Jillian Daniel - Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture blog 4

In Turner's book "Image and Pilgrimage in Christan Culture," he describes pilgrimages as a liminal action. Arnold van Gennep said that "all rights of transition are marked by three phases - separation, limen or margin, and aggregation. During the liminal phase the state of the ritual subject becomes ambiguous. In this state, the person lies between the familiar socially constructed lines of classification. This makes sense when considering that the first stage deals with detaching oneself from social norms and the third focuses on the individual's return to reality. Liminalty can act not only as a transition, but also as an oppertunity to reconnect with one's spirituality. In today's society, there is a tremendous amount of influence from others on a person's thought process. Actions become limited due to this social repression which can result one's beliefs being intoxicated with other's critiques. When the pilgram decides to embark on the journey, he's making the choice to go and in doing so is exercising his own free will. This in it's own allows him to break out from social structure. When one is in the midst of their pilgramage, they're able to embrace the religion through their own immagination, without recieving pressures from their peers. This allows the pilgram to experience their religion without interuption and decipher what it all means to them. Liminal actions are very important, espcially in today's societ. Although I'm not entirely educated on pilgirmages and their presence in today's society, I feel as though not many people chose to participate in them. This shows the level of conformity amongst us. If there were more people going on pilgrimages, it would increase the number of people making their own opinions on the matter; thus increasing individuality.