Religious Quest

Intention and Ritual

God cares about the little things, He cares about the sacrifices His people make as long as their mind is set on the things of Him. Communion is the enactment of the Lord’s Supper, which is done in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made for the purification and reconnection of His people to God. It is true that the mere act of doing the ritual is not religious (3) but it is made religious in its intention. Similarly, fasting without intention can be termed starvation. How does this line of thought stem to fasting being useless? Fasting does have significance; (4) despite a sample of culturally dependent people who automatically equate such rituals to ancestors and bylaws of their society, .It is invalid to project that for the most part people do not understand the actions they do. Society needs rituals to associate with significant events in a religion’s history, to emphasize their need to be kept separate from the profane.

Does a lack of appreciation in the presupposed sense of a ritual deem it unreligious? Religion has its degree of grey areas. It is left to interpretation and intention. When we practice these rituals, are we doing this for the sake of doing them, are we doing them for tradition, and are we doing them because it is based on society or perhaps it is purely an expression of the passion derived from Enlightenment. Is that not how many of the newer religions were formed, by personal enlightenment in relation to older religions?

Through Ehrlich’s spiritual quest, we observe that (5) although there is a sense of having a kosher kitchen for its own sake (6), she also tries to conjure a correlation between God and cooking. Ehrlich has a clear yearning for spirituality(7) however she lacks a connection to a spiritual being(“something is missing”).She is searching for a deeper meaning as to why she continually follows these specific rules(9).

In assuming that reflection on such a spiritual being is necessary, Staal has distinguished that a supernatural force has to be part of religion. In an instance when there is no such being, is it (a thoughtless action) then a ritual?

References:

Durkheim