Category: Reflections

In Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of Religious Life, he concludes the first chapter “Definition of Religious Phenomenon and of Religion”, saying that “religion should be an eminently collective thing”. He comes to this conclusion arguing about the concept of ritual and belief,  sacred and profane, and magic and religion. For him the defining  mark of religious [...]

A religion is: 1.a system of symbols which acts to 2. establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by 3. formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and 4. clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that 5. the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. Clifford Geertz In the [...]

Religious rituals and secular rituals are two terms, which are confusing to define and understand their meanings at times. Religious rituals have symbolic value attached to them that are normally prescribed by a religion. Whereas, secular rituals are the actions that are performed in a communal custom. “Secular Ritual: Forms and Meanings,” is an introduction [...]