Description
Book SynopsisA thought-provoking reflection on pilgrimage past and present, and a compelling exploration of its relevance today. The enormous rise in popularity in recent decades of the Camino, the ancient pilgrim path that stretches from France, across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, is part of a wider phenomenon being witnessed on other time-honoured pilgrim routes around the globe and across the faiths. But this is happening in a world that in many places is self-avowedly ever more sceptical, secular and scientific, with formal religious affiliation in steep decline. Why? Some argue that tourism is the new religion, and that those who today walk in the footsteps of countless past generations of believers do so to enjoy the holiday experience, the escape from their everyday world, the health benefits of so much exercise, and the companionship, without seeking any sort of spiritual enlightenment. Yet by looking at a diverse range of pilgrimage sites that includes Rome, Jerusalem
Trade Review'A golden harvest of fascinating and inspiring places. As always, Peter manages to wear his scholarship lightly [and] walk the tightrope over non-believers on one side and believers on the other ... This book deserves to be read widely' - Rachel Billington
'A terrific read: I felt I had been to all these places myself' - Lady Antonia Fraser
'A fascinating study which has taken me to places I’ve known, places I’ve known of, and places of which I’ve never heard. Above all I found the central thesis of the distinction and also interdependence of factual and metaphysical truths utterly convincing' - Michael Arditti
'The book’s best passages give the reader a sense of what makes these places unique … We are reminded that people can be drawn towards pilgrim shrines for reasons which have little to do with trends in the travel industry' - The Spectator
'[Stanford] couldn’t be a better qualified guide' - Daily Telegraph
'Pilgrimage has found itself back in vogue, even as the original purposes of these journeys have become blurred' - Wanderlust
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The New Geography of Spiritual Power
1 Santiago de Compostela: The Camino
2 Jerusalem: The Promised Land
3 Rome: Seeing is Believing
4 Mecca: A World Apart
5 Lalibela: Unearthing a Mystery
6 Lourdes, Medjugorje and the Marian Shrines: Mary and the Miracles
7 The North Wales Pilgrim’s Way: Celtic Revival
8 Kumbh Mela: The World’s Largest Pilgrimage
9 The Buddha Trail: The Peripatetic Pilgrim
10 Shikoku: 88 Temples in the Footsteps of the Great Master
11 North America: Optimistic Hiking
12 Machu Picchu: Power Places
Epilogue To Arrive Where We Started
