The New Anthropology of Ritual
Rituals evolve socially over time, become powerful cultural technologies in their communities of practice, and offer several individual and societal benefits, including group cohesion and coordination. It is therefore tempting to consider the power of rituals and how to harness them to address curre...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal for the cognitive science of religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 10, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 182-194 |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
B Morality B Ritual Behavior B Ritual Studies B Interdisciplinarity B Ritual B Anthropology B ritual and religion B Ritual Theory B cognitive science of religion B ritual and costly signals B Culture |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Rituals evolve socially over time, become powerful cultural technologies in their communities of practice, and offer several individual and societal benefits, including group cohesion and coordination. It is therefore tempting to consider the power of rituals and how to harness them to address current sociocultural crises. However, as scholars of religion and human rights, we wish to concentrate further on the potential harmful impacts of rituals and attempts (perhaps by policymakers) to harness rituals for some envisioned benefits. In this article, we center our discussion around Dimitris Xygalatas' new book, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (2022), which raises compelling evidence and methodologies for what we describe as the "new anthropology of ritual" but also intriguing arguments about the power of ritual. We argue that Ritual offers new insights that invite scientists of religion and cultural anthropologists to revisit longstanding debates over dangerous rituals, cultural intervention, and the limits of human rights. |
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| ISSN: | 2049-7563 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the cognitive science of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/jcsr.25039 |
