Brooke Schedneck is an assistant professor of religious studies at Rhodes College. Her most recent book, Religious Tourism in Northern Thailand: Encounters with Buddhist Monks, highlights the viewpoints of Chiang Mai city monks regarding temple economics, along with attitudes toward other religions, and the nature of Buddhist missionaries.
The merging of the merit and tourist economy in Chiang Mai’s city temples offers a way forward in the modern world—and an unexpected contrast between the stances of senior and junior monks