Discuss the role of ritual in the maintenance of social order.
A ritual is a common practice within a particular society or a group of people. Most rituals are symbolic, either religious or associated with a certain tradition. These rituals are repeated over time and are mostly held at specific times of the year, during a certain period of weather or even after certain occurrences such as natural disaster, holidays, childbirth, weddings and even funerals. Lukes describes a ritual as a “rule governed activity of a symbolic character which draws the attention of the participants to objects of thought and feeling which they hold to be of special significance.” (Lukes, 1975, p291). In this assessment I will discuss rituals and their place in society. I will offer discussion and argument on whether society relies on rituals in modern day and conclude with the role of rituals within social order.
Rituals have been an integral part of human society for generations and an influencing factor in societies’ behaviour. Rituals are an expressive, symbolic activity constructed by multiple behaviours which occur in fixed, episodic sequences and tend to repeat over time. Rituals are performed for religious reasons, during social ceremonies, group events, cultural traditions and other such occasions. Rituals are performed similarly year after year, without change and where ever there is a change it is a very gradual process, spanning decades. The agents to change are generally social, cultural, adaptations to changing times or improvements in the society.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Rituals and ceremonies are determined by belief and are defined as a suitable behaviour for the believers of religion. Also they often follow the ethical behaviour of the people living in the community at the time. This means that they differ from place to place, but are followed by all people in the community which makes it a dynamic, living religion.…
- 355 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Do you see any similarities between the rituals of primitive societies and rituals that we have in today's society?…
- 392 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout history, places around the world have traditionally participated in a cycle of ritualized events and festivals. Historically, European life consisted of festivals like Carnival and Mardi Gras, along with common, daily rituals like charivari, or riding the stang. Some festivals kept people happy and allowed them to unwind while others provided order and punishment. Different religious beliefs resulted in different opinions on certain festivals and rituals. Additionally, rituals and festivals helped people to temporarily escape social identities and to shame members of society into following both explicit and implicit laws. Although from the 15th century to the 19th century these festivals and rituals could have been seen as a negative aspect of traditional European life, they were also positive and served a specific purpose during that time period.…
- 1331 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
• Hamilton’s system favored merchants from the northeast so the south began to question why they are paying taxes…
- 531 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The analysis of the article Body Ritual Among the Nacerima by Horace Minor uses key principles to help decipher the hidden meanings behind his work. The article is based off of Americans but written in a primitive manner to help show readers the importance of keeping an open mind. Cultural relativism is crucial when researching a new topic. This culture is different than others based on their obsession with physical appearance but it does not make them wrong. Also, the culture that practices different rituals has a different belief system. One culture may place great importance on preserving the land while…
- 1522 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Unit 2 theme 6 key concepts Religion – Religion is a system of symbols and rituals that form powerful beliefs, values, meanings, and practices in people about human existence in relationship to God Religious Symbols – Symbols used in a religious context reveal a link between humans and the sacred. Religious symbols make use of elements of the universe, vegetation, the earth, cedar branches, smoke, oil, water to figure immensity power, growth, birth, cleansing, communion. Theses symbols do not manifest the sacred, however, unless they are accompanied by rituals and the human world Religious Rituals – Religious rituals are sacred enactments that incorporate religious symbols revealing the bond between the humans and the sacred, humans have the capacity to enter into the sacred, but only when the sacred approaches them through symbols and rituals. Religious rituals have the power to open up new ways living and communicating with a power and energy that is higher and deeper than our own. Liturgy – in Catholic tradition, liturgy is the official act of worship of the Church.…
- 399 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
- Rituals were vital to the Indian society. They celebrated their success in ceremonies and called upon the Gods to maintain the fertility of their land.…
- 718 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
From Rite To Ritual is a painting by Danie Mellor created in 2009. This painting features various Australian native animals jumping and climbing all over the canvas. Those animals are the only features of the artwork in natural colours. The rest of the painting uses primarily blue and white for the curtains and floor and furniture. In the middle of the painting, there are four children seen dancing and playing together. This scene of aboriginal people and indigenous animals placed in a building that is clearly western illustrates the uneasy coexistence of the cultures. The scene depicts an almost forced interaction between the two cultures. The contrast of the traditions attracts the audiences attention and makes them…
- 118 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
But what inspires morals to be created as opposed to our natural, rational thinking? Collins argues that social rituals produce these moral feelings. By doing this, the people partaking in the unifying rituals, which creates group solidarity. Their shared experiences allowed them to achieve accomplishments in a contractual society such as creation of businesses, and citizen's rule abiding tendencies. Social rituals allow people to feel like they belong among other members of society. When people believe that they are members of something, then they do their best to make that society or organization functional. Furthermore, social rituals create moral ideas, and symbolic symbols which Collins says is the basis of religion. That being said, religion is the link to social solidarity. Religious beliefs are important, not because of what they claim but the fact that people can be brought together underneath…
- 675 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Every society, tribe, or group of people have certain rituals and beliefs that we practice every day. In Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, he tells us about this particular tribes unusual rituals, therefore giving us an insight into how different human behaviors can be. It gives the readers a look into a culture that many do not understand.…
- 657 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is nothing less than a powerful story about a society that gathers once per year and holds a lottery. But this is not a lottery with a winner; it is a lottery with a loser. “The Lottery” is a chilling story because it depicts a sense of normalcy among the towns’ people when they randomly decided to kill a neighbor by practically just drawing straws. This story really asks the question, are rituals always a good thing? If rituals are a good or bad thing do we even know why we do it half the time? “The Lottery”, shows us that even though tradition may have been happening for years doesn’t mean that the traditions we choose to follow are beneficial.…
- 1062 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Seen as a crucial and pivotal element in the process of deepening spiritual understanding, religious ritual plays a fundamental role in building both personal and cultural identity, an act that expresses and emphasises the things that bind a faith community together. In all religions, the milestones of a practitioner’s life are highlighted and celebrated through ritual and ceremony. These events often include both birth and death, marriage and coming of age. Several features play an indispensable role within rituals, such as the presence of representative symbols, people or religious leaders and music, features that have been central to both worship and ritual since primordial…
- 105 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
A ritual done over a specific length of time can become tradition, rooting itself into one’s culture and lifestyle. George Gmelch in the essay “Baseball Magic” describes rituals as being irrational and unemotional behaviors linked to an outcome. He finds when a baseball player has a good performance his rituals grow and are continued. Gmelch’s findings reflect that rituals fulfill one’s need for control over one’s environment. Similar to Gmelch, I have found that within my family the ritual of cooking soul food every Sunday has become a means of keeping my family together. By consistently performing this ritual a sense of control is established over the continual unity within my family. Unity is important because it is the basic structure of family, and is something that was not always a part of African American culture. Dating back to slavery, families were often divided in the slave trade and were never to be seen again. This division has had long-term effects on African American families to this day, where often it is seen that a father or mother is lacking and children are raised by extended family. My family came to California from the East Coast over 30 years ago, thus keeping the ritual of Sunday dinner alive has been a crucial factor in maintaining our unity as a family.…
- 1724 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Religious ritual: to honor Gods, new Gods invented- they still honored their Gods by performing plays and had festivals and holidays where they performed a play/plays for a certain play.…
- 420 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In her study Manning (2000) summarized the literature of ritual and identified seven categories of ritual “highlighted due to their prevalence or importance on college campuses” (Manning, 2000, p. 5). Her studies were based on observations at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, both liberal arts colleges similar to Wilkinson College in mission and organization. Manning’s (2000) study developed non-mutually exclusive categories of ritual that included (1) rituals of reification, (2) rituals of revitalization, (3) rituals of resistance, (4) rituals of incorporation, (5) rituals of investiture, (6) rituals of entering and leaving, and (7) rituals of healing (pp. 5-7).…
- 597 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays