Narthical Religious Learning Redefining the Theology of Religious Education in Terms of Pilgrimage Bert Roebben Tilburg University Those who travel, move through time and space. This can also be said for those who learn: you undertake a mental learning route and you are on your way to new insights. Moreover, a good learning process is adventurous, just like a good journey. On the road you can get the taste of exploring new horizons and of enriching your personal identity. But does the journey surprise you in ways not foreseen? Does it change your attitude towards life, your knowledge, your achievements? Does it cast a new light on who you are? Does it bring new meaning to your questions and desires? In this article I will investigate some core concepts of religious education with respect to their ‘travel proficiency’. I want to find out whether and how modern religious education can be something of an adventurous journey and whether it contributes to a life of dedication, trusting in the road and life itself. How does a (young) person come home to his own biography while he is still on the road? Good religious education deals with these questions. In my handling of these issues I plead for a mystagogical-communicative or ‘narthical’ approach to religious education. 1. The art of travelling You can travel like a tourist: consuming, greedy and always demanding. You can also travel like a pilgrim: contemplative, open to surprises and taking time to digest the experience quietly. In our post-modern culture, travelling is often thought of and perceived as a tourist event: you book a trip (and not a journey), do some sightseeing, and arrange an insurance, etc. And maybe it cannot be otherwise, considering the hastiness of our time. The latter at least represents the opinion of Zygmunt Bauman (1996). Travelling is affected by our consumer culture: while travelling people often fall victim to a competitive spirit and supermarket behavior. To illustrate this with an example: recently I learned that sjerpa’s (hired native carriers) collected four tons of garbage on the sides of the Mount Everest. The true challenge of travelling, however, is to be open and receptive to what you encounter on the way and what rearranges your course of life. Who truly travels, discerns differences, for what matters and for what up to that time was missing in one’s own frame of reference. He is open to people and circumstances that are different. Travelling like a pilgrim supposes the willingness and the skills to change one’s perspective on the road. Who really travels, is at home on the road, like pilgrims they feel like a fish in the water when they have to stand the elements of