Miracle Cures Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Poers of Belief [Paperback]

Iconic images of medieval pilgrims, such as Chaucers making their laborious way to Canterbury, conjure a distant time when faith was the only refuge of the ill and infirm, and thousands traveled great distances to pray for healing. Why, then, in an age of advanced biotechnology and medicine, do millions still go on pilgrimages? Why do journeys to important religious shrinessuch as Lourdes, Compostela, F?tima, and Medjugorjeconstitute a major industry? InMiracle Cures, Robert A. Scott explores these provocative questions and finds that pilgrimage continues to offer answers for many. Its benefits can range from a demonstrable improvement in health to complete recovery. Using research in biomedical and behavioral science, Scott examines accounts of miracle cures at medieval, early modern, and contemporary shrines. He inquires into the power of relics, apparitions, and the transformative nature of sacred journeying and shines new light on the roles belief, hope, and emotion can play in healing.

Robert A. Scott, a sociologist, was for 18 years the deputy director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Among other books, he is the author ofThe Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral(UC Press).

Scott has written a magnificent book on the realities of religious healing. He brings sensibility, reason, impressive insight, and the best information to bearqualities seldom manifested in the centuries of claim, cynicism, and controversy on the topic. His analysis is destined to raise the level of discourse on dramatic religious experiences. Neil Smelser, author ofThe Odyssey Experience

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue

Part One / Appealing to Saints for Miracles
1. Life in the Middle Ages
2. Saints
3. Apparitions
4. Pilgrimage and Shrines

Part Two / Saints and Healing
5. DlS`