Religion as “Practice”

Ritual Religion as “Practice”

Religion as Practice • The “practice” of religion, can take many forms • Durkheim: ritual serves as the external expression, of inner belief. • Examples: • Baptism (i.e. mirrors Jesus spiritual awakening) • Fasting (i.e. what Buddha did before enlightenment; Prophet Muhammad did prior to revelation) • Self inflicted pain (i.e. for Shi'ia Muslims, to commemorate the Martyrdom of Husain; Christians to remind humanity of Jesus' suffering)

Religion as Practice • Fritz Staal: for religions outside the Monotheistic Cosmology of J-C-I--- rituals have no textual basis. Rooted in the importance of experience, overbelief.

Religion as Practice • Staal—he also found, that not all ritualists always know why they perform rituals. • For many, there is no logical explanation, except that it produces a feeling, it feels right, or it helps create a sense of order.

Religion as Practice: Function • “Practice”– or ritual– serves many purposes • 1. Helps to create bond between participants; reinforces common identity • 2. Boosts morale • 3. Creates sense of order

Religion as Practice: Function • 4. Creates a link with ancestors, with history (practicing a ritual that has been established for hundreds, or thousands of years) • 5. Creates mystical experience • 6. Marks “rites of passage”, symbolizing transitions in life (childhood to adulthood; single to married; woman to mother, etc)

Religion as Practice: Function • 7. Provides opportunity to express deep, fragile emotions, that are not normally expressed due to rigid social norms: • i.e. Masculinity and crying • i.e. Deep expression of mourning i.e. wailing ritual (North American Aboriginal; Jewish, and Middle East mourning ritual) • i.e. outward expression of romance, flirtation, fear, etc.

Religion as Practice • Examples from your life? • What function do these rituals serve? • Other examples: • Sacraments, prayer, song, dance, astrology, ancestor worship, therapeutics (Reiki, FengShui)

Religion as “Practice”