New pilgrims. Towards the problem of studying spiritual tourism in the Urals
Religious tourism is one of the most dynamically developing areas of the touristic industry. One of the consequences of this process is the blurring of boundaries between different types of religious tourism, and between secular (recreational) and religious tourism. Thus, «secular pilgrims» or «new...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ekaterinburg Academy of Contemporary Art
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Управление культурой |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://managing-culture.eaca.ru/archive/2024/3/6 |
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| Summary: | Religious tourism is one of the most dynamically developing areas of the touristic industry. One of the consequences of this process is the blurring of boundaries between different types of religious tourism, and between secular (recreational) and religious tourism. Thus, «secular pilgrims» or «new pilgrims» appear in addition to pilgrim's sensus stricto. Their appearance is associated with the phenomenon of «new spirituality» (New Age spirituality, neomystical consciousness). Despite the popularity of the latter, a clear understanding and definition of the phenomenon of «new pilgrims» has not yet been formed. To understand the essence of this phenomenon and to isolate «new pilgrims» as an independent group, the article proposes to consider the internal goal of the traveler to «gain some spiritual benefit» or to reach his/her «authentic self». In practice, this can be seen in fact that a pilgrim sensus stricto focuses on the place of his pilgrimage, and a «new» pilgrim - on his personal experience of meeting the place of his pilgrimage. The practices of new spirituality are most clearly noticeable in trips towards the so-called places of power. These can be very diverse loci, but most of them have a common feature - these are opposed to the «forces» of contemporary modernity, the personification of which is the modern (Western) metropolis. Such places of power can also be found in the Urals. But only one of them is described in the research literature - Arkaim. Nominally, this is a historical and archaeological museum-reserve, located in the south of the Chelyabinsk region. As an attractor for «new pilgrims», it took appeared back in the 1990s and has not lost popularity since then. However, despite its wide popularity, the phenomenon of Arkaim as a place of power requires study that is more careful. Moreover, the article proposes to pay attention to the Buddhist monastery of Shedrub Ling, founded on Mount Kachkanar (Sverdlovsk region) in 1995. This attractor is significantly smaller than Arkaim. However, this case seems to be more vivid, complex and heterogeneous. Therefore, a thorough and comprehensive study of the Kachkanar case can be very productive for understanding the phenomenon of «new pilgrims» in the Middle Urals. |
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| ISSN: | 2949-074X |