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Religious Tourism In An Atheistic Society: The Example Of The Czech Republic, Ivo Jirásek, Tereza Štěrbová

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

For a more accurate understanding of religious tourism, it is useful to distinguish between faith-based tourism, spiritual tourism and tourism in religious spaces. The former is characterized by religious faith (and processes of hierophany), the next by spirituality and transcendence experience, while the latter remains in the secular realm of experience. Based on this conceptual grasp, the paper presents the situation in the highly secular Czech Republic and investigates the opinions of service and offer providers in this type of tourism through interviews (n = 3). A comparison with the demand and preferences of tourism participants was collected through an …

The Spiritual Migrants Of Sogenji: Notes Of Participant Observation In A Rinzai Zen Temple, Andrei-Razvan Coltea

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Anomie is a cultural pathology that is becoming chronic in the West, characterized by the erosion of values, disintegration and deregulation. Amongst its symptoms we find anxiety, isolation, depression, tribalism, incoherence and loss of meaning. Individuo-globalism is a new ideology that permeates the religious market created by globalisation, encouraging individuals to discover, nurture and express their ‘true self’. This new spirituality forms the background for a journey that our ‘heroes’, a handful of non-Japanese inhabitants of a Japanese Rinzai Zen monastery, have been undertaking for years in search of the philosopher’s stone that could cure anomie and its symptoms. At …

Tariqa Shattariyya (Ts) And Spiritual Tourism In Pariaman, Indonesia, Ziaulhaq Hidayat

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tariqa Shattariyya (TS) is a transnational spiritual flow that has become part of the Pariaman community’s culture in Indonesia. This movement exists at all levels of the people, and is exemplivied in the Basapa ceremony, which is an example of spiritual tourism in the TS tradition. The Basapa ceremony has succeeded in engaging the local community and visitors in a range of spiritual activity performances. This study aims to evaluate Tariqa Shattariyya (TS) in Pariaman, Indonesia. A qualitative approach is used to explore, understand, and interpret the data obtained. The data collected were sourced from pilgrims, grave managers, traders, and …

Bukit Kasih Kanonang As A Religious Tourism Site Based On Local Wisdom Of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Joesana Tjahjani, Sonya Indriati Sondakh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Bukit Kasih Kanonang (Kanonang Love Hill) is a place of worship for Christians of the Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi, one of the provinces of Indonesia, which in its development has also become a popular tourist destination. As a site that blends Christian elements, local traditional elements and values of tolerance among the world’s major religions namely Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, this beautiful piece of land includes a number of sites such as a monument to tolerance, a house of worship for each religion, a giant crucifix, statues, and the faces of Minahasan ancestors carved into cliff faces. All these …

The Marian Paths Of Portugal And Local Development, Eunice Almeida Duarte, João Caldeira Heitor

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study aims to analyse the contribution of Marian Paths to the development of individual sites. The theoretical framework of the work is an empirical study which uses databases such as Science Direct, Emerald, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases to identify suitable themes for empirical evidence (2015-2021) on pilgrimage paths and local development. Based on this, 19 interviews were undertaken to develop an understanding of developments, particularly in the area of Fátima, Portugal. The contents of the interviews were analysed using NVivo. This article concludes that there is no management model implemented on the Portuguese Marian paths, more …

What Shapes Visitor Experience At Religious Destinations? Deploying A Systematic Review To Identify Visitor Experience Constructs, Priyanka Singh, Amit Kumar Singh, Anil Kumar Singh, Irfan Ahmed Ansari

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

While religious sites are identified as unique experience spaces, offering diverse experiences, discourse on what constitutes a visitor’s experience still seems unsettled, primarily due to the fragmented approach owing to the classic binary of pilgrim-tourist. However, post-modern theories emphasise de-differentiation and blurring of boundaries between pilgrim-tourist and stress the need to add a new perspective to enhance the understanding of visitor experience at religious sites to manage tourism at such destinations efficiently. Therefore, the present study is undertaken to respond to this call and aims to identify constructs that shape visitors’ experience at religious sites. Building upon the synthesis of …

Close Mapping Of St. Olav’S Pilgrimage Path Through Gudbrandsdal Norway: Probabilities Of A Designed, Land Surveyed Concept Of A Large-Scale Christianised Landscape, Dennis Doxtater

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This exercise in Norway ‘close-maps’ accurate, existing geometries between thirty-two latitude / longitude points of mostly medieval churches and other sites on the major pilgrimage path through Gudbrandsdal to Trondheimsfjord where the martyr St.Olav was venerated. Site data and basic path routes are taken from the Pilegrimsleden website, popular today with religious or recreational tourists. The inclusion of the largest prehistoric monumental mound in Scandinavia as an important early stop on the pilgrimage provides the first clue to the eventual mapping of a large-scale ‘system’ of land surveyed patterns. This symbolic anchor in the south, is connected to likely ancient …

