Religion as a Secular Ritual - Essay Example

Religion as a Secular Ritual

Secular rituals refer to actions or activities performed daily or on a regular basis. The secular rituals are performed mostly consciously because they are part of the person’s ordinary routines and may be carried out along with other activities. For instance, a person who regularly uses the public means of transport may be said to be engaging in a secular ritual. Thus, secular rituals refer to a formal behavior and may entail all the daily household chores. To some extent, religious activities may be referred to as secular ritual depending on the way it is employed. This essay evaluates religion as a secular ritual in references to the enculturation theory, structuralism theory, and the binary opposition theory. However, it begins with an assessment of an in-depth description of the ritual.

As a Christian by religion, religious rituals have become part of my secular ritual based on the fact that there are so many changes coming into the world. Those changes have benefits to humanity, whereas others threaten the existence of humankind. As a result, I have decided to become a very religious person as I pray to God to save humankind from any elements of destruction. I perform my ritual every day and before I engage in most of my activities. I begin my day by engaging in 30 minutes of worship by thanking God for the gift of life, asking God to guide me all through my daily activities, and at the end of the day, I thank him before I sleep. In case I am engaging in any principal activity, such as traveling, I also pray before beginning my journey. In most of the time before making important decisions, I ask for God's guidance. The decision may entail choosing between taking evening piano and taking the classes during the weekends. Such a decision is not simple because, in the evening, I am required to help my working mom in the household activities; however, most weekends have tight schedules. Thus, it is through God's intervention that I hope to make the best decisions. There are several religious rituals that I engage in among them include the worship rites, purification rights, and many sacraments that are acknowledged by my faith. My religious ritual has been the backbone of all the success I have achieved to date.

Among the three theories highlighted in the introduction, I shall begin by evaluating my religious ritual in regards to the enculturation theory. According to Croucher, “enculturation process as the socialization process of children and newcomers to the norms of their cultural milieu. Enculturation stems from sociological and education research, examining the learning and development patterns of children” (139). Therefore, the enculturation theory refers to the process in which the society beliefs, values, and norms are passed from one generation to the next. More so, newcomers within the society employ this theory of learning the values within the society. Many anthropologists refer to the enculturation to entail cultural internalization and socialization. As a religious ritual, the theory of enculturation is paramount because most of the internal norms, beliefs and values are derived from the religious teachings. Although there are a few elements who still focus on traditional values, presently, most the members of my society are devoted Christians who are greatly dependent on religious teachings in their daily activities. In my case, I mainly refer to the Ten Commandments and the teachings by Jesus Christ in the New Testament about loving my neighbor as I love myself. Therefore, before taking any decision, I must evaluate and decide whether the decision I am making will positively affect the majority or it will only benefit me. This ritual requires the society members to make a decision for the good of all. Therefore, any decision made that injures the majority is against the norm of our community. More so, the children or any visitor coming into our society is required to follow the Christians religious teachings, which form the foundation of the society's culture.

The second theory that I shall consider in regards to the religious ritual is structuralism theory. Structuralism mainly involves the universal patterns existing within the religion as my secular ritual that is universal. Being a Christian by religion, many universal patterns are emanating from my secular ritual, even though the norms are derived from the biblical teachings. Among the major patterns that are universal includes the approach towards the human rights. Most of my religious teachings support the human rights and freedoms that are widely accepted across the world. Christians are obliged to protect the other people because Christian's belief that everyone is created in the image of God and they should love one another. Protecting the human rights is among the principal teaching of Jesus Christ that religion as a ritual adheres to. Although the human rights are not directly mentioned in the Bible, they are referred to through the words righteousness and justice. An example of this approach is where Zechariah passes the word of God to the people that "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor" (The Bible: Authorized King James Version, Zech 7:9-10). That calls for the protection of the foreigners, the windows, the poor, and the orphans. Briefly, God calls for the protection of the rights of the vulnerable groups within the society. Through the concept of loving one another as Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan, and man being created in the image of God, then the religious teachings of love cannot be separated from the human rights that are universal. As a result, some economies use the religious teachings when passing some critical laws or making court rulings. Thus, the Declaration of the Human Rights is a universal pattern that is derived from my religion as my secular ritual. However, it is imperative to acknowledge that there are different approaches in regards to the way the human rights are interpreted across many nations due to the diversity of the populations. Besides endorsement of the human rights, my religion calls for the protection of human rights; therefore, the churches should lobby against the abuse of human rights as a moral authority. The Christian teaching of protection of human rights and the declaration of human rights by the international bodies re universal patterns, although they are emphasized differently. Although all people are created in the image of God being a unifying factor, the humanity is divided into nations.

Lastly, I will explore the binary opposition theory in regards to religion as my secular ritual. Binary opposition refers to some contradictions that are associated with my secular ritual. “Binary opposition is a term which is central to dialectic logic and is widely used in theoretical argument. Binary oppositions provide a way of bringing dynamics and process into theory” (Makaryk 511). It is important to note that I am a Christian professing the Catholic faith. There several religious issues that are controversial and have become very debatable across the world. Some doctrines of the Catholic Church have been controversial and continue to be hotly debated topics across the globe. Among them is the issue of same-sex marriages. According to the religious background, Catholics are against the same-sex marriages because it is against the biblical teachings (Stackhouse). Further, "sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints" (Eph 5:3). Thus, such people who practice same-sex marriages will not inherit the kingdom of God. There exists binary opposition in this secular ritual when one tries to refer to the protection of individual’s rights and freedoms. Does the decision to oppose the same-sex partners fall under such rights or freedoms? Another binary opposition issue is the topic of having women as priests. While the teachings of the Catholic Faith are founded on the equality of humanity, one wonders why women should not be allowed to practice as priests in the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, although other faiths enable women to become pastors and bishops, the justification for Catholic Church is founded on the statement that "I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet" (1 Tim 2:12). Thus, it is only men who are expected to be priests and hold other senior positions in the altar. Based on these two issues, it is evident that my secular ritual stirs some binary opposition.

In conclusion, secular rituals are diverse because they entail the daily activities that one engages. It is obvious through the above analysis that religion is by itself a secular ritual. That has been proven using the three theories, binary opposition, structuralism, and enculturation. All the three theories are distinct. Binary opposition refers to controversies triggered by Catholic Church that include the issues pertaining same-sex marriage and women priests. Enculturation theory entails the manner in which the secular rituals play a fundamental role in the socialization process through defining the norms and values of the society while structuralism involves the universal patterns endorsed by the ritual such as the Declaration of Human Rights.