Sociology
The Role of Pilgrimage in Creating Transnational Religious Communities
Quick fact
The annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which draws over two million Muslims from around the world, was one of the inspirations for anthropologist Victor Turner's concept of 'communitas', an intense, egalitarian bond that forms among pilgrims regardless of nationality or class.
Why this is interesting
Every year, millions of people leave their homes and cross borders to walk the same paths and pray in the same places. How does a single journey to a distant shrine turn strangers from different countries into members of one community?