Rituals

Rituals and Religious Rituals

• Ritual

  • A patterned, recurring sequence of behaviors

• Religious Ritual

  • A ritual that involves the use of religious symbols

Ritual and Myth

• Ritual based on myth?

• Myth based on ritual?

• Which came first?

• They are interdependent

Functions of Rituals

• Symbolize beliefs and values of the community

• Prescriptive Rituals

  • A ritual that a deity or religious authority requires be performed

• Based on:

  • Religious text

  • Tradition

  • Deity

• Situational Rituals

  • A ritual that arises spontaneously, frequently in times of crisis

• Periodic or Calendrical Rituals

  • A ritual that is performed on a regular basis as a part of religious calendar

• Scheduled

  • Daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly

• Occasional Rituals

  • A ritual that is performed when a particular need arises

  • Natural fertility

    • Crop failure

    • Drought

  • Rites of Passage

    • Marriage

    • Puberty

    • Death

How to Classify Rituals

• Technological Rituals

  • Hunting and Gathering rites of intensification

  • Protective rituals

  • divination rituals

• Therapy rituals

  • Anti-therapy rituals

• Ideological rituals

  • Social rite of intensification

  • Rites of passage

• Alterations of the Human Body

  • Tattooing

  • Piercing

  • Genital Alteration

• Salvation rituals

• Revitalization rituals

• Pilgrimages