International Conference “Pilgrimage Futures: Journeys of Transformation”

This international conference, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Council of Europe designation of the Camino de Santiago as First European Cultural Itinerary (1987-2027), utilises the idea of transformation as a key theme to examine the shifting meanings of pilgrimage and seeks to interrogate the concept situating it in changing socio-cultural, economic and environmental contexts.

 

Submisssion deadline September 30th, 2026

The International Conference “Pilgrimage Futures: Journeys of Transformation”, which will take place in May 2027 in Santiago de Compostela, one of the world’s major pilgrimage destinations – Santiago de Compostela –, looks to the future and addresses a range of themes and issues including:

  • The relationships between pilgrimage routes and landscape.
  • Historical precedents of pilgrimage experience, continuities and ruptures.
  • Secular pilgrimages, popular shrines and new spiritualities.
  • Pilgrim / tourist motivations and behaviours.
  • Intangible heritage of pilgrim journeys – rituals, rites and hospitality.
  • The material culture of pilgrim routes and destinations.
  • Changing representations of pilgrims and pilgrimage in history and contemporary popular culture.
  • The digital pilgrim – virtual worlds and virtual spirituality.

Call for Papers

The Conference aims to provide critical dialogue beyond disciplinary boundaries, and we invite papers from all disciplines and fields including: anthropology, architecture, archaeology, art history, cultural geography, cultural studies, design, ethnology and folklore, law, economics, history, heritage studies, landscape studies, leisure studies, museum studies, philosophy, political science, sociology, journalism and communication, theology, tourism studies, urban/spatial planning.
We welcome perspectives on all aspects of pilgrimage from all religions - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shinto, Taoism, etc - as well as from a secular perspective.

How to submit your abstract

You can submit your abstract using our email: adlimina@xunta.gal

Submission Guidelines 

  • Your abstract should be no more than 300 words and should be uploaded in Word format.
  • The duration of each paper will be 20 min.
  • The author can write it in Galician, Spanish or English.
  • Please include title, author names and affiliated organisations / universities on the abstract document.
  • All abstracts received by the deadline will be reviewed by the Conference Committee.

Submisssion deadline

September 30th, 2026