Angela Varga: Half Tourist, Half Pilgrim

Turner introduces this idea that “a tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist” (20). This is an interesting concept because I feel that it is true. Some people embark on the path of a pilgrim because they are interested in experiencing the journey. In class we talked about people of other ethnicities and religions journeying to the Santiago de Compostela. It wouldn’t be unusual to assume that they were journeying as tourists. On the other hand, those that are journeying as a pilgrim are tourists as well. A pilgrim may be focused on their pilgrimage, but one can’t deny that there are other things to see when not focusing on their path. Pilgrims act as tourists just as tourists act as pilgrims. In my religious studies class we talked about MRPing, which is Multiple Religious Participation. It is the idea that even if a person labels themselves as a believer in one religion they most likely hold some ideas from other religions as well. I think is why, even though some tourists walk the path of a pilgrim they are at least half pilgrim.