old City, Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Religious merchandise in Jerusalem, Israel]]
'''Devotional objects''' (also, '''devotional articles, devotional souvenirs, devotional artifacts''') are religious souvenirs (figurines, pictures, votive candles, books, amulets, and others), owned and carried by the religious, who see them as imbued with spiritual values, and use them for votive offering.<ref name="Cini1961"/><ref name="Hourihane2012"/> Production and sales of devotional articles have become a widespread industry in the vicinity of various religious sites all over the world.<ref name="Cini1961"/><ref name="Park2002"/>
Devotional articles have a long history; in Christianity they have been mentioned in historical works such as those related to Paul the Apostle<ref name="Schnabel2010"/> and in older religions they have been traced as far back as the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia.<ref name="Hourihane2012"/> International law defines "devotional articles" as including "the Bible, the Koran, prayer and service books, hymnals, ritual articles, sacramental wine, crucifixes and rosaries".<ref name="FleckBothe2008"/> Such items may be natural and hardly processed (such as earth from the Holy Land), but the majority of modern devotional articles are mass-produced (strips of paper with prayers, pictures of holy figures, prayer books, etc.)<ref name="Cini1961"/> Such items are usually seen as having little artistic value, as their primary function is not decorative but spiritual.<ref name="Cini1961"/><ref name="Hourihane2012"/> In Hinduism, devotional articles include the ''japamala'' (prayer beads), ''diyas'' (oil lamps), ''kalashas'' (metal pots), incense sticks, plants such as ''tulasi'', and conches.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whiting |first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UfRgCZThWYC&dq=japamala+hindu+worship&pg=PA152 |title=Religions for Today |date=1991 |publisher=Nelson Thornes |isbn=978-0-7487-0586-3 |pages=152 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roudometof |first=Victor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56N2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |title=Glocal Religions |date=2018-11-07 |publisher=MDPI |isbn=978-3-03897-316-4 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref>
American sociologist Charles H. Lippy observed that such articles are "means of access to the supernatural", and are criticized by some as superstition.<ref name="Lippy1994-89"/> Devotional articles owned by famous religious figures, such as Catholic Saints, commonly become religious relics.<ref name="Sharot2001"/> Widespread popularity of certain devotional articles has, throughout centuries, influenced the public popular image of certain religious symbols, such as angels.<ref name="MarshallWalsham2006"/>
==See also== * Amulet * Cetiya * Holy card * Monza ampullae * Pilgrim badge * Prayer beads * Prayer wheels * Religious art * Religious goods store * Religious tourism * Talisman * Thangka
== External links ==
* [https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/23685 Collection: "Devotional Objects Across Religions"] from the University of Michigan Museum of Art * [https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/category/326217 Devotional objects] at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Cini1961">{{cite book|author=Fondazione "Giorgio Cini."|title=Encyclopedia of World Art: Cossa to Eschatology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DEOAQAAMAAJ|year=1961|publisher=McGraw-Hill|page=ccxi}}</ref>
<ref name="FleckBothe2008">{{cite book|author1=Dieter Fleck|author2=Michael Bothe|title=The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzYZfn13oNgC&pg=PA431|date=January 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-923250-5|page=431}}</ref>
<ref name="Hourihane2012">{{cite book|author=Colum Hourihane|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA285|date=6 December 2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-539536-5|pages=285–287}}</ref>
<ref name="Lippy1994-89">{{cite book|author=Charles H. Lippy|title=Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/beingreligiousam0000lipp_i5f4|url-access=registration|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-27895-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/beingreligiousam0000lipp_i5f4/page/89 89]}}</ref>
<ref name="MarshallWalsham2006">{{cite book|author1=Peter Marshall|author2=Alexandra Walsham|title=Angels in the Early Modern World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvZNzngArGQC&pg=PA24|date=31 August 2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-84332-4|page=24}}</ref>
<ref name="Park2002">{{cite book|author=Chris Park|title=Sacred Worlds: An Introduction to Geography and Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiuIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT192|date=1 November 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-87734-8|page=192}}</ref>
<ref name="Schnabel2010">{{cite book|author=Eckhard J. Schnabel|author-link=Eckhard J. Schnabel|title=Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdIh1AC0nqAC&pg=PA111|date=28 January 2010|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-7900-7|page=111}}</ref>
<ref name="Sharot2001">{{cite book|author=Stephen Sharot|title=A Comparative Sociology of World Religions: Virtuosos, Priests, and Popular Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_XRgWwD1p0C&pg=PA189|year=2001|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-9805-8|page=189}}</ref> }}
{{commons category|Devotional souvenirs}}
Category:Religious art Category:Memorabilia Category:Sociology of religion