Abstract
Pilgrimage is a global phenomenon. This is what Ian Reader’s new book starts with as he wisely sets this ancient practice within the right global context for the 21st-century readers. This new release of the OUP’s ‘Very Short Introductions’ series serves its purpose to introduce the subject, not merely from a perspective of the historical past, but seeing it as a lively practicing thing across different religions in our global village. According to Reader, pilgrimage plays a popular role in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and even among New Age devotees as well as non-religious people. He also notes that, over the ages, pilgrimage is not just a religious idea; it is a major industry, involving tourism, transportation, accommodation, and various businesses. Thus, after describing this phenomenon in chapter 1, the forms, themes, and meanings of different elements of pilgrimage in various world religions are then surveyed in chapter 2. Some well-known pilgrimage sites, including Lourdes (France), Camino de Santiago (Spain), Shikoku (Japan), and Mecca, are discussed in chapter 3. Pilgrims’ practices, motives, and experiences are then discussed in chapter 4. Festivity and commerce related issues associated with pilgrimage together with the idea of secular pilgrimage in modern times are treated in the last two chapters, 5 and 6.
As Reader rightly puts it, our ‘everyday circumstances, routines, and social contexts’ are so restrictive that pilgrimage reminds us ‘the basic human conditions of being restless and wishing to see new horizons and see new places’ (p. 24). ‘Returning to a centre of one’s religion… provides an intensification, reaffirmation, and reinvigoration of faith’ (p. 71). The author has successfully written a little book on a much needed topic, especially for urban dwellers nowadays. This is a highly recommended ‘very short’ introduction to the subject.