Abstract:
Along with the raise of middle class, religious community demand lighter and non-time consuming pilgrimage practice without losing the sacredness of the site. The more convenient site attracts more religious community to perform the pilgrimage. Thus, the pilgrimage site strives to dress up with modern and pleasure facilities or features. More visitors mean more money would be circulated around the region. Within this framework, we could see mutual relationship between tourism and religion through pilgrimage site’s existence. Yet the attractive and appealing features of pilgrimage site raise another issue on the boundaries between sacred and secular places as well as the ethics of visiting sacred spaces. The GMKA’s case is clearly depicted the complex and intermingled relation between sacred and secular. The holy devotions to Virgin Mary share its place with the lovey dovey couple activity and tourist sightseeing. Furthermore the establishment of the highest Maria statue in Southeast Asia at GMKA highly escalates the number, and also the diverse backgrounds, of visitors to the site which brings out an issue of ethical behavior in sacred place, especially when the sacred place also becomes the central point of secular practices. Furthermore, this phenomenon raise another question, how far the limit of dressing up facilities and features of sacred space’ Doesn’t it reduce the core value of pilgrimage itself? Does the site become more secular, or at least become less sacred, by the hipped of pilgrimage site to dress up?
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