This panel explores a variety of sociological approaches to ritual theory and practice. The first paper analyzes interviews with members who voted to approve women's ordination within the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) to determine that this shift came about as a result of experiences of ritual and relationships with authority. The second paper provides results from the multi-sited, mixed-methods Young People and Christian Worship (YPCW) study, focusing on a taxonomy and practices of young ritual participants. The third paper relies on a survey and interviews with Japanese Buddhist monks from diverse sects to examine their varied responses to contemporary mindfulness programs, showