The New Anthropology of Ritual
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jcsr.25039Keywords:
anthropology, culture, interdisciplinarity, morality, Ritual, ritual and costly signals, ritual and religion, ritual behavior, ritual theoryAbstract
Rituals evolve socially over time, become powerful cultural technologies in their communities of practice, and offer several individual and societal benefits, including group cohesion and coordination. It is therefore tempting to consider the power of rituals and how to harness them to address current sociocultural crises. However, as scholars of religion and human rights, we wish to concentrate further on the potential harmful impacts of rituals and attempts (perhaps by policymakers) to harness rituals for some envisioned benefits. In this article, we center our discussion around Dimitris Xygalatas’ new book, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (2022), which raises compelling evidence and methodologies for what we describe as the “new anthropology of ritual” but also intriguing arguments about the power of ritual. We argue that Ritual offers new insights that invite scientists of religion and cultural anthropologists to revisit longstanding debates over dangerous rituals, cultural intervention, and the limits of human rights.
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