نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
This article analyzes contemporary research on the spiritual experiences of pilgrimage, focusing on their methodological diversity and empirical findings. As pilgrimage in the modern world has transcended traditional frameworks—becoming increasingly intertwined with motivations such as self-discovery, identity formation, escapism from daily life, and psychological peace—this study employs a descriptive-analytical approach and library research to address the existing gap in the categorization of such studies. To this end, five landmark studies are examined: a mixed-methods survey of pilgrims at the shrine of Imam Reza (the eighth Shia Imam), a factor analysis of experiences in Christian sites, the innovative image-based Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) among South Korean Protestants, the transcendent experiences of pilgrims at Lourdes (the Shrine of the Virgin Mary), and a qualitative analysis of Exceptional Human Experiences (EHEs) on the Camino de Santiago. Findings indicate that the pilgrimage experience is a multi-layered phenomenon encompassing dimensions such as psychological tranquility, identity reconstruction, and existential transformation. Finally, the article emphasizes the necessity of adopting a multi-methodological approach to decode both the conscious and unconscious layers of pilgrims' spiritual health.
کلیدواژهها English
Extended Abstract
In recent decades, pilgrimage has re-emerged as a significant and expanding subject in the fields of religious studies, spirituality, and the psychology of religion. Both international and domestic studies indicate that in the modern world pilgrimage has moved beyond its traditional framework and is now associated with a wide range of motivations and outcomes, including the search for meaning, the pursuit of inner peace, the experience of extraordinary or transcendent states, social interaction, self-reflection, and the reconstruction of personal identity. Despite the growing body of research in this field, the Persian literature—and even parts of the global scholarly discourse—still lacks a coherent picture of the methodological approaches employed in these studies, the various dimensions of spiritual experience involved in pilgrimage, and the common or distinctive patterns in its psychological and existential outcomes.
The central problem of this article, therefore, is to examine how contemporary studies have approached the investigation of pilgrims’ spiritual experiences, what methodological strategies they have employed, and what insights they have generated regarding the psychological and spiritual dimensions of pilgrimage. In addressing this issue, the article seeks to clarify how different research traditions conceptualize and analyze the lived experience of pilgrims, to what extent diverse methodological approaches—quantitative, qualitative, image‑based, and narrative—are capable of revealing the deeper layers of pilgrimage experience, and how the findings of these studies contribute to a better understanding of the role of pilgrimage in spiritual well-being, emotional relief, and existential transformation.
This study is conducted through a library-based research method using a descriptive–analytical approach. The selected materials consist of contemporary empirical studies on pilgrimage drawn from different religious contexts and methodological traditions. Five representative studies were chosen in order to reflect a diverse range of research strategies and pilgrimage settings. These include a large-scale survey of pilgrims at the holy shrine of Imam Reza(P.B.U.H), a factor-analytic study of pilgrimage experiences at Christian sacred sites, an image-based investigation employing the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) among Korean Protestants, a qualitative study of pilgrims’ transcendent experiences in Lourdes, and a narrative analysis of travel accounts from the Camino de Santiago. By comparatively examining these studies in terms of their data collection methods, analytical frameworks, and types of experiences reported, the article evaluates both the strengths and the limitations of different methodological approaches in capturing the complex and multilayered nature of spiritual pilgrimage experiences.
The comparative analysis of the five studies demonstrates that pilgrimage experience is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing emotional, cognitive, social, bodily, and symbolic dimensions. Large-scale quantitative surveys, such as the study of pilgrims at the holy shrine of Imam Reza, are effective in identifying dominant emotional patterns—such as feelings of peace, relief, hope, and spiritual satisfaction—among a broad population of pilgrims. However, such approaches often remain limited in their ability to capture the deeper layers of meaning embedded in individual spiritual experiences. Factor-analytic studies of Christian pilgrimage sites reveal that pilgrimage cannot be understood as a single or uniform experience; rather, it involves several interconnected dimensions, including spiritual connection, discovery of new meanings, cognitive engagement, interpersonal interaction, and inner calm.
Qualitative and image-based methods, on the other hand, allow researchers to explore more subtle and often hidden aspects of pilgrimage experience. The ZMET-based study among Korean Protestants uncovers metaphorical and unconscious dimensions of the relationship between pilgrims and the sacred, highlighting themes such as the perceived presence of God, renewal of faith, emotional purification, and rediscovery of life’s meaning. Similarly, qualitative research on pilgrims in Lourdes emphasizes deeply personal experiences of connection with the divine or with sacred figures such as the Virgin Mary, as well as reports of healing, profound serenity, and moments interpreted as transcendent or miraculous. The narrative analysis of pilgrims’ travel accounts from the Camino de Santiago further demonstrates that pilgrimage journeys can generate a range of exceptional experiences—such as heightened awareness of the present moment, insight, trust, spiritual reflection, and feelings of existential renewal—which may lead to lasting personal transformation.
Taken together, these findings suggest that pilgrimage should be understood not merely as a set of ritual practices but as a complex process of spiritual reorientation and psychological self-regulation. Through emotional release, reflection, symbolic encounters with the sacred, and participation in shared religious spaces, pilgrimage can facilitate experiences of meaning-making, spiritual growth, and existential renewal. At the same time, the comparison of these studies indicates that no single methodological approach is sufficient to capture the full complexity of pilgrimage experience. A comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon requires a multi-method perspective that integrates quantitative patterns with qualitative depth and symbolic interpretation.
4. Acknowledgement & Funding
The manuscript did not receive a grant from any organization.
5. Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
6. Author contribution
All authors share equal responsibility for the content of this paper.
Mohsen Sharfaei; Email: sharfa3700@yahoo.com; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0004-6311-5259
Seyyed Mohammadsadegh Ghabouli Dorafshan; Email: m.ghabooli@motahar.ac.ir; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9014-3026X
