Ritual

A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally associated with gestures, words, or revered objects, rituals also occur in non-human species, such as elephant mourning or corvid object-leaving. They may be prescribed by tradition, including religious practices, and are often characterized by formalism, traditionalism, rule-governance, and performance.
Rituals are a feature of all known human societies. They include not only the <a href="/facts/Worship/Y9CGUlEd">worship</a> rites and <a href="/facts/Sacrament/lsvsJW66">sacraments</a> of organized religions and <a href="/facts/Cult/PHvIWkYy">cults</a>, but also <a href="/facts/Rites_of_passage/GbQjNoee">rites of passage</a>, atonement and <a href="/facts/Ritual_purification/m0QPWCBj">purification rites</a>, <a href="/facts/Oaths_of_allegiance/yzE1E1Xj">oaths of allegiance</a>, dedication ceremonies, <a href="/facts/Coronation/DgYPDQSE">coronations</a> and presidential <a href="/facts/Inauguration/bpwIetfn">inaugurations</a>, marriages, funerals and more. Even common actions like <a href="/facts/Handshake/JRanz05P">hand-shaking</a> and saying "<a href="/facts/Hello/KfzIN6zp">hello</a>" may be termed as rituals.
The field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis is that a ritual is an outsider's or "<a href="/facts/Emic_and_etic/00lCf8PT">etic</a>" category for a set activity (or set of actions) that, to the outsider, seems irrational, non-contiguous, or illogical. The term can be used also by the insider or "<a href="/facts/Emic_and_etic/00lCf8PT">emic</a>" performer as an acknowledgement that this activity can be seen as such by the uninitiated onlooker.

In <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychology</a>, the term ritual is sometimes used in a technical sense for a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize or prevent anxiety; it can be a symptom of <a href="/facts/Obsessive%25E2%2580%2593compulsive_disorder/bIhDh4dz">obsessive–compulsive disorder</a> but obsessive-compulsive ritualistic behaviors are generally isolated activities.

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Ritual