Modern Ritual and Ethics
Photography by Courtney Hergesheimer Figueroa
I perform a ritual most days whether it is making myself coffee, saying a prayer, or a lighting candle to source comfort in my space. Many of us perform rituals without even knowing that we are. Rituals have been passed down through our ancestors, communities, cultures and if you ask someone why they perform a certain ritual, you may get the response, “well this is just what I’ve always done.” How can we perform ritual that often reminds us of our aliveness and connection to being human, but do so in a way that upholds the ethics and tradition behind it?
Richard Sosis, a James Barnett Professor of Humanistic Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, focuses on the evolution of religion and cooperation, with particular interests in ritual, magic, religious cognition, and the dynamics of religious systems. He states “social groups shape the moral institutions of individuals within their communities and depend on cultural forces to fortify these beliefs.” If moral rules are culturally and socially constructed then they depend on the participants perceiving the beliefs as part of nature. How does this happen? It is bound and grounded in ritual.
Rituals structure the lives of communities, groups, and individuals and are significant because they reaffirm the identity of those who practice them either publicly or privately. This world is rich with ceremonies, gatherings, celebrations, initiation rites, traditions, worships, and practices specific to all kinds of events.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson says, “Ritual requires ethics to root it in the human condition to serve human growth and to foster insight. Ethics requires ritual to lend substance to lofty ideals, to remind, on a regular basis, of ethical commitments already made, and to create a community of shared values and high standards. Ritual without ethics becomes cruel. Ethics without ritual becomes hollow.”
Do we need to know the extensive history behind every ritual we perform? My opinion is we do not. However, I believe it is important to honor where the ritual originates, know why we are doing it, and ensure we can explain why we are doing it. If we do this then we are less likely to violate ethics, such as over-harvesting sage for smudge sticks without even knowing the importance of this plant to indigenous cultures. Perhaps we can make the commitment to research the lineage of our rituals whether small or big, but especially if we are offering ritual or ceremony to others. Rituals are the fabric of our world community and we should observe and learn before performing them.
