Exploring Spiritual Experience of Young Pilgrims at Religious Sites: (The Case of Razavi Holy Shrine)

Spiritual experiences are essential to individual well-being, offering profound emotional, psychological, and religious benefits. Pilgrimage sites, especially sacred spaces, provide a unique environment for pilgrims to experience personal renewal and spiritual transformation. This study investigates the spiritual experiences of young pilgrims at the Razavi Holy Shrine in Mashhad, Iran, a key pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims. Using an exploratory-descriptive qualitative approach and thematic analysis, the research identifies three main themes: Spiritual Well-being, Connectedness, and Consciousness, each with several subthemes. Spiritual Well-being encompasses positive emotions, energy, happiness, purification, and peace and tranquility, emphasizing the emotional uplift and inner peace experienced by pilgrims. Connectedness includes pilgrims’ connection with God, expressing needs and seeking divine favor, receiving blessings and assistance, and fostering ties with religion and holy leaders. This highlights the shrine’s role in deepening spiritual bonds and providing divine support. Consciousness involves experiences of detachment from routine life, timelessness, self-reflection, and religious awareness, illustrating how the pilgrimage fosters introspection and spiritual enlightenment. These findings contribute to the understanding of religious pilgrimage and spiritual transformation, offering valuable insights for scholars, policymakers, and pilgrimage site administrators. Recognizing the dimensions of spiritual experiences can enhance spiritual tourism and guide future research on spiritual psychology and the transformative power of sacred spaces.

کلیدواژه ها:

spiritual experience ، religious tourism ، pilgrims experience ، Tourist Experience ، Experiential Marketing ، Razavi Holy Shrine