Authenticity and the transformation of the Camino : an analysis of secular pilgrimage in contemporary academic literature

This thesis is an analysis and critique of contemporary research on secular pilgrimage. A trend of dedifferentiation between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism is identified whereby contemporary academic literature is arguing for a broadening of the definition of pilgrimage to incorporate many disparate forms of travel and the multiple motivations that initiate these journeys. In this this thesis, I acknowledge and elaborate on the development that has occurred by which pilgrimage has expanded and fragmented into various forms, termed the "turn inward". What I am disagreeing with and critiquing is the paradigm shift towards dedifferentiation in contemporary academic research on secular pilgrimage. I use Jonathan Z. Smith to critique the comparativism evident in contemporary pilgrimage literature that focuses on similarities and neglects difference. In this thesis, I argue for a differentiation between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism, as well as the validity of the concept secular pilgrimage, by looking at the foundational differences between the various phenomena. In order to support this argument, I explore various foundational differences between medieval religious pilgrimage and contemporary secular pilgrimage, while using theorists José Casanova and Charles Taylor and their theories of secularisation in order to bring in a philosophical account of meaning and access deep ontological differences in order to support my argument for the distinction between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism. In order to focus the study, I use the Camino to Santiago as case study because of its Christian medieval origins as well as its current popularity amongst secular pilgrims.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Religious Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Vvon Benecke, Gerda

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Blond, Louis

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20133

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20133