"Pilgrimage and Healing"

Thousands trek to Nevada’s Burning Man festival to burn a towering effigy and the hopeful ill journey to Lourdes seeking a cure as they have for centuries. Although pilgrimage may seem an antiquated religious ritual, it remains a vibrant activity in the modern world as pilgrims combine traditional motives--such as seeking a remedy for physical or spiritual problems--with contemporary searches for identity or interpersonal connection. That pilgrimage continues to exercise such a strong attraction is testimony to the power it continues to hold for those who undertake these sacred journeys. In Pilgrimage and Healing, the authors, Jill Dubisch and Michael Winkelman, bring together anthropological and interdisciplinary perspectives on these persistent forms of spiritual quest to expand our understanding of the role of pilgrimage in an increasingly secular world. This volume examines the healing dimensions of pilgrimage and seeks to illuminate why so many participants find pilgrimage a compelling way to address the problem of suffering.