Ritual in Human Evolution and Religion

Psychological and Ritual Resources
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-0-367-85691-5
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 174 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 412 g

This book explores the role of ritual in social life, human evolution, and religion. It explains the functions and purpose of varied rituals across the world by arguing they are mechanisms of ‘resource management’, providing a descriptive tool for understanding rituals and generating predictions about ritual survival.

By showing how rituals have resulted from the need to cultivate social resources necessary to sustain cooperative groups, Rossano presents a unique examination of the function of rituals and how they cultivate, mobilize, and direct psychological resources. Rossano examines rituals from a diverse range of historical contexts, including the Greco-Romans, Soviet Russians, and those in ‘crisis cults’. The book shows how rituals address societal and community problems by cultivating three psychological resources – commitment to communal values, goodwill (both of humans and supernatural agents) and social support or social capital. Holding communities together in the face of threat, disaster, or apathy is one of ritual’s primary functions, and the author describes how our ancestors used ritual to become the highly social, inter-dependent primate that is Homo sapiens.

Including examples from all over the world and providing detailed descriptions of both past and current ritual practices, this is fascinating reading for students and academics in psychology, sociology, religion, anthropology, and sociology.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rossano, Matt J.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus Buddhismus: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus Hinduismus: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Forschungsmethoden
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Entwicklungspsychologie Kinder- und Jugendpsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Gebet & liturgisches Material
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie Christliches Leben & Praxis
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Angewandte Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Sozialpsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie Liturgik, Christliche Anbetung, Sakramente, Rituale, Feiertage
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Gottesdienst, Riten und Zeremonien
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychotherapie / Klinische Psychologie Psychopathologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Leben & Praxis

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Chapter 1: Psych of Ritual

Chapter 2: Ritual Management

Chapter 3: Work of Rituals

Chapter 4: Arch of Ritual

Chapter 5: Hunter-gatherer Rituals

Chapter 6: Civilized Rituals

Chapter 7: Lifecycle Rituals

Chapter 8: Soviet Rituals

Chapter 9: Rituals of Desperation

Über Autor(innen)

Matt J. Rossano is Professor of Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University and a well-known authority on the evolution of ritual and religion. He earned his doctorate in Psychology in 1991 from the University of California at Riverside. He is an evolutionary psychologist who has authored or co-authored dozens of scholarly papers, book chapters, commentaries, and reviews.