Spirituality, Culture and Place: The Rainbow Temple in NSW, Australia

This Research is about the Rainbow Temple in Byron Shire, NSW, Australia. The diverse belief systems and the symbolic behaviours practiced and described by people who live at the Rainbow Temple constitute a particular identity assigned predominantly with what I call “Rainbow culture”. This culture is derived and constituted from the Rainbow Tribe gatherings practiced all around the world, including New Zealand. The Rainbow Tribe (or the Rainbow Family) is an international affiliation of individuals who share common belief and identity systems, who gather periodically and intentionally to practice exclusive rituals and ceremonies. This study shows that the Rainbow Temple functions as a multi-cultural sphere and encapsulates various cultural and religious properties that are coherent to and associate with those exhibited in Rainbow Tribe gatherings.