Date of Award

2018

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (College of Education)

Schools and Centres

Education

First Supervisor

Gerard O'Shea

Abstract

World Youth Day has become the largest regular gathering of young people in the world, attracting hundreds of thousands, and on occasions, millions of participants. The size and scale of this Catholic religious event, and its generation of tourism and mass media coverage, help define the gathering as a mega-event with international significance.

Since its inception, Australians have participated in each of the international World Youth Days, and this participation has grown and diversified. Perhaps the most significant factor in this period, described by some as a ‘watershed moment’, was the influence and impact of an Australian city hosting World Youth Day in 2008. With the occasion of World Youth Day XXIII in Sydney, Australians had unrestricted access to an international mega-event, and to one of the hallmark events of the Catholic Church around the world.

As a result of the Sydney experience, World Youth Day became a popular cultural reference point for many young Catholics. It was no longer an experience restricted to a relatively small number of very religious pilgrims, or an event to be learned of and experienced vicariously. Teenagers in particular had a growing interest in the event and this was evident in the increased numbers of school-aged pilgrims who attended World Youth Day in Madrid (2011) and Rio de Janeiro (2013).

The first part of this research – a documentary, analytical study - explored the origins, purpose, history and development of World Youth Day, investigating the perceptions and understandings of religious leaders, especially organizing authorities, as well as examining the reactions and views of the wider Catholic community and the mass media. It examined the event in the context of the ‘new evangelisation’, and considered how the international gatherings were an ecclesial response to the social, cultural and religious realities associated with cultural postmodernity.

In addition, it investigated the psychological and sociological literature related to ‘large events’ to see what theories were relevant for interpreting the psychological and religious/spiritual dynamics of pilgrims’ experience of World Youth Day. For example, it found that studies of ‘pilgrimage events’ and of the construct ‘communitas’ were pertinent to World Youth Day. Also applicable were the theories of ‘collective effervescence’ and ‘social identity’. Collins’ (2004) theory of Interaction Ritual Chains, which details a cause and effect relationship, provided an insightful construct for interpreting pilgrims’ engagement in and experience of World Youth Day.

The second part of the research - an empirical study - used a ‘mixed methods’ approach, with both pre and post-World Youth Day surveys to investigate firstly, why people were drawn to World Youth Day and what were their expectations, and secondly, how they experienced the event and what they perceived were its most beneficial aspects. The empirical study was conducted prior to and following World Youth Day XXVI, in Madrid Spain (16 – 21 August, 2011) and World Youth Day XXVII, in Rio de Janiero, Brazil (23-28 July, 2013).

A delegation from Sydney Catholic Schools, which comprised both schoolaged and adult pilgrims, was a purposive sample. In addition, a snowball sample consisted of pilgrims, both adult and school-aged, from the broader Australian delegation. Usually, those in this latter group travelled to World Youth Day with either, a parish group, diocesan group, ethnic group, university group, youth movement (charism related) or ecclesial movement.

Typically, the Australian pilgrims indicated a higher level of religious commitment than occurs within the wider Australian Catholic community. But there was also diversity in religiosity, particularly in the student pilgrims who were drawn from across the religio- spiritual spectrum.

While many of the young pilgrims indicated that they found personal meaning and fulfilment through their active involvement in a parish community and through religious practice, others said they did not. Some of the younger pilgrims were comfortable with spiritualities that were

secular, individualistic, eclectic, subjective and self-reliant. In contrast, the adult pilgrims generally exhibited a more developed sense of religious socialisation and commitment. In addition to their affiliation with a parish community, many belonged to an ecclesial group or movement.

The contrasting dispositions of adult and school aged pilgrims were borne out in what they considered to be the anticipated benefits of attending World Youth Day. Students highlighted the appeal of: meeting new people from around the world; making new friends; visiting places only ever read or heard about; bonding with fellow pilgrims and deepening their relationship with God. By contrast, adult pilgrims highlighted the significance of: a personal experience of the transcendent; deepening their relationship with God; experiencing moments of personal and spiritual reflection; experiencing the ‘sacred’ in the places visited while on pilgrimage, and feeling a part of the wider Church.

The empirical study identified a number of salient and recurring themes: World Youth Day was considered to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience, characterised by heightened levels of affective intensity; some of the religious experiences were affirmed as being particularly powerful and as moments of encounter with the transcendent; the event’s structure and atmosphere were conducive to social bonding and a spirit of solidarity between pilgrims, and the strengthening and validation of pilgrims’ religious identity. Many found the experience gave them a sense of meaning, purpose and fulfilment.

Australian pilgrims’ perception and evaluation of the World Youth Day experience were influenced by a range of factors, including: gender, age and religious disposition. The results showed that the World Youth Day phenomenon has two critical dimensions, a social dimension and a religious dimension. A dichotomy does not exist between the two. Rather, there is a strong inter-relationship between them which creates a powerful cumulative effect.

For many pilgrims, World Youth Day is not just a peak ‘religious experience’; it is a peak ‘life experience’

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