ABSTRACT

Pilgrimage is a phenomenon common to many faiths and found throughout history in many regions of the world. The term pilgrimage can, however, also refer to secular events and need not be understood in an exclusively religious context. Pilgrimage is an interpretative category applied to highly diverse phenomena, ranging from tourist trips to Disneyland and visits to the sites of famous battles to journeys to religious sanctuaries. The Turners stress the collective character of pilgrimage. Primarily focusing on Catholic pilgrimages of the past and present, they defined them as three-phase rituals that involve: embarking on a journey, traveling and reaching the destination and returning home. Pilgrimages can be an important means of gaining or validating power. The most telling example of such a shared pilgrimage site is Jerusalem, where the faithful of various religions reenact and venerate their pasts. Pilgrimages may also be focused on specific political and social causes.