Body and Sociality in New Age Pilgrimage

Abstract

The paper explores the interaction with sacred places in New Age pilgrimage. There is a tendency in social theory of religion to define New Age spirituality as individualized form of religiosity in accordance with the notion of “private religion”. Such an interpretation is based on the priority of personal beliefs and narratives upon bodily aspect of religious experience and the ways of reflecting about it. The author claims that while the New Age pilgrimage does not necessarily imply identities and narratives shared by most of the participants, it is characterized by a common regime of interaction with the sacred and grassroot proselytism.