Contemporary Christian Travel

Pilgrimage, Practice and Place

Amos S. Ron, Dallen J. Timothy

• Publisher: Channel View Publications
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781845416669
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

This book is the first to examine the depth, complexity and uniqueness of global Christian pilgrimage, travel and tourism, and how they manifest in terms of both supply and demand. It explores the places and spaces of production and consumption of this increasingly important tourism phenomenon. The volume considers the foundational elements of the attractiveness of places according to Christian thinking – spirit of place, scriptural connections, art and architecture, contrived/themed environments, programmed events, volunteer travel opportunities, and visiting local communities by way of solidarity tourism and mission work. It includes a wide range of examples from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America and will be of interest to researchers and students in religious studies, tourism, pilgrimage studies, geography, anthropology and Christianity studies.

1 The Context of Christian Travel

Introduction

Since the beginnings of human history, people have sought knowledge and enlightenment in the divine with belief in a god or gods, the divine nature of oneself, the spiritual existence of inanimate objects or nature gods that controlled the elements. A large number of archaeological sites were originally places of god and nature worship and locations of spiritual transformations. Some of the world’s most visited heritage sites today (e.g. Stonehenge and Machu Picchu) are believed to have been sites of ancient spiritual worship.

For thousands of years, people have traveled to locations they deem sacred. Evidence suggests that ancient peoples traveled to hallowed natural areas or human-built places to worship, pray, appease the gods or beseech deity for needed blessings. Pilgrimage has long been one of the most salient manifestations of religious devotion and one of the most influential forces in generating human mobility. Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, built more than 10,000 years ago, is believed to be the oldest built place of worship on earth and was evidently constructed by hunters and gatherers who probably returned to the site from time to time throughout the year to worship (Schmidt, 2000). Approximately 5000 years ago, river-based religious rituals and celebrations began as precursors to Hindu pilgrimage during the Vedic Age of South Asia (Bhardwaj, 1973). There is ample evidence to suggest that ancient peoples traveled to venerate natural and human-made sites for a variety of spiritual reasons.

In the modern world, worshippers from almost every religion on earth travel to search for God or their own spiritual selves in places officially or unofficially deemed sacred. They visit places that are revered for their connections to gods or holy men and women, their capacity to heal or their blessed existence as a place where miracles happened. Religious tourists, or pilgrims, travel to build faith, to pray more fervently, to witness miracles, to obtain forgiveness for moral transgressions, to be healed, to fulfill religious obligations or vows, or just to visit places of historical importance to their own religions. While some religions require travel in the form of pilgrimage for salvation or eternal life, others encourage it as a means of growing faith. Alternatively, some faiths discourage religious travel as a waste of money, time and effort, which could be used more effectively in seeking godliness and inner peace at home (Cohen Ioannides & Ioannides, 2006; Jutla, 2006; Olsen & Timothy, 2006; Rinschede, 1992; Smith, 1992; Timothy & Iverson, 2006).

Christianity is the largest religion in the world with approximately one third of the world’s religious adherents claiming to be Christians. There are thousands of individual Christian churches, sects and varied denominations with a multitude of similar, yet varying, doctrinal and historical foundations. Aside from basic doctrine, one thing nearly all Christians have in common is their preponderance to travel. In some churches, pilgrimage, or religious travel, is strongly encouraged as a way of building faith and seeking divine blessings. Sacred sites are officially sanctioned and formally declared places of pilgrimage. Other denominations encourage or facilitate faith-based travel but have no formal doctrines or rituals associated with pilgrimage, per se. In these cases, while certain places might be considered sacrosanct, they are not designated officially as pilgrimage destinations (Olsen & Timothy, 2006).

Scholars and observers have noted a drop in church attendance in the past few decades in the more traditional Christian countries of Europe and North America (Pew Research Center, 2011; Dowson, 2017; Nolan & Nolan, 1992). This is due, in large part, to increased levels of affluence filling certain human needs in place of organized religion and resulting in declining birth rates, increasing numbers of people turning to non-Christian spiritual philosophies (e.g. the New Age movement, paganism and the spiritual philosophies of East Asia), growing numbers of non-Christian immigrants and general complacency (Olsen & Timothy, 2006; Poulston & Pernecky, 2017; Ross, 2009; Timothy & Conover, 2006). Even though many traditional churches have seen a decline in North America and Europe, some Protestant, Millenialist and Restorationist churches on an individual basis have seen considerable growth in the developed parts of the world, and in the less-developed parts of the world and Eastern Europe, Christianization and church attendance are on the rise.

Despite the overall drop in official church adherence in the Western world in recent years, there has been a simultaneous growth in Christian pilgrimage tourism and mega-events (Bywater, 1994; Dowson, 2017; Eade, 2016; Jackowski, 1987, 1990; Kosti, 1998; Olsen & Timothy, 1999; Post et al., 1998; Reader, 2007; San Filippo, 2001; Saayman et al., 2014). This is a result of multitudinous socio-economic and political reasons. For example, more than half of all Christians live in the developed world where standards of living are relatively high and where many people have higher levels of disposable income. While there are large numbers of Christians in the Pacific Islands, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and a few locations in Southeast Asia (e.g. the Philippines, parts of Indonesia and Timor Leste), most economically prosperous Christians are concentrated in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand (Hsu et al., 2008). This geographic situation alone indicates levels of affluence that facilitate international travel, including pilgrimage or other forms of faith-based travel. Another reason for the growth is that religious tourism is no longer seen strictly as traditional pilgrimages, wherein suffering, penitence and travail are important elements of the cleansing experience. Instead, faith-based tourism takes on a variety of forms as will be discussed later in this chapter and throughout the book.

