Modern Rites of Passage

According to many scholars, such as Mircae Eliade, human beings can be described as creatures of religion and ritual. The appearance of ritual across the globe is one of the prevalent aspects of humanity that transcends all political, social, cultural and geographical differences. While ritual itself has many forms, one of the most regnant aspect is that of the Rite of Passage. This paper will examine rites of passage as defined by the anthropologist Victor Turner through examples of two modern Canadian rituals; the graduation from high school and the completion of undergraduate studies. From the sequences of the rites of passage to the modern examples of such, Canadian culture has proven itself to be full of ritualistic rites.

Cultures the world over have a variety of rituals that each use to find order and clarity. Ritual can be defined as a "a sequence of symbolic activities...closely connected to a specific set of ideas that are often encoded in myth". It is a significant action or sequence of actions that is repeatable and recognized by the society as a ritual. While ritual itself can be broken down into many different typologies spanning from cycles of natures and seasons to devotional rituals, one of the most important and widespread rituals is the rite of passage. A rite of passage is a life cycle rite which involves a community. They are highly symbolic, functional and meaningful rituals that are important to all cultures. They are the ritual in which "one or more members of a society are ritually transformed from one kind of social person into another". They are generally initiation rituals for adulthood, but can also be marriages, births and funerals. The anthropologist Victor Turner studied rites ...

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...tes of Passage affect all people in all cultures at one point or another. By following the aforementioned model presented by Victor Turner involving the three stages of separation, transition and reaggregation, it is demonstrated that even in modern Canadian culture there are many examples of these rites. Whether it be a matter of the life cycle, or even obtaining a new level of education, ritual exists in every life as a personal and meaningful rite of passage.

Bibliography:

1. Interpreting the Sacred. William E. Paden, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), p 69-71.

Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology, Robert 2. K. Lavenda and Emily A. Schultz, (United States of America: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003)

3. Religion and Worldview: Myth, Lecture, Dr. Scott Clark, February 7, 2003. HUMS 1005