The Theology of Pilgrimage

This course will investigate the ways in which theologia viatorum (Moltmann), is an expression and practice of engaged and embodied expressions of the search for God and meaning in life. We will consider the history of tourism, pilgrimage, missionary wanderings, migration, including practices of sedentariness in rhythmic intersection with nomadic practices.

What does it mean to be a pilgrim? What counts as pilgrimage? What theological, social, and ecological angles come alive as we walk across lands to sacred places? How has the concept and practice of pilgrimage been reshaped in our present day and what purposes does it have? To go on pilgrimage in an age that could well be called an age of migration, what kinds of movement across lands do we consider holy, which ones unholy? The course will offer room for students both to share their own experiences of pilgrimage, to learn from others in the class and gain new insights through exposure to the practice of pilgrimage in other times and settings.