Public Discussion
"Religious Pilgrimage in Europe: Nationalism, Transnationalism, Multiculturalism"
21 May 2012

On 21 May 2012 a public discussion took place on the theme "Religious Pilgrimage in Europe: Nationalism, Transnationalism, Multiculturalism" with the participation of John Yead, professor of sociology and anthropology at the Center for the Study of Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism (CRONEM), University Rohempton and University Surry, London. The event was organized by the Center for the Study of Religions together with the team of the project "E-citizenship" and the Red House Center for Culture and Debate. It was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Simeon Evstatiev, and Assoc. Prof. Dr Anna Krasteva from New Bulgarian University and PhD candidate Stefan Ilchevski took part as discussants.

The lecture and the discussion were focused on the contemporary role of religious pilgrimage, especially in Europe, as a means of establishing transnational connections and creating "new ethnicities", thus challenging the traditional understanding of national identity. This, in turn, raises important questions concerning the relation between religion and nationalism, especially in post-socialist countries like Bulgaria.