Psychological & Social Functions of the Ritual or Ceremony
- Rituals and ceremonies can help ease a person's transition into a new role, or identity, in society. For example, in most cultures, special rituals accompany coming of age, marriage and death. Taking on a new role can be difficult for both the person directly experiencing the transition and the friends and relatives that the transition affects. Rituals offer a way for people to share the emotional experience of such changes. For example, it is common for many people to cry at weddings -- the bride and groom, their parents, even their friends -- because the changes the marriage ceremony represents evoke a complex emotional response.
- Members of most societies must adhere to a system of social hierarchy. Though members of a community have different roles, and differing levels of prominence, it is important that they perceive a common bond in order for the community to remain intact. Partaking in rituals, such as celebrations, reinforces the bond that holds the community together.
- Rituals can serve to reinforce the perception of what behaviors are acceptable or not acceptable in a given community. For example, courtroom proceedings are a type of ritual, which make clear to the community when an individual has broken a rule or committed an unacceptable behavior. The public condemnation that occurs with legal proceedings serves as a reminder of what behaviors are expected in a particular community. Such rituals reinforce a society's behavioral norms.
- Rituals, particularly religious ceremonies, can explain the relationship between the divine realm and the profane realm. The divine realm refers to the realm beyond time and space. The profane refers to earthly life, and all things physically observable. The concept of heaven and hell deals with the divine realm. Daily habits and actions are part of the profane realm. Rituals often serve to explain a particular community's view of how humans came to be part of the profane realm. In most religions, there exists a narrative explaining that humans originated in the divine realm.