Carmody, Denise (2016) The Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Experience: An Exploration of Spiritual Wellbeing. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Spiritual wellbeing is a complex and difficult to measure construct. However, research indicates there are many benefits to including spiritual wellbeing when addressing the overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life in individuals. Religious or spiritual practices may enhance some individual’s spiritual wellbeing. Additionally, transformational travel offers the possibility of facilitating spiritual growth and wellbeing. Travelling to other places removes the traveller from their normal environment and often separates them from family and friends. Thus, the traveller is able to think, feel, and behave in ways that they would not normally consider. The pilgrimage experience is an archetype of transformational travel with the therapeutic benefits of pilgrimage well documented. However, the research has generally been from the disciplines of anthropology, sociology, and theology with limited psychological studies addressing this popular phenomenon. Consequently, this study aimed to explore the pilgrimage experience of Australian Christians and how this impacted on their spiritual wellbeing and religious practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants who self-identified as pilgrims and practicing Christians. The analysis identified 5 superordinate themes: (a) spiritual wellbeing, (b) the physical journey, (c) the expression of spiritual wellbeing, (d) the act of walking, and (e) insights and lessons, with each theme interconnected. Spiritual wellbeing and religious practices were shown to be positively enhanced by the pilgrimage experience.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Heather Warfield |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 01:34 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 01:34 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | spiritual wellbeing ; pilgrimage ; religious practice ; transformational travel |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52198 |
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