Wild Pilgrimage: Reimaging the Sacred in a Secularizing World

This paper, in conversation with neo-animism, explores the role the natural environment plays in the pilgrimage process, particularly in a post-modern context. As religious affiliation declines and alternative spiritual practices increase, there is a need to reconsider the boundaries of pilgrimage to include activities such as hiking, backpacking, or immersion into nature, alongside the relational dynamics with non-human entities. Using interdisciplinary perspectives from anthropology and religious studies, the paper examines how transformative experiences in nature can reshape our understanding of pilgrimage and sacred space, offering a reconceptualization of the sacred in an increasingly secularized world.