Religion and entrepreneurship in hospitality and tourism Anna Farmaki Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus Levent Altinay Department of Hospitality Leisure and Tourism Management, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK Prokopis Christou Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus, and Ainur Kenebayeva Department of Management and Business, University of International Business, Almaty, Kazakhstan Abstract Purpose – This study aims to provide a theoretical account of the nexus of religion and entrepreneurship in hospitality and tourism (H&T) by considering the influences of religion on entrepreneurial motivation, acquisition of resources for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – The authors synthesise research and theory on religion and entrepreneurship and apply it within H&T, taking into account the specificities of the industry. Specifically, they pooled together relevant theory and empirical research findings which they summarised to identify points of convergence and divergence, before refining the data to allow for further theoretical insights to be gained. Findings – The authors suggest that religion may positively or negatively influence entrepreneurship; in particular, they identify various modes of religion influences, which offer insights into how religion may encourage, sustain and amplify entrepreneurship or alternatively inhibit entrepreneurship. Originality/value – Religion offers an important yet underused lens for understanding the activities and mechanisms influencing entrepreneurship in the rapidly evolving H&T industry. This study identifies different aspects of the two multidimensional and interdisciplinary concepts of religion and entrepreneurship and offers new insights into the relationship between the two within the context of H&T. Keywords Religion, Tourism, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality Paper type Research paper Introduction Worldwide, there are 6.2 billion religiously affiliated people, representing approximately 84 per cent of the population (Pew Research Centre, 2017). Defined in the Oxford dictionary as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”, religion represents a system of beliefs and practices that can be taught to generations and which expresses the values and attitudes of societies and individuals. As such, religion constitutes an important cultural element that pervades every aspect of society (Shyan Fam et al., 2004). Religion is not only a marker of ethnicity but it also carries meanings of identity, community and politics (Mitchell, 2017). In addition to representing an important pillar of IJCHM 32,1 148 Received 26 February 2019 Revised 11 June 2019 2 September 2019 3 September 2019 Accepted 22 September 2019 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 32 No. 1, 2020 pp. 148-172 © Emerald Publishing Limited 0959-6119 DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-02-2019-0185 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0959-6119.htm