Role of Rituals in Various Religions

INTRODUCTION

Religion can be defined as a revolutionary urge, which can better be explained as any kind of belief involving the reception of a sanctified, transempirical monarchy and a type of behavior that is particularly designed to reflect one’s effective relationship with monarchy. In every religion, there are different kinds of rituals that are required to be followed as sacrament and hence the study provides a brief idea of a ritual from each religion, emphasizing upon its essence (Crawford, 2). 

Thesis Statement. Each religion has specific ritual that is followed or is observed with different perspective by individuals. These rituals, in each religion hold an essence and have importance in their own way. 

DISCUSSION 

The world comprises different religions, having different set of beliefs, assumptions and rituals, enacting past incidents that are particularly related to faith. In Hinduism, rituals are mostly important in tantric and devotional Hinduism because it is assumed to be the process, in which the spiritual world is connected. The most common ritual in this religion is the after-death ritual. In this context, it is believed that in case this ritual is not adhered appropriately, the soul is not able to locate peace (Crawford, 35). The different religion has different rituals in this instance. The Buddhists follow a series of rituals but the most common is ‘going for refuge’, which is the most important ritual that connects an individual to the Dharma. The essence of this ritual has become prominent because it is probably one of the oldest rituals practiced by the Buddhists all round the globe (Fronsdal, “Rituals in Buddhism”).

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The Confucianism regions have several rituals related to ‘Li’, which is referred as a type of behavior that one needs to do in certain situation. One of the most common rituals is ‘honor the ancestors’, in which Confucians support ancestor worship by simply burning the paper money and by offering food on 5th of April as a sign of respect given to the deceased (Net Industries and its Licensors, “Confucianism – Stages and Rituals of Life Transformation”). However, the religion Islam is not an exception to these rituals. They have a common ritual followed in their ‘Muslim birth rites’, as per which a newly born is provided with something sweet. The essence of this ritual is that it is regarded as a source of blessing and peace for the baby by Allah (BBC, “Muslim birth rites”). The essence of each ritual can better be understood by their meanings or by the intention, for which they are followed. For instance, in Christianity, the rituals are followed as devotion towards Lord Jesus because they believe that true Christianity can only be derived from appropriate understanding of Bible (Got Questions Ministries, “Are there supposed to be any rituals in Christianity?”). The most common and essential ritual in this religion is confirmation, which is referred as a sacrament practiced by Christian denominations. The essence of this ritual within this religion is deep because it implies strengthening an individual’s relationship with the supernatural being (BBC, “Sacrament of confirmation”). 

CONCLUSIONS

Ritual is an important aspect in every religion and the only difference that can be observed among all the religion regarding the existence of rituals is that for some, these rituals are more important than the others. Hence, it can be inferred that while defining any religion it is important to consider the ritual dimensions. However, it is observed that each ritual in some way or the other is deeply associated with one’s God, for which adherence to such ritual has become highly important. 

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