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Cited by 2,295Study and Philosophy of ReligionViolence, Religion, and PhilosophyReligion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity

Rappaport, Roy A.·1999·Cambridge University Press eBooks
DOI 10.1017/cbo9780511814686
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Abstract

Roy Rappaport argues that religion is central to the continuing evolution of life, although it has been been displaced from its original position of intellectual authority by the rise of modern science. His book, which could be construed as in some degree religious as well as about religion, insists that religion can and must be reconciled with science. Combining adaptive and cognitive approaches to the study of humankind, he mounts a comprehensive analysis of religion's evolutionary significance, seeing it as co-extensive with the invention of language and hence of culture as we know it. At the same time he assembles the fullest study yet of religion's main component, ritual, which constructs the conceptions which we take to be religious and has been central in the making of humanity's adaptation. The text amounts to a manual for effective ritual, illustrated by examples drawn from anthropology, history, philosophy, comparative religion, and elsewhere.

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  • Rituals tend to be invariable in their performance, unlike habits or routines.

    “In contrast to habits or routines, which may change each time they are performed, rituals tend to be invariable in their performance (Rappaport, 1999;Smith & Stewart, 2011).”

    From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Rappaport, 1999

  • As long as a shared ritual remains a fixed set of sequences done in the exact same way as previous instances, the properties of the ritual experience encoded and later retrieved will remain relatively unchanged.

    “As long as a shared ritual remains a fixed set of sequences, done in the exact same way as in previous instances (Rappaport, 1999), then the properties of the ritual experience that are encoded (and later retrieved) will remain relatively unchanged.”

    From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Rappaport, 1999

  • Ritual forms one of the key mechanisms of cultural change, including change toward social complexity.

    “Vestiges of communal ceremonies are often the most visible aspects of the archaeological record, and ritual forms one of the key mechanisms of cultural change (Bell 1997;Rappaport 1999), including change toward social complexity (Aldenfelder 1993).”

    From The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation (2016) · cites this paper as Rappaport 1999

  • If a new sociocultural or material influence challenges agreed-upon truths, they will either be imperceptibly modified or de-sanctified through ritual practice.

    “If a new sociocultural or material influence were to challenge agreed-upon truths, they will either be imperceptibly modified or de-sanctified through ritual practice.”

    From Sleep, Dreaming, and the Imagination: Psychosocial Adaptations to an Ever-Changing World (2013) · cites this paper as Rappaport (1999:429-430)

  • Rituals serve to sanctify and re-sanctify agreed-upon truths that are conducive to established sociocultural notions and material circumstances.

    “Through a process Rappaport (1999:429-430) refers to as ''the cybernetics of the Holy,'' rituals serve to sanctify and re-sanctify (affirm as unquestionable) agreed-upon truths that are conducive to established sociocultural notions and material circumstances.”

    From Sleep, Dreaming, and the Imagination: Psychosocial Adaptations to an Ever-Changing World (2013) · cites this paper as Rappaport (1999:429-430)

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Authors
Rappaport, R. A.
Venue
Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
1999-03-25
DOI
10.1017/cbo9780511814686
OpenAlex
W2102217571
Cited by
2,295
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 100 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 88 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 147 · 2020: 137 · 2019: 127 · 2018: 157 · 2017: 140 · 2016: 94 · 2015: 86 · 2014: 97 · 2013: 79 · 2012: 102
FWCI
99.97
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 4821 d)
Locations
Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Violence, Religion, and Philosophy
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Keywords
religion, ritual, evolution of religion, science and religion, language invention, culture, human adaptation, Roy Rappaport

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