If religious symbol & ritual embody underlying values, and ritual involves the body, that is a place to tease out a spirituality's anthropology and theology of body. Similarly regarding place and sacrality.
Pilgrimage brings all these aspects to bear in one liturgical motion.
Taking it a step further, would it not be instructive to study the practice of those who merchandise religious travel -- services for missionaries, for Hajj pilgrims, for Kumbh Mela, etc. -- for cultural expressions of religious values?
Posted by rollingrains at February 16, 2004 04:17 AM