6 Rituals
Chapter 6 audio can be accessed on Soundcloud. Instructor resources are available on Canvas Commons.
Chapter 6 Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, you’ll be able to:
- Classify rituals and identify their functions.
- Differentiate elements of rituals using an anthropological perspective.
- Identify stages of rites of passage and identify examples of rites of passage in your own life.
6.1 Introducing Rituals
Rituals can reveal a great deal about a community’s worldview, belief systems, and lived experiences. However, like the term “religion,” “ritual” can be hard to define because what we think of as a ritual can vary widely and can be understood differently in different contexts.
In this course, we begin by defining rituals as an act or series of regularly repeated acts that embody the beliefs of a group of people and create a sense of continuity and belonging (Davis-Floyd 2003,8). They also feature a sequence of activities, involving gestures, words, and objects, performed in a specific place or time, and according to a set order (Stein and Stein 2010, 77).
6.2 Who Conducts Rituals?
Any one instance of a ritual might be performed by a large group or by a single individual. Rituals undertaken by groups or communities usually build a sense of cultural continuity. For example, if you were baptized in a church, and your parents and grandparents were also baptized, then it likely holds a great deal of meaning when you also baptize your children. This generational baptism links all of the family together and reinforces the family’s commitment to a certain set of values.
Here are some other examples of religious rituals and the means by which they foster a sense of community:
- Takuhatsu: Takuhatsu is the word used to refer to almsgiving among Zen Buddhist monks (other Buddhist groups use different words). In most Buddhist traditions, the monks are believed to be servants of the community-at-large. In order to maintain their residency in a local monastery, the monks are expected to conduct religious ceremonies for the community, offer teachings, and serve. It is traditional for Buddhist monks to walk through the community and to beg for food (Carney 2016). This tradition allows the local community to earn good karma by giving a donation to the monks. Furthermore, this tradition maintains a relationship between the monks and the community because, if the monks aren’t serving the community properly, they will not receive any donations. This covenant between the religious leaders and the community is maintained where both rely on and support each other. In many modern American temples today, online fundraisers serve the same function whereby members are likely to give to a temple that is better serving the community.
- Hare Krishna Mantra: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a modern religious movement that believes in the God Krishna’s power. This religion is quite popular in the United States and has a big follow