Pilgrimage and Religious Tourism in Central Asia as a Form of Intercivilization Contacts

Abstract

The article considers the pilgrimage phenomenon as one of important forms of intercivilization contacts which represents ancient religious tradition. This tradition saved its invariable historical and cultural entity throughout the millennia and nowadays became an integral component of the modern world. In different religious cultures, pilgrimage is a travel with one main goal — fellowshipping with God by worshipping the shrine which meaning is revealed through rituals. They are in turn subdivided into two cultural and historical types: religious and secular, each developed under the influence of historical and cultural conditions of the emergence and existence. The difference between rituals lies in the social and cultural conditions of their formation, sacralized objects of worship. It can be traced visually on the example of pilgrimage in pagan, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim cultures. Despite some features and differences, in its organization and realization, the pilgrimage plays a significant role in mass exchange of knowledge and cultural experience between the people of different religions. Pilgrimage promotes expanded idea of the overall world view, determines cultural worthiness.DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2018)2-23