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Escapism in religion
I wanted to write a text about escapism in pilgrimages and religion. Religion as an escape, so to speak.
But when does religion become a search for meaning, and when does it become an escape from reality?
Mystical experience at the Convento dos Capuchos
When you walk around in the Convento dos Capuchos in Sintra near Lisbon, you feel why in previous centuries people were attracted to an ascetic life in monasteries, far away from everything and everyone.
The place has something mythical about it, especially when you walk through the narrow, cork-covered rock crossings and the misty herb garden.
For some, this was a calling, but for others it was also a way to distance themselves from a world in which they did not feel at home.
In that sense, religion can indeed be a form of escapism.
Pilgrimages through the ages
While we take in the silence in the central square, we see two pilgrims with sticks passing by.
The route from the Convento dos Capuchos to the Santuário da Peninha is known to local hiking groups as a contemplative walk with religious symbolism.
Pilgrimages have always existed, over the centuries. Pilgrims went and still go to deepen their faith, to seek forgiveness, to find answers to personal questions, or to temporarily detach themselves from everyday life.
They leave their familiar surroundings behind, take a path that is unfamiliar and often difficult, and find silence, reflection and connection along the way.
The rhythm of walking, the hours alone in all weathers
The rhythm of walking, the hours alone in all weathers, and the encounters with other travelers provide a space in which they can rethink their lives and sometimes find a new perspective.
In Europe, the most famous route is the Camino de Santiago, which is still crowded by people with different motives: spiritual, personal, or just adventure.
In North America, you’ll find similar long trails, such as the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. There, the motives are usually less religious, but often involve adventure, self-reflection, or a temporary escape from ordinary life.
Today we see this less in the classical religious forms.
Withdrawing from the world still happens, but mostly in other guises: mysticism, meditation, mindfulness. Less radical than before, perhaps, but the desire for silence and distance seems the same.
Why? A personal conversation
With that thought in mind, I recently had a conversation with a friend. That friend has already made several pilgrimages and studies religion.
His story brought nuance to my idea that religious practices would mainly be an escape from reality.
The conversation
Two men are resting along the road. The dust of the day still hangs around their feet. In front of them, the path stretches out, as the day slowly draws to a close.
Why did you become a pilgrim?
They don’t say anything for a while.
Then one nods to the other.
“Pilgrim too?” asks Marc.
Bob smiles. “Yes.”
“May I ask why you are doing this?” says Marc. “Everyone seems to have their own reason here.”
Bob thinks for a moment. “For me, it actually started quite practically. Actually, the pilgrimages are the direct result of my health problem. Without MS, I would probably never have taken the initiative to walk hundreds of kilometers.”
Marc looks at him attentively. “So it started out of necessity?”
“A little,” says Bob. “Concern about becoming less mobile in the long term. But it soon became clear that there were additional benefits that had nothing directly to do with physical performance.”
“Such as?”
“The conversations along the way,” says Bob. “With pilgrims of all kinds and motives. They give a surprising picture of what drives people to undertake the journey. You look for and find connection.
The rhythm of walking and the hours alone in all kinds of weather bring you back to events, encounters and beliefs that you no longer knew still existed. They invite you to question your current view of life and perhaps adjust it.”
Marc nods slowly. “So walking changes something. It’s more than just walking.”
Bob smiles. “Yes“.
A walk in the woods
That reminds me of Bill Bryson’s book A Walk in the Woods , in which he tries to walk the Appalachian Trail. In that book, Bryson describes how walking there, without religious motivation, can still bring insight and clarity. It’s about the experience of the path, not necessarily about faith.” (A very nice book, by the way. Really hilarious at times.)
“So the Camino and the Appalachian Trail may have the same function,” says Marc. “One religious, the other more adventurous or reflective.”
“Exactly,” says Bob. “And that brings me to my second reason for running. Improving my cognitive abilities”.
For Bob it is not an escape
I noticed that these were decreasing, too fast in my opinion. That could be the result of MS. Then I decided to study religion, something I had always found interesting. Lectures, exams; They filled a gap that my technical and scientific background had not filled.”
He looks at his shoes in the sand for a moment. “It was surprising to find that the faith from my childhood had never really disappeared. It found its way back to the surface, now even scientifically substantiated.”
Marc thinks for a moment. “So for you, this is not an escape.”
Bob shakes his head quietly.
“No, for me this is not an escape, but a targeted action to remedy an imperfection. With additional, unexpected benefits.”
They put their shoes back on.
The path awaits.
Religion and pilgrimages certainly do not always turn out to be an escape, but a conscious journey that fills small voids and brings unexpected peace.
As shoes are put back on, we return with renewed energy and quiet insights that extend beyond the road traveled.
Emma
More stories in this ‘escapism’ series: