Race and the Politics of Pilgrimage for African American Christians in Palestine and Israel
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2022
Publication Source
Religions
Volume Number
13
Issue Number
10
E-ISSN
20771444
Article Number
880
Abstract
African American Christian travel to Israel and Palestine demonstrates the role of overlapping racial and religious identities in shaping how travelers understand their experiences in the Holy Land variously as traditional religious pilgrimage, tourism, and political engagement. While traditional accounts of pilgrimage frame it as an experience set apart from mundane realities and social hierarchies, new perspectives in the study of pilgrimage show how the social identities of travelers may shape religiously inspired travel. Four case studies of African American Christian travel to Palestine and Israel—including Christian Zionist and Palestinian solidarity tours—show how participant experiences and interpretations of sites are shaped by overlapping religious and racial collective identities, which affect the religious, economic, and political perceptions of travelers. The relevance of race to pilgrimage varies depending on past experiences of racial and religious histories, perceptions of racial injustice, race-specific theologies, and religious ethics. Solidarities with resident Israelis and Palestinians are encouraged or rejected depending on participant interpretations of overlapping racial and religious identities.
Keywords
African American religion, black churches, Christian Zionism, collective identity, Holy Land, Israel, Palestine, pilgrimage, race, religion
Recommended Citation
Published in: Religions, Volume 13, Issue 10, October 1, 2022.
