Pilgrimage Could be Used for Healing in a Post-Pandemic World

Virtually every religious tradition in the world has pilgrimage sites –Mecca for Muslims, Rome for Catholics, Jerusalem for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Hindus and Buddhists embark on spiritual journeys to sacred sites, too. The U.S. has not had much of a religious pilgrimage tradition. But James Mills thinks there’s a growing interest among Americans. His recently-published book argues for the creation of a network of walking pilgrimage routes across the United States tied to larger spiritual principles of human connection and care for the environment, rather than any specific religion. Mills is a professor of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the State University of New York at Oneonta (Segment produced by Abby Haralson)