Roles Of Religious Guides In Tourism: A Qualitative Study From Japan, Ricardo Nicolas Progano

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage travel has become an important element in contemporary tourism, as visitors flock to sacred locations (UNWTO, 2015). However, some aspects of pilgrimage travel remain relatively understudied, with one of them being the roles of guides in these locations. Based on previous academic works, the present study aims to bridge this gap by analysing the role of religious figures who engage in guiding activities aimed at the general public. For this, Shippōryū-ji, a Shugendō temple located in Japan, is presented as the case study. As previous research on the subject is scarce, a qualitative approach was deemed suitable. Utilising interview …

From Palma To Lluc – The Social And Organisational Life Of A Nocturnal Pilgrimage In Mallorca, Maja Balle

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Although the island of Mallorca is well known for its beaches and mass tourism sector, a local pilgrimage tradition with deep roots in Catholicism is still thriving on the island; on the first weekend in August, thousands of people gather to make a nocturnal pilgrimage to a shrine at Lluc Mountain. Rather than focusing on the actual performance of the sacred journey or the culmination of its ritualised accomplishment, this case study explores the social and economic framing of the event orchestrated by actors from the local community, the church, the governmental sector, and other private and public stakeholders. The …

Contemporary Trends In The Theological Understanding Of Christian Pilgrimage, Piotr Roszak

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper analyses the historical changes that have taken place in the Christian theology of pilgrimage from Patristics to the present time. Against that background, it identifies the core parameters of the theological debate on pilgrimage, including its foundation in the truths of the faith and its key dimensions. In view of attempts to reduce the essence of pilgrimage to phenomenological descriptions in contemporary analyses, the author proposes to take advantage of the explicatory potential of hylomorphism as a theory that differentiates between matter and form. When applied to pilgrimage, hylomorphism makes it possible to integrate theological perspectives with the …

Contribution Of Faith-Based Activities To Tourism Development In Two Religious Sites In Southwest Nigeria, Ngozi Eunice Ezenagu, Patrick U. Okpoko, Chinwe C. Okpoko

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Faith-based activities are dynamic rituals that can bring about spiritual satisfaction. The perceived efficacy of these activities greatly influences the number of faith participants visiting religious centres. Although these activities are primarily practiced as religious obligations, they have helped to precipitate travel and the rise of tourism service industries. These include accommodation, transportation, food, drinks, souvenirs, spiritual objects (anointing oil, ritual mantels, handkerchief, cross emblem, rosary tesbihu (prayer beads), praying mat, and candles) and the likes, which enhance tourism expenditure and income. This study examines the contribution to tourism development of faith-based activities, in two religious centres in south-western Nigeria. …

The Development Potential For Local Communities Of Religious Tourists Visiting Sacred Graves, Mohammad Taufiq Rahman, Rully Khairul Anwar

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study aims to analyse the impact of religious tourists’ visits to tombs of saints. It illustrates the effect of these visits on the economic development of the surrounding community. This is qualitative research with a sociological approach used to determine the public acceptance of religious tourism to sacred places such as the Tomb of the Islamic Saints in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia. The results show that the community has made economic use of tourists that perform pilgrimages to fulfil their psychological needs, such as peace, tranquillity, and a sense of security. Furthermore, local governments’ development of religious tourism makes …

Residents’ Perceptions Of Religious Tourism And Its Socio- Economic Impacts On Host Communities: A Study Of Redemption Camp, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria, Titilayo Olufunke Olukole

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism has been identified as one of the major tourism types with impacts on the sociocultural and economic life of the host community. Nigeria is well-known globally for high levels of Christian religious activities attracting worshippers from different countries. However, little is documented on the socio-economic impacts of the religious tourist flow to Christian religious sites on host communities in Nigeria. This paper was designed to investigate the socio-economic impact of Christian religious tourism on host communities, using the Redemption Camp, RCCG and Mowe Community, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, Nigeria as a case study. Both quantitative and qualitative research …

Cultural Tourism, Religion And Religious Heritage In Castile And León, Spain, Miguel González-González, Óscar Fernández-Álvarez

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism is a driving force of the economy for many countries around the world. The large number of architectural and intangible World Heritage Sites have consolidated those countries in their strong positions as cultural tourism destinations. Within cultural tourism, religious tourism is particularly prominent. This work focuses on Spain and specifically on some of its regions which lack beaches but possess a wealth of religious cultural heritage, such as Castile and León, which have viewed such heritage as an asset to attract a different kind of tourist. The objectives of this study are to highlight the value of religious heritage …

