Devotional articles

[1][2] Production and sales of devotional articles have become a widespread industry in the vicinity of various religious sites all over the world.

[1][3] Devotional articles have a long history; in Christianity they have been mentioned in historical works such as those related to Paul the Apostle[4] and in older religions they have been traced as far back as the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia.

[5] Such items may be natural and hardly processed (such as earth from the Holy Land), but majority of modern devotional articles are mass-produced (strips of paper with prayers, pictures of holy figures, prayer books, etc.

[1][2] In Hinduism, devotional articles include the japamala (prayer beads), diyas (oil lamps), kalashas (metal pots), incense sticks, plants such as tulasi, and conches.

[6][7] American sociologist Charles H. Lippy observed that such articles are "means of access to the supernatural", and are criticized by some as superstition.