Ritual: Encyclopedia II - Ritual - Sociology

Ritual - Sociology

Outside worship and reverence, rituals can have a more basic sociological function in expressing, fixing and reinforcing the shared values and beliefs of a society. Rituals range from the grand and ceremonial (such as royal coronations) to the trite and everyday (such as hand-shaking when people meet).

Other rituals that are not religious in nature are graduation ceremonies, presidential inauguration ceremonies, and oaths of allegiance. Ritual thus is as much political as religious in orientation.

Rituals have formed a part of human culture for tens of thousands of years. The earliest known evidence of burial rituals dates from around 20,000 years ago. (Older skeletons show no signs of deliberate 'burial', and as such lack clear evidence of the materialization of ritual.)

Rituals can aid in creating a firm sense of group identity. Humans have used rituals to create a social bond and aleve the isolation that can be felt otherwise.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Sociology", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki