What is Pilgrimage?

The term ‘pilgrimage’ has become a commonplace in modern conversations about any travel that is announced as ‘intentional,’ ‘purposeful,’ ‘transformative,’ or simply promises to be ‘authentic.’ Scholars have to navigate between the twin advantage and liability that pilgrimage studies operate under no one disciplinary lens or unified methodology, and the historical range is infinite. Many feel that modern tourism needs to preserve a place for the respectful non-believer without degrading the experience of traditional religious pilgrims. To some degree all intentional travelers are open to an experience of the transcendent that’s compatible with their belief systems and they are willing to modify their excursions and even embrace inconveniences to make themselves open to experience transcendence. This article acknowledges some of the widely accepted premises of pilgrimage and adds seven complementary aspects to the experience of being a pilgrim