This introductory chapter examines some initial patterns of Christian travel, introduces important concepts and ideas related to Christian pilgrimage and other forms of faith-based tourism and provides an outline and rationale for the entire book.

Pilgrimage and Religious Tourism

Pilgrimage has long been viewed as journeying away from home for spiritual or religious reasons: fulfilling a religious obligation or visiting sacred places to petition deity for forgiveness, to seek divine help with life’s problems, to be blessed or healed, or any combination of these. As noted in the introduction, pilgrim travel has a long history of human movement to sacred places for a multitude of pious reasons, although most scholars concur that pilgrimage is more about an inner transformation than a journey to sacred places. The physical travel is only a manifestation of the inward journey. Traditional pilgrimage has had an undertone of being arduous, burdensome and laborious – conditions that help humble, cleanse and purify the pilgrim as he or she prepares to commune with God. In religions that have required or officially sanctioned pilgrimage practices,

For every pilgrim making a physical journey, the sore feet, enforced detours and flea-ridden hostelries, as well as the companionship and acts of generous hospitality represent in microcosm the woes and weals of life. The pilgrim’s final arrival at the shrine, the source of holiness, signifies the soul’s entering a state of blessedness, a rehearsal on earth for what heaven has in store. (Harpur, 2002: 11)

Since medieval times, Christian pilgrimage has existed along set routes or trails that were sanctioned and sanctified by the Church as spaces, which, if traversed in the proper spirit, could consecrate the soul and body in preparation for encounters with the divine (Gonzáles & Medina, 2003; Graham & Murray, 1997; Kelly, 2012; Pruess, 1976; Santos, 2002; Stone, 1986; Swatos & Tomasi, 2002; Timothy, 2012). Sparse supplies of food; walking, crawling or horseback riding; and stays in rustic cabins or in tents along the way were part of the experience. Typically, the pilgrim way itself was either more important, or at least as important, as arriving at the final destination because of the inward changes it effected (Turner, 1973). Similar conditions have been an important part of Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim pilgrimages for centuries. Many Christian pilgrimage routes have become modern tourist trails followed not only by the faithful in search of deity, but also by leisure tourists in search of landscapes, heritage and solitude.

Today, the notion of pilgrimage has changed to a considerable degree. While many faith traditions still encourage adherents to labor along a set pilgrim trail for the humbling experience it provides, modern adaptations now allow people to forego these burdensome aspects and travel by car, air or train to the final destination. Some religions today have approved luxury pilgrimages, wherein people arrive at the spiritual goal by airplane, air-conditioned coach or car and stay in lavish accommodation. They can even purchase pilgrimage tour packages, which also include golf, theater, shopping and visits to other tourist attractions. Virtual pilgrimages via the internet (webcams and Skype) are even sometimes considered adequate surrogates for first-hand experience, when financial or physical challenges constrain people from traveling (MacWilliams, 2002; Timothy, 2011; Timothy & Iverson, 2006).

All major religions of the world have had or continue to have varying forms of pilgrimage. The Kumba Mela (Kumbh Mela) in India is the world’s largest religious pilgrimage with upwards of 70 million participants gathered in key cities in India every 3, 6 or 12 years. The hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, takes place each year during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah and typically involves approximately 2.5 million pilgrims. Muslims are required to undertake the hajj, although exceptions can be made for people with special needs. Buddhist pilgrims are known travelers in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet and several other countries in Asia. Christian pilgrimages are commonplace at Roman Catholic sites in Europe, the Holy Land and church history sites in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Mediterranean.

There has been a long academic discourse related to religious pilgrimage. One source of contestation from both academic and religious perspectives has been the often confused relationship between pilgrimage and tourism (Badone & Roseman, 2004a). Several observers, including faith organizations and churches, have suggested, even argued, that pilgrims are not tourists because they are pious and are driven by spiritual motives that emanate from a deep-seated desire to improve their spiritual lives, whereas tourists travel for pleasure, behave hedonically and are not motivated by spiritual development or required rituals (Cohen, 1992; Collins-Kreiner, 2002, 2010a; Fish & Fish, 1993; Morinis, 1992; Pfaffenberger, 1983; Shinde, 2007; Smith, 1992).

Unfortunately, this view illustrates a clear misunderstanding of who tourists and pilgrims are. According to the tourism industries, most destinations and many international tourism-related agencies, tourists are essentially people who travel to destinations away from their home regions. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 1995) refined this definition to be anyone who travels away from his or her home environment for more than a day but less than a year. A tourist can be motivated by pleasure, leisure, business or any other purpose, as long as he or she is not financially remunerated from within the destination visited. Thus, tourists are not defined by motives or activities, although subtypes of tourists are (e.g. sport tourists, ecotourists and cultural tourists). Tourists are not intrinsically hedonic and pleasure-seeking in their behavior but include individuals traveling for business, participating in sports, attending a funeral, visiting relatives, visiting sacred sites or participating in an official pilgrimage (Ahmed, 1992; Olsen & Timothy, 2006; Stausberg, 2011; Timothy, 2002, 2011; Vukonić, 1996; Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2010). Thus, overnight travel for any purpose, including pilgrimage, is part of the tourism system.

Given this broad-based and standard definition, pilgrimage is simply...

Table of contents

• Cover-Page
• Half-Title
• series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures and Tables
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The Context of Christian Travell
• 2 Evolving Patterns of Christian Travel: Denominational and Geographical Perspectives
• 3 Commoditizing Holy Places and Commercializing Sacred Experiences
• 4 Promoting Christian Tourism
• 5 Christian Volunteer Tourism: Solidarity, Spreading the Gospel and Humanitarian Service
• 6 Christian Themed Environments
• 7 Heritage Trails and Cultural Routes
• 8 Christian Events and Gatherings
• 9 Conclusion
• References
• Index