ABSTRACT
Is the ACC a theme park or a ‘real’ pilgrimage site? I have maintained earlier that this is a misleading question to ask because the underlying message is that we can have ‘either/or’ (see Oakes 2006; Lyon 2000). Instead, I argue, the ACC qualifies as both and more. Such a question is as misplaced as the one interrogating the authenticity and depth of feelings and interaction of visitors at the site. However, it does make sense to consider at least certain elements of theme parks and their culturally specific histories to go beyond the façade of this spectacle of religious ‘edutainment’, the theming of pilgrimage, nationalism and heritage tourism.
