Ritual, transformation and developmental nurture in the church

Ritual, transformation and developmental nurture in the church

Michael L Fry

There is a problem in contemporary American culture which introduces us to the process of ritual development in most societies at different points in time. In American history, each cultural group that immigrated to America relinquished some of its cultural differentia in order to become assimilated into the emerging society. In recent generations, there have not been new waves of immigration into America. The larger cultural group has not been able to continue to identify itself in contrast to the incoming groups. As such, it is not just one subgroup of American society facing identity crisis; it is all of American society.

The problem is compounded in that religion in America has become a conservative affair. Religion becomes in authentic when it is not popular and has lost its role as the great equalizer. One of the things religion does for a society is to preserve the rituals of initiation, preservation, and stability for individuals and culture. Any social or psychological crisis may be turned to positive creative use through ritual. These rituals allow for the translation of identity crises into terms of death and rebirth. These rituals empower the enduring of the agony of the crises.
And, the endurance itself becomes the basis of the social and moral structure of society.

Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Mich)

United States

Doctor of Ministry

D.Min. Project

English

1992

281

https://repository.westernsem.edu/xmlui/handle/1866/1611

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