Among the comments that we received about the recent series of DMs on ritual, two critiques caught my attention in particular: (1) Ritual for ritual’s sake is meaningless, and (2) What matters is social action, not ritual action. These are the two most classical modern criticisms of ritual. They make sense to me up to a certain point. I wholeheartedly agree that a ritual that is not conducive to social engagement, that does not energize the prophet in each of us, is a dead ritual.
However, these two criticisms do not get to the heart of the matter. The modern vision of ritual action as nothing more than inane repetition of gestures (Freud), or as a sacred smokescreen for the oppression of people through religious ideology (Marx) is fundamentally wrongheaded. Such vision was helpful, to an extent, for alerting people to the fact that some rituals are inane repetitions of gestures, or they are tools to keep the people quiet and subservient. But to take these definitions beyond their deconstructive meaning, that is, to take them as a positive definition of what the ritual is and what it means, is very problematic. I am convinced that people espousing such positions today have probably never been exposed to a real ritual — in the sense that we have defined in the present DM series on the topic.
Modernity has been the era in which individuals have seen their individual rights formally recognized, but it is also the era in which the sense of community has been progressively eroded. Being anti-modern would mean disallowing the social consciousness — enshrined in laws — which honors the rights of the individual to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… but also to healthcare, education, and true equal opportunities. Being post-modern, instead, might mean to keep the modern social consciousness about individual rights, while also overcoming it dialectically.
We need, in fact, to rediscover the sense of community, otherwise we are dead as a species.
Ritual is, by definition, a communal activity. It can also be engaged by oneself, but in such a case the community is felt by the individual in one way or another: as the presence of the ancestors or the absentees or as the presence of trees and animals. Even the most individual rite is celebrated within a cosmic frame. And even the most individual rite derives its meaning from its full form, the communal one.
Defining as “ritual” an individual action such as sipping a cup of coffee on one’s porch at dawn is not a misnomer: it is an implicit recognition of the deep need for rituals. And… do you ever consider how many people do the same thing at the same time of the day? Is that not a celebrating community?
Recovering ritual in a conscious way means acknowledging its power, which has been taken away from people both by its misuse — manipulating the sacred is always lucrative — and by the mistaken assumptions of modernity — that is, the conviction that ritual is at best useless and in most cases deleterious. True ritual is about community power, is the most powerful way for a community and for the individuals who make it up to experience the depth of their dignity, the value of their suffering, the magnificence of their creativity, and the importance of making significant changes in the world.
Ritual is not about dogmas and is not very effective in conveying them. It has been exploited to such purposes, because of its emotional appeal. The Baroque mass with all its scenography and music was a powerful tool, but I question its effectiveness, as it was followed historically by the French Revolution, which toppled the Catholic Church.
Modernity was the era of the rigidity of dogmas: religious, scientific, and political. Post-modernity may become the era of the pliability of dogmas, given back into the hands of communities, and therefore the era of rituals. They are not the place where truths are discovered or elaborated; but they are one of the most relevant places where truths are experienced viscerally. For example, that there is compassion in the universe — beyond our need for it or our intention to exercise it — is something very difficult to demonstrate solely with reason, but it is an immediate experience within a true ritual.
All of this makes spirituality collective, and this in a sense makes spirituality religious. But it is not any specific religion either. Which raises the question of the relevance of distinct religious traditions, and the value of my own to me.
Banner image: “Jumping the fire” is a tradition in rituals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Here, people jump the fire in Tehran, in 2015, during a celebration of Chaharshanbe Suri. It is celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. It is a ritual of purification and renewal and is of ancient Zoroastrian origin. Photo by Tasnim News Agency. Wikipedia, Creative Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Is there anything in this meditation that represents a point of novelty in your thinking about ritual and dogma? How much have you been shaped by modernity in your thinking about these matters?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Creativity: Where the Divine and Human Meet
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality
6 thoughts on “Why Ritual?”
Ritual for its own sake does have value. The transubstantiation of the elements of the Mass is of value (as a rabbi, I concede it is not my ritual, but I recognize its value to those whose ritual it is) in establishing or strengthening a Catholic’s connection with the Divine. But engagement with the ritual must be real, not simply “going through the motions.” That was the issue with the Baroque mass’s being followed by the French Revolution. The Mass was not longer a meaningful ritual. It had become mere entertainment; the congregants came to watch the show, not to “do this in memory of Me.” All our faith traditions have rituals which seem empty to those (like Freud) looking in from the outside. They do not become empty when they fail to lead to “social engagement” or to “engaging the prophet”; not everyone will be ready for that. Just making the “G*d-connection” is of value in itself. The emptiness comes when those attending the ritual fail to connect with the Divine.
Thank you Gianluigi for inserting the clear definition of Ritual by Sarah Kerr. Reading “religiously” this on-line daily meditation is my first ritual every morning, followed, by a period of introspection of the feelings, sensations and thoughts that arise during that reading. Summing up the experience in a few lines and deciding whether to share that summary is the closing phase of that ritual. If I adopt Sarah Kerr’s definition of Ritual, most of my daily interactions being colored by gratitude, my days are a string of rituals. However, I am sorry to say that the community cemented by these rituals is mostly made of minerals, plants and wildlife. The disconnect between humans and the Earth is so painful to watch in most human circles that I limit my “in person” participation in human community rituals to a few shared meals weekly and selected healing circles for the Earth every now and then. I am most grateful for this DM community and for the technology that makes it possible despite the mixed feelings I have towards the widespread misuse of technology. I am so worried that Teilhard de Chardin’s vision of an “ultra-human” community entirely regulated by technology may become reality.
Yes, today’s DM helps me understand the deeper meaning of ritual as any personal or communal actions or gestures (as simple as our current breathing) that are Faithfully and meaningfully taken to increase Our awareness/consciousness that We’re All interconnected in Our Loving Diverse Oneness in Our Beautiful Co-Creation Living/Evolving Sacred Cosmos, including All physical/nonphysical spiritual dimensions and beings, in the Sacred Process of the Eternal Present Moment….
I have been engaged in personal and communal rituals for many years. They have a unique place in our family gatherings and bring a depth and meaning to time spent with friends. In my book, Ritual Well, I talk about the way our rituals enable us to embody the spiritual world through this physical universe. This seems like what this article is examining. Thank you for such a thoughtful article.
Ritual is actually quite a broad subject. And it’s far more secular than we realize. The term is most often used to conjure up religious ceremony. It’s further often used to deceive some formal process some partakes in “ritualistically”. We say, “ah , that’s her little morning ritual.” But we would do well to remember that ritual is what holds society together. And it’s more than graduation ceremonies, and not quite as esoteric and primal as initiation rites. Saying “please” and “thank you” are rituals. Why do we say these things? Rather, why do we perform this ritual? Ritual is the medium for a shared subjunctive world that we humans can exist in, separate from, and more perfect than, the natural world of unremitted chaos. Notice the difference when you ask someone to “Would you close that door, please?” versus “Close that door.” You’ll quickly realize the two worlds you move between with and without that ritual.
It is in ritual, particularly the cosmic mass, and in creating ritual with others that is meaningful to us, that gives me energy & direction for social action.