Resumo: Religious tourism, social and economic phenomenon, has gained interest among academics and entrepreneurs by the dynamics that generated in the communities receiving visitors. For the former, the interest lies in the study of the motivations, interests and spiritual or cultural needs seems to have awakened the religious centers, for the latter, the economic impact and opportunities for additional revenue generated by visitors, creating new opportunities businesses and sources of income and jobs for the surrounding communities. This paper reviews the literature on the subject of religious tourism in the world, were consulted databases: ScienceDirect, Jstor, Ebsco, ProQuest and Google Scholar, to track the most relevant and empirical studies on the subject, making a journey from 1963-2013. We conclude that religious tourism is a phenomenon that has its antecedent in the pilgrimage to religious sites, but where in addition to the motivations, purely religious (offering a sacrifice, make a profit divine or atone sins), there is a cultural interest in terms of knowing historical centers and delving into the roots of a religious creed. Furthermore, weas religious tourism has become an engine of economic development of the host cities Travel religious sites.
