Religious Ritual and Dissociation

Richard Sosis’ article in American Scientist begins with his search for a rational explanation of religious ritual; his initial example was of people wearing clothes that are not suited to the high temperature climate that caused him to see the behavior as irrational and linked to religious tradition. The view that “many religious acts appear peculiar to the outsider” is one that could be extended to many other aspects of human interactions when in a group.

At school, we all agree to certain roles and rules of behavior; being a social animal requires us to know and abide by the rules of group interaction. We shake hands when we greet people, we stand and pledge allegiance to a piece of cloth (daily in many cases); we observe peculiar practices in most social situations to show that we understand the rules of the group and want to be accepted.

Religious practices are often more intense, rigid and regulated than those of social practices, however, there are penalties for not observing social practices just as there are for not observing religious practices.

Sosis also poses the question, “Why do religious beliefs, practices and institutions continue to be an essential part of human social life?” The whole concept here is the social aspect of human nature or the social aspect of the umbworld. We are not solitary chimps in the forest/jungle. We need and seek out the company of others; and when we gather, we create hierarchies: a leader emerges, subordinates follow, and rules are imposed, (to greater and lesser degrees).

Religion has grown out of our folk knowledge, out of our group explanations of the how’s and why’s of the umbworld. It imbues objects, stories, practices and persons with a level of importance to the group we call sacred. The acceptance, community, support network, friendship, and kinship that develops from being included in a group is reinforced by members adherence to what the group considers important/sacred. Denial or ambivalence to the sacred aspects of the group shifts that person from a member to an outsider. Thus, the group has relevance to those who are invested in it.

Dissociation is the feeling of being distinct or unconnected, or being regarded as separate from a group, unconnected from a group. In a study called “Religious Ritual and Dissociation in India and Australia,” researchers claim that India is considered one of the most religious countries in the world. The study participants of Indian descent were found to have significantly high feelings of dissociation when studying/working in Australia. This was attributed to the absence of religious ritual in their communities abroad. The study also found that: “Approximately 70% of India's population is Hindu, and although religious practice among Hindus has declined somewhat in recent years, it cannot be compared with the more rapid decline in religious practices in Western countries (Hiltebeitel,1987). Saha (1993) states that Hinduism has not been strongly influenced by modern science because it has "accorded a place" (p.65) for science in its belief system.”

Sosis sites a study by Iannaccone where, “the most demanding groups also have the greatest number of committed members. He (Iannaccone) found that the more distinct a religious group was – how much the group’s lifestyle differed from mainstream America – the higher its attendance rates at services.” This lends some credence to the theory that religious ritual reinforces a sense of belonging and membership to a group; and absence of ritual increases the sense of dissociation.

Works Cited:

Sosis, Richard "The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual." American Scientist 92.2 (2004): 166-172.

Dorahy, Martin J., and Pramod Kumar "Religious ritual and dissociation in India and Australia." Journal of Psychology 131.5 (1997): 471.