The monastic cloister: a bridge and a barrier between two worlds

The idea of home provides a conceptual bridge to related themes, for example identity, gender, emotional management and cultural mobilities whose investigation in a commercial home context offers fascinating insights into hospitality, tourism and society. Summarises the origins of western monastic hospitality, illustrates how it influences modern civic, commercial and domestic practices and reports on an empirical investigation into contemporary monastic hospitality. Research into the phenomenon of hospitality continues to broaden through an ever-increasing dialogue and alignment with a greater number of academic disciplines. This paper reports on an investigation into the hospitality offered by Benedictine monasteries and demonstrates how an enhanced understanding of hospitality can be achieved through synergy between social anthropology, philosophy and practical theology.