Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Pilgrimages Along Sacred Paths, Robert Stoddard

Department of Geography: Faculty Publications

Geographic explanations about circulation and movement are largely concerned with the role of distance in spatial behavior. More specifically, many geographic principles of location are based on the friction of distance as it tends to restrict circulation and movement of humans. Likewise, the geography of routes usually involves concepts of least effort and the minimization of travel distance. A few path. ways of movement, however, do not seem to entirely fit these basic geographic concepts.

When people engage in religious activities that involve travel along a prescribed path, the role of distance seems to function quite differently than expressed by …