What Is Ritual?

1. What is ritual?  What is ritualization?  

Ritual is habitual action that can be categorized as formal (proscribed, rigid navigation of relationships, generally power relationships), functional (navigating life passages like marriage or death), or symbolic (pointing to greater, more ultimate meaning); Grimes articulates ranges of ritual from habitual to celebratory.  Ritualization is imbuing ordinary objects or actions with symbolic and ultimate meanings.  While ritual can take many forms and can be distinguished from “habit” by a seeming 6th sense, ritualization can be navigated and broken down in counter-cultural ways that can redeem hegemonies.  Catherine Bell challenges us to use ritualization to break down the lenses through which we view many rituals as well as challenge the ways we perceive and navigate the world.