The Invention of Sacred Places and Rituals

A Comparative Study of Pilgrimage

Bibliographic Data

ID3579671
AuthorsJohn Eade (0000-0002-7120-9448, University of Roehampton, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume11
Issue12
Pages649
Publication date2020-12-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel11120649
OpenAlexW3045418990
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited36

During the last twenty years around the world there has been a rapid increase in the number of people visiting long established religious shrines as well as the creation of new sites by those operating outside the boundaries of institutional religion. This increase is intimately associated with the revival of traditional routes, the creation of new ones and the invention of new rituals (religious, spiritual and secular). To examine this process, I will focus on the European region and two contrasting destinations in particular-the Catholic shrine of Lourdes, France, and the pre-Christian shrine of Avebury, England-drawing on my personal involvement in travelling to both destinations and being involved in ritual activities along the route and at the two destinations. In the discussion section of the paper, I will explore the relevance of these two case studies to the analysis of power, agency and performance and the ways in which they expose (a) the role of institutions and entrepreneurs in creating rituals and sacred places and (b) the relationship between people and the domesticated landscape

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Destinations · Pilgrimage · Political science · Religious experience · Religious Tourism · Social science · Sociology · Tourism · Diverse Cultural and Historical Studies · Halal products and consumer behavior · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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