Religious Ritual Practices Across Major World Religions

Introduction to Religious Ritual

Regardless of where it is practiced, nearly every religion in today's modern world contains some form of ritual. These are usually referred to as ceremonial actions that are "repetitive in nature and which people perform as a part of their religious behavior" (Swift, 34). This is very closely linked to worship, which suggests that there is a divine being or beings who deserve to be worshipped. However, not all religions worship divine beings, although they do participate in other rituals. Religious rituals almost always involve some kind of worship mixed in with prayer, chanting, meditation, the lighting of candles, pilgrimages, and the devotional reading of religious books like the Holy Bible and the Quran. Some religious rituals are held in public places, while others are performed by individuals in a private setting. Thus, regular participation in a religious ritual is often more important than reflecting upon religious beliefs and plays a major role in the lives of those who participate.

Catholic Sacraments and Ritual Practice

In Roman Catholicism, the most important religious ritual is known as the Sacraments — usually called the mass — and involves seven specific sacraments which stand as "signs and symbols by which God acts" upon man and the universe (Harvey, 123). The first of these ritualistic sacraments is baptism, which for Catholics is necessary for personal salvation. Baptism is also held to address the inborn sin found in all human beings simply because they are human. Most Catholics are baptized as babies or children, but when this sacrament is performed on an adult it is often called "the Rite of Christian Initiation, which points to its other function as the ritual of incorporation into the church" (Salomane, 435).

After baptism, another sacrament known as confirmation symbolizes that the baptized person is now an adult in the eyes of the church. Usually, the person being confirmed is anointed on the forehead with oil that has been blessed, to signify the seal of the Holy Spirit. This sacrament is believed to provide the grace necessary to live a mature Christian life within the church. As part of the central act of Catholic worship known as the mass, the liturgy of the Eucharist re-enacts in words and actions Jesus sharing bread and wine with his disciples at the Last Supper.

With the sacrament of the Eucharist, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest speaks the words of consecration — "This is my body, this is my blood" — which symbolically reflects the words that the Gospels record as what Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper (Hall, 218). The most distinctly hierarchical ritual associated with the Catholic faith is the ordination to the priesthood, a ritual which "sets a man apart for the official sacramental ministry of the church" and which gives the priest "the grace required to carry out the demands of his priesthood" (Grissom, 242). Only men are permitted by the Catholic Church to become priests, partly because the sacrament of Holy Orders is a mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles — an apostolic ministry which can only be conferred upon men (Grissom, 242).

Hindu Festivals and Life-Cycle Rites

In Hinduism, as practiced mostly in India, religious ritual is very closely linked to certain festival days on which each god and goddess is celebrated with ritualistic worship at a specific temple dedicated to that deity. Under most circumstances, weekly worship of these gods and goddesses is also held, often fitted into a Sunday morning time period for those individuals who also practice some other form of religious devotion. The priests associated with these temples perform life-cycle rites such as birth rituals, weddings, and funerals for Hindu families. Most practicing Hindus celebrate the five-day festival known as Pancha Ganapati between December 21st and the 25th, similar in spirit to the Christian holiday of Christmas.

This festival is dedicated to Ganesha, "a deity who is revered as a remover of obstacles in a person's daily life." As a way of honoring this deity for his assistance, families may construct a shrine in their private homes and decorate it with pine boughs, ornaments, tinsel, and lights, much like a Christmas tree. Gifts are also placed before this shrine on a daily basis, and on December 25th these gifts are opened with much festivity and celebration (Harvey, 175).

The Five Pillars of Islam as Ritual

One particular world religion that has perhaps the most religious ritual attached to it is Islam, the third of the major Semitic monotheistic religions along with Judaism and Christianity. Islam is most closely affiliated with the people and cultures of the Middle East and is practiced by Muslims, the followers of Allah and the prophet Muhammad. Islam is second only to Christianity in its number of worldwide devotees, and wherever Muslims may live, they are all required to practice very specific rituals known as the Five Pillars of Islam.

The first pillar is based on pure faith and is symbolized through the repetition of the creed known as the Shahadah: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah." Devout Muslims repeat this affirmation of faith on a daily basis, which is meant to "help keep the major principles of their faith at the center of their lives" (Thorson, 140).

The second pillar is prayer five times a day, preceded by ritual cleansing of certain body parts and accompanied by specific ritual actions such as sitting, standing, and prostrating oneself with the forehead touching the floor or the ground. This ritual is always performed while facing east toward the ancient city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the most holy city of Islam. Muslims are also encouraged to repeat these prayers more than is normally required and to add their own personal prayers to those required by their religion. These prayers are said at dawn, mid-day, mid-afternoon, dusk, and at night. By repeating these prayers, Muslims "are kept continually aware of the existence and power of Allah and of the need to submit to him," especially when prayers are said at a mosque, the Islamic place of holy worship (Salomane, 356).

The third pillar is the giving of alms to the needy, though this practice is not generally considered a pure ritual. The fourth pillar, fasting during the month of Ramadan, is quite ritualistic: during the month in which tradition holds that the revelations to Muhammad began, fasting means complete abstention from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual activity from just before sunrise until just after sunset every single day. Some type of meal is consumed immediately before and after the hours of fasting, a ritualistic activity which "helps unite Muslims around the globe, encourages empathy for those who are hungry or lacking in food, and reinforces submission to the will of Allah" (Harvey, 356). This is also a period of increased spiritual awareness and often includes reading and studying the Holy Quran.

The final pillar is known as the hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca — a journey that all Muslims are required to make at least once in their lives, as long as they are physically, mentally, and financially able to do so. This pilgrimage brings Muslims together for a long and demanding series of rituals in and around Mecca, especially at the Grand Mosque and the Kabah, "a large stone building that Muslims believe was built by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael for the worship of Allah" (Hall, 278). Most pilgrims also visit the city of Medina, where Muhammad found protection after being forced to flee from Mecca due to death threats from those who considered him a heathen. After defeating his Meccan enemies, Muhammad made a pilgrimage back to Mecca; the rituals he performed on that occasion now serve as the prototypes for the same rituals carried out by Muslims today.

Conclusion

Religious rituals provide believers and practitioners of the various world religions with meaning, or serve as a way to find meaning in their daily lives as human beings often trapped in chaos and misunderstanding. Overall, religious rituals are the creation of human beings, and the beliefs, lifestyles, and institutions linked to religious rituals are the byproducts of human thought and activity. Religious rituals also help believers comprehend and appreciate things that are seen as holy, sacred, or of the highest human value. As Robert Thorson puts it, religious rituals "reach beyond the individual and the ordinary concerns of day-to-day living and put believers in touch with the sense of great mystery linked to the existence of a higher power" — a power seen as the controller of the universe that can be approached and experienced through religious practices and specific rituals (267).

Bibliography

Grissom, Harold J. "Ritual Practice in American Religious Sects." The Journal of Religion. (April 2006): 239–48.

Hall, Manley P. The Psychology of Religious Ritual. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 2003.

Harvey, Graham. Ritual and Religious Belief. UK: Equinox Publishing, Ltd., 2005.

Salomane, Frank. Encyclopedia of Religious Rights, Rituals and Festivals. New York: Routledge Publishing, 2004.

Swift, Donald C. Religion and the American Experience: A Social and Cultural History, 1765–1996. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharp Publishers, 1997.

Thorson, Robert. "The Power and Influence of Religious Ritual in World Religions." The Journal of Religion. (March 2004): 134–44.