“Rituals can evoke and enact a sense of the mystery and wonder
of an all-surrounding nature
and of our place and responsibility as human beings within it.”
Donald Crosby
Rituals can be ways of showing and strengthening a commitment to ideals.
Special rules focus attention
and mark the action and what it represents as worthy of respect.
A sense of constancy and connection can come
…..from doing the same thing in the same way every time
…..or in acting in ways that have been done since the distant past.
Many rituals are wholly secular. When done in context with religion, rituals can give reminders of important teachings, or be ways of showing appreciation, or of joining together with others in a group.
They can be ways of re-telling stories or of marking life events – at the birth of a child and at weddings and funerals.
A sampling of ritual practices that have been described by religious naturalists can be found in the links below.
Naturalist rituals (suggestions from Donald Crosby)
Responses to the “Big Story” (creation, emergence of life, evolution)
Appreciation for food
Marking life events (weddings, funerals, births)
Marking cycles of time