[PDF] Religion And Ritual In Society eBook

Author : Barry Stephenson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 143 pages
File Size : 15,18 MB
Release : 2015-01-28
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0199943583

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Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational? Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Frank A. Salamone
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,65 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Encyclopedias
ISBN : 9780415880916

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This book examines religious beliefs expressed through ritualized behavior and festivals.

Author : Brian Hayden
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 411 pages
File Size : 23,94 MB
Release : 2018-09-13
Category : History
ISBN : 1108426395

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Secret societies in tribal societies turn out to be key to understanding the origins of social inequalities and state religions.

Author : Laurence J. Kirmayer
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 683 pages
File Size : 32,45 MB
Release : 2020-09-24
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 1108580572

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Recent neuroscience research makes it clear that human biology is cultural biology - we develop and live our lives in socially constructed worlds that vary widely in their structure values, and institutions. This integrative volume brings together interdisciplinary perspectives from the human, social, and biological sciences to explore culture, mind, and brain interactions and their impact on personal and societal issues. Contributors provide a fresh look at emerging concepts, models, and applications of the co-constitution of culture, mind, and brain. Chapters survey the latest theoretical and methodological insights alongside the challenges in this area, and describe how these new ideas are being applied in the sciences, humanities, arts, mental health, and everyday life. Readers will gain new appreciation of the ways in which our unique biology and cultural diversity shape behavior and experience, and our ongoing adaptation to a constantly changing world.

Author : D. P. Martinez
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 12,45 MB
Release : 2013-02-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1134818548

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Japan is one of the most urbanised and industrialised countries in the world. Yet the Japanese continue to practise a variety of religious rituals and ceremonies despite the high-tech, highly regimented nature of Japanese society. Ceremony and Ritual in Japan focuses on the traditional and religious aspects of Japanese society from an anthropological perspective, presenting new material and making cross-cultural comparisons. The chapters in this collection cover topics as diverse as funerals and mourning, sweeping, women's roles in ritual, the division of ceremonial foods into bitter and sweet, the history of a shrine, the playing of games, the exchange of towels and the relationship between ceremony and the workplace. The book provides an overview of the meaning of tradition, and looks at the way in which new ceremonies have sprung up in changing circumstances, while old ones have been preserved, or have developed new meanings.

Author : David Bryce Yaden
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 19,9 MB
Release : 2020-02-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 3030279537

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This book codifies, describes, and contextualizes group rituals and individual practices from world religious traditions. At the interface of religious studies, psychology, and medicine, it elucidates the cultural richness of practices and rituals from numerous world religions. The book begins by discussing the role that religious rituals and practices may play in the well-being of humans and the multi-dimensional cultural and psychological complexity of religious rituals and practices. It then discusses rituals and practices within a number of religions, including Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, Hindu, Confucian, and other traditions. There is a need for a more inclusive collection of religious rituals and practices, as some practices are making headlines in contemporary society. Mindfulness is one of the fastest-growing psychological interventions in healthcare and Yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people in the U.S.A. These practices have been examined in thousands of academic publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, medicine, sociology, and religious studies. While Mindfulness and Yoga have recently received widespread scientific and cultural attention, many rituals and practices from world religious traditions have remained underexplored in scholarly, scientific, and clinical contexts. This book brings more diverse rituals and practices into this academic discourse while providing a reference guide for clinicians and students of the topic.

Author : Jacob K. Olupona
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 12,59 MB
Release : 2014
Category : History
ISBN : 0199790582

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This book connects traditional religions to the thriving religious activity in Africa today.

Author : Michael Bjerknes Aune
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 45,98 MB
Release : 1996-01-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780791428252

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Examines particular rituals (social and religious) as a special kind of cultural performance or interaction in a wide variety of traditions and locations.

Author : Colin Renfrew
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 355 pages
File Size : 45,39 MB
Release : 2018
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 110714356X

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This book presents unique new insights into the development of human ritual and society through our heritage of play and performance.

Author : Robert Bocock
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 37,18 MB
Release : 2020-01-10
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1000026892

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Originally published in 1974, Ritual in Industrial Society is based on several years’ research including interviews and observations into the importance of ritual in industrial society within modern Britain. The book addresses how identity and meaning for people of all occupations and social classes can be derived through rituals and provides an expansive and diverse examination of how rituals are used in society, including in birth, marriage and death. The book offers an examination into the use of symbolic action in the body to articulate experiences which words cannot adequately handle and suggests that this enables modern men and women to overcome the mind-body splits which characterise modern technological society. In addition to this, the book examines ritual as a tool for articulating and sharing religious experiences, a point often overlooked by more intellectual approaches to religion in sociology. In addition to this, the book covers an exploration into ritual in social groups and how this is used to develop a sense of belonging among members. The book will be of interest to sociologists as well as academics of religion and theology, social workers and psychotherapists.