7: Ritual

To begin our discussion of ritual, we first must define the term in the context of religious studies as many people confuse ritual with routine, or a repeated action. The confusion when using ritual results from the fact that rituals are repeated actions; thus, people think every routine or repeated action is a ritual, but it is not. A ritual is any kind of formalized, regularized behavior that includes symbolic importance beyond the action itself that is performed in accordance with specific occasions or conditions. Rituals can be secular, or not bound by religion, as well as religious and help us to express abstract concepts, to build community, and to help the participant gain a full sense of being in a right relationship with the Ultimate, the Holy. As with the term myth, many people use ritual when they should use routine. For example, "My daily ritual includes walking the dog, eating breakfast, showering, and dressing for work." The previous sentence misuses ritual because those actions lack symbolic importance beyond the actions themselves. In other words, walking the dog or eating breakfast simply is walking the dog or eating breakfast.

An example of a ritual is saluting the flag or putting your right hand on your chest where your heart is when singing the national anthem. Why is this a ritual? Saluting the flag may look like the person is keeping the sun out of his or her eyes, but it means something deeper. Likewise, putting a hand over the heart during the national anthem is not a sign of heartburn or indigestion. It means something more than act itself. Both actions indicate reverence and respect. Another common ritual is shaking hands when you meet someone for the first time or see a friend you have not talked to for a while. When you shake hands, you are showing the other person your hand is empty; you are not holding a weapon. The same is true for the other person. In addition, when shaking hands, the other person is near you, much closer than normal. You hold hands with the other person, which shows affection. As can be seen, rituals are part of our daily lives and often escape our notice.

Rituals also include social events, and they are often observed collectively. In several traditions, rituals also serve to create a sense of belonging and community. For example, when the father in a Hindu home performs domestic religious rituals, he is doing it on behalf of his entire family. In observing the Jewish Sabbath, the family joins together in celebrating a sacred meal, such as the Seder. Moving to Islam, when Muslims perform the ritual prayer in the mosque or go on pilgrimage, they do so collectively as the umma or community of Islam. For some Buddhists, proper performance of yoga can serve with meditations, which can help to increase compassion and love.