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An Exploration Of The Theological Tensions In The Use Of Churches For Events, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The increasing prevalence of events within leisure and business activities (Dowson & Lamond, 2017), is reflected in the models of engagement by church organisations with their congregations and visitors. This increasing need for venues for events has brought about a new concept of ‘venuefication’ (Dowson & Lamond, 2017), which means that it is possible for any building, space or site to become a venue for an event. The growth of the experience economy in which consumers are moving from amassing possessions to acquiring experiences (Wood, 2009) influences a trend towards the Eventization of faith (Dowson 2018). For churches and other …

A Discussion Of The Practical And Theological Impacts Of Covid-19 On Religious Worship, Events And Pilgrimage, From A Christian Perspective, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article explores the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on the worship services and events of Christian communities. Focusing on the UK in terms of practice, the research includes early pandemic examples from a range of Christian traditions and denominations, as well as relevant cases from other countries. The Christian church organisations considered range from the extensive world-wide reaches of the Roman Catholic Church, to international Protestant denominations such as the Anglican Communion, and to independent non-denominational groupings and local churches. This paper considers the ways in which churches are coming to terms with the impacts of this …

Religious Pilgrimage: Experiencing Places, Objects And Events, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This article explores the concept of the Eventization of faith (Pfadenhauer, 2010) through application of three case studies, to identify learning that might be applied to a traditional pilgrimage destination, such as Jerusalem. This Holy City is held sacred by the three Abrahamic religions, and faith-based tourism is central both to the Holy Land and to the city of Jerusalem (Leppakari & Griffin, 2017).

This paper builds on research that identifies processes and models that provide insight into the developing concept of the eventization of faith. The work examines outcomes from three different perspectives:

- The impact of traditional church-led …

Anglican Experiences Of Mary: An English Perspective, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper will explore the different traditions within the Church of England and their relationship with and attitudes towards the Blessed Virgin Mary. An autoethnographic element will narrate the author’s personal journey from charismatic evangelical sceptic, through ordination formation at an Anglo-Catholic monastery in West Yorkshire, to recent lived experiences at a small Italian village church festival.

The range of influences that shape the Church of England’s different traditions are perhaps unique compared to other denominations across the wider Christian faith, as the Anglican Church provides a home where happy-clappy, arm-waving charismatics and conservative bible-carrying evangelicals live alongside incense-brandishing Anglo-Catholics …

Eventization Of Religious Heritage: Case Studies And Practical Considerations, Ruth Dowson (Rev.)

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper examines the role that events can play in promoting religious tourism to a specific destination, in this case, Malta. It introduces practical examples that present creative ideas and demonstrate good practice that can be adopted and adapted for future planning in this context.

The dramatic growth of events in our way of life, evidenced by their expansion as part of popular culture, in Europe as elsewhere, is mirrored by an increase in events across many different aspects of life. However, it should be remembered that events emerged from seasonal, life cycle, and celebratory religious origins. Throughout human history, …

Towards A Definition Of Christian Mega-Events In The 21st Century, Ruth Dowson

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In an age in which the numbers of people attending churches in the UK has been falling consistently for several decades, a trend that applies across Europe and North America, there is a marked contrast in the burgeoning growth of Christian religious encounters - including church attendance - around the world, particularly in the Global South (Avis, 2007). Amongst the characteristics of this growth is the emergence of large-scale megaevents, commonly held across Africa and the Indian sub-continent, as well as smaller but significant events held around the world.

The emergence in the modern day of large-scale Christian events began …

Event As Spiritual Pilgrimage: A Case Study Of The ‘Cherish’ Christian Women’S Conference, Ruth Dowson

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In examining an aspect of the eventization of faith (Pfadenhauer, 2010), this article considers an annual women’s conference, ‘Cherish’, a church-led event. Due to the pressures on the space available in its former home in the organising church’s campus, the growth in the event’s popularity has resulted in the church organisers moving the event venue to a commercial arena. The research questions the extent to which this popular conference meets the criteria of the academic characteristics of pilgrimage, and aims to clarify to what extent the thousands of women who attend the Cherish conference experience the event - and their …