Socio-Cultural And Economic Impacts Of Religious Festivals On Sustainable Local Community Livelihoods In Kerala: The Case Of Palakkad, Dr. Bindu V T Nair, Aiswarya Babu N

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Festivals depict the heritage, culture, and traditions of a particular region. They create a state of exhilaration and enthusiasm. Kerala is a state in southwest India with its own distinct culture and traditions. The state is also known for its religious pluralism. This study attempts to understand the perceived impact of religious festivals on the local community livelihoods in Palakkad, a district in central Kerala. Twelve temples in which religious festivals are held annually, with attendance in the range of thousands, were selected. The selected temples are famous for hosting specific religious festivals which attract a large number of visitors, …

Apostolic Activity Of St. James The Apostle: Leading To The Formation Of The Camino De Santiago, Remigijus Oželis

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

For pilgrims, 2021 is a Year of Saint James. This happens every few years (the last was in 2010 and the next will be in 2027), i.e. when July 25, the Day of St. James, is on Sunday. Pilgrims have been travelling to the tomb of St. James for centuries. The Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago) to Santiago de Compostela in Spain became a special spiritual asset of European cultural heritage following the Declaration of the Camino de Santiago by the Council of Europe on 23 October 1987, and official branches of the way have been drawn across …

Walking On The Camino Paths: A Spiritual And Biopsychosocial Journey, Ofra Walter

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient network of pilgrimage routes that lead to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This qualitative study was conducted to explore contemporary pilgrims’ experiences on the route. I walked the route for 14 days, interviewing other pilgrims about their reasons for taking the journey and their experiences while on it. The methodology thus involved gaining wisdom on two levels: the researcher’s level and the participants’ level. Nineteen people from various counties and of different ages consented to an interview. The participants expressed an interesting mix of biopsychosocial experiences. They mentioned self contemplation and spiritual experiences. …

Manifestations Of Religious Freedom In The Context Of The Camino De Santiago, Berenika Seryczyńska

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study analyses the positive manifestations of religious freedom among pilgrims on the Way of St James (Camino de Santiago, Spain), a pilgrimage way that pilgrims have followed to the tomb of St James the Apostle in Spanish Galicia, since the Middle Ages. The purpose of this study is to present the manifestations of religious freedom in the experience of Polish pilgrims on the Way of Saint James on the basis of in-depth interviews conducted in the summer of 2019 in Santiago de Compostela (n=50).

Bus Line 163: A Public Pilgrim Bus To Rachel’S Tomb In Jerusalem, Mustafa Diktaş

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Buses are networks for both physical and social mobility. They permit people to become part of temporary communities of individuals whose goal is to travel along linear routes, which connect multiple stops and reach certain destinations. Through an ethnographic case study of Bus No. 163, which is designated for Jewish pilgrims traveling to Rachel’s tomb in Jerusalem, this paper focuses on the interactions between travelers that took place on this bus during December 2019 and February 2020. The interactions of people on Bus No 163 helps us better understand this liminal phase of pilgrimage. The findings of the research, as …

Museums And Shrines: Reflecting On Relationships And Challenges, Lorenzo Bagnoli, Rita Capurro

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The aim of this paper is to introduce a method for analysing a specific kind of contemporary tourism positioned between two different traditional customs: visiting museums and going to pilgrimage sites. The case studies provided are focused on Italian shrine museums where it is difficult to ascertain whether visitors are cultural tourists or pilgrims or a combination of both. Regardless, the tourist flows and networks created by Italian shrine museums can provide promising elements for local development. Four case studies that are representative of different regions in Northern Italy and have specific features in common have been chosen: shrines dedicated …

The Impact Of A Sustainable Muslim Model On Community Development With Special Reference To Religious Tourism, Tariq H. M. Elhadary

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper uses the descriptive qualitative approach to answer questions about how a Sustainable Muslim Model (SMM) could work as a new approach to developing and sustaining communities. This study embraces the textual analysis method to examine the prevailing published research in the context of sustainability and community development. A number of scholars have approved this textual analysis method as a tool to study religious texts.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview and discuss the status, issues and challenge of community development in tourism. As religious tourism is gaining more ground over time, the need to …

The Increasing Significance Of Religious Tourism: A Case From Uttar Pradesh, India, Aruna Dhamija

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism, in its numerous forms is a major source of income for various nations. India is no exception to this. Within some countries, a few states bring the major chunk of tourists. Uttar Pradesh is one such state for India which, on the virtue of its diversity, population and geographical size, has been at the forefront of attracting tourists from not only the country but globally. There has been a consistent shift in the profile of visiting tourists as they have displayed a marked change from those seeking recreational activities to those who visit a tourist destination owing to its …

‘We Were Very Much Surprised At Their Worship’: American Girls And Religious Tourism In The Early Republic, 1780-1835, Sharon Halevi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Following the Revolution, the United States formally embraced the ideal and practice of religious freedom. But how was this ideal instilled and practiced? Could a form of pilgrimage have been mobilised in order to inculcate it? In this article I argue that in the early American republic, religious freedom was demonstrated and imparted to adolescents through a unique form of pilgrimage: visiting and attending the worship services of religious minorities while on tour. I demonstrate my argument by considering the travel accounts of fifteen, Protestant, American adolescent girls (aged 10 to 21) between 1782 and 1835; I trace their visits …

Shopping For Salvation: A Comparative Appraisal Of The Place Of Worship And Marketplace In South Africa, Rufus Olufemi Adebayo

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Recently South Africa has been experiencing accelerated challenges on a spiritual level relating to ‘place of worship’ and spiritual pilgrimage. This has been one of the biggest challenges facing religious activities in South Africa. Arising from that, this paper examines possible connections between salvation seekers and consumers (in the marketplace). To this end, this paper seeks to understand the assertion of ‘distance to travel not being a limitation in the spiritual realm’ (Adeboye, 2014), where some Christians claim that at a certain place there is a blessing waiting for them and that they cannot find that blessing at any other …

Padre Pio, Pandemic Saint: The Effects Of The Spanish Flu And Covid-19 On Pilgrimage And Devotion To The World’S Most Popular Saint, Michael A. Di Giovine

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the Catholic world, pilgrimages and other devotional rituals are often undertaken to foster healing and well-being. Thus, shrines dedicated to saints are particularly relevant in times of pandemic. Pilgrimage to the shrines associated with 20th century Italian stigmatic, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, known as one of the Catholic world’s most popular saints, is particularly informed by this notion, as Pio is understood as a healing saint thanks to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy that marked his ministry during his lifetime, as well as belief in the miraculous nature of his relics. Pio’s hometown of Pietrelcina and …

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 …

Crisis Management And The Impact Of Pandemics On Religious Tourism, William Mosier, Tariq Elhadary, Ismail A. Elhaty, Mehdi Safaei

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a worldwide shockwave of fear and much misinformation leaving chaos in its wake. Holy shrines and other religious sites have a special place in the hearts and minds of many people. For example, the mosques in Makkah and Medina, Saudi Arabia typically accommodate over one hundred thousand Muslims daily. Due to the spread of COVID-19, both mosques were forced to shut their doors to pilgrims for health and safety reasons. This situation has saddened millions of Muslims all over the globe. The same situation applies to Qom City in Iran, Bethlehem …

Botanical Tour Of Christian Art At The National Museum Of Ancient Art (Lisbon, Portugal), Luis Mendonça De Carvalho, Francisca Maria Fernandes, Maria De Fátima Nunes, Miriam Lopes, Maria Vlachou, Paula Nozes, Ana Maria Costa

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Christian works of art, from the middle XIV to early XIX centuries, were studied in order to contribute to a new perspective of the cultural history of plants in Portuguese and European art displayed at the National Museum of Ancient Art (NMAA). The symbolic use of trees, leaves, flowers and fruits in painting, sculpture and tapestry were compared with theological data from the Bible, Apocrypha Gospels and codes of symbols from the XVII to XX centuries, as well as pictorial data from academic literature and photographic databases. We found 40 botanical taxa used as symbols that aimed to reinforce moral …

Relocated Pilgrimage: An Artistic Via Dolorosa In The Heart Of Amsterdam, Lieke Wijnia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The route of the iconic Stations of the Cross is not only connected to physical locations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, but is also manifest in Catholic churches, processions, and passion plays, as well as heritage sites and shrines around the world. A twenty-first-century relocation of this pilgrimage is the international project Art Stations of the Cross. With the aim to offer artistic reflections on social injustice, each station is represented by an artwork especially located in a heritage site. Presented as a journey of contemplation, the 2019 edition took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In this article, participant …

Representing And Performing Pilgrimage In A Comic Book: On The Camino, Lucrezia Lopez

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Over the last few decades, comic books and graphic novels have become valid literary sources within the humanities and social sciences. This paper addresses a new creative and performative artistic expression of the European pilgrimage route the Camino de Santiago in Spain through examining the autobiographical graphic novel On the Camino, written by the Norwegian cartoonist Jason (2017), which introduces a new way of sharing pilgrimage experiences through combining pictorial and literary devices. Here, the focus is on the dynamic paradigm that arises beyond the ‘fixed sequential images’ in the graphic novel and the role of readers in the spatial …