Pilgrimage vs. Tourism - Carter Jobe

While reading Interpreting Contemporary Pilgrimage as Spiritual Journey or Aesthetic Tourism Along the Appalachian Trail from Kip Redick, I understood the differences between two phrases commonly used interchangeably. 

In tourism, the traveler observes the sights and landmarks through a secular perspective, wherein the tourist comes in with fixed ideas of what they want to achieve and experience. It is a journey that teakes place in the least abstract rendition of oursleves, it is an outer journey. The meaning is predetermined, and comes from a place of human desire and the want for leisure. There is nothing bad about tourism inherently, to bask in the cultures of foreign people is an enriching activity. 

However, it is very different from pilgrimage. In pilgrimage, the goal is not fixed, but rather the goal in the journey is actually the journey itself. To experience the travels and let the spiritual meaning find the voyager is the devotion of a pilgrimage. Self emptying is a key part of pilgrimage, as one needs to be empty and ready to experience the journey in the fullest. Pilgrimages do not have to be religious, but they do need to be spiritual in nature in order to qualify. There is a deeper level to pilgrimage, where reflection and the unconscious are tied in to make the journey primarily an inner journey. While tourism is not inherently lesser than pilgrimage, pilgrimage is far more rewarding when it comes to making meaning.

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