Why rituals?: Anthropological reflections on the scriptures
"Ritual" is a very confusing word. It is used to describe an extraordinarily wide-ranging diversity of religious and secular activities. The aim of this article, therefore, is threefold: to define ritual in a way that can encompass these varied happenings; to explain the dynamics of ritual...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Informit
2021
|
| In: |
The Australasian Catholic record
Year: 2021, Volume: 98, Issue: 4, Pages: 421-433 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible NBE Anthropology RC Liturgy |
| Further subjects: | B
Midlife crisis
B Life cycle, Human B COVID-19 (Disease); Social aspects B Ritual B Anthropology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | "Ritual" is a very confusing word. It is used to describe an extraordinarily wide-ranging diversity of religious and secular activities. The aim of this article, therefore, is threefold: to define ritual in a way that can encompass these varied happenings; to explain the dynamics of ritual understood as rites of passage; and to illustrate by examples the fundamental importance of these rites in the Old and New Testaments. The term "rite of passage" is frequently used to refer to "life cycle" or "life crisis" rituals, concerned with the change of status in the lives of individuals and groups - for example, rituals surrounding birth, initiation, or death. Even the struggles of nations to overcome COVID-19 is a rite of passage. In the article I draw on the insights of cultural anthropology. They do not displace the theological explanations of biblical texts but rather help to enrich them. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0727-3215 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Australasian Catholic record
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3316/informit.185560093196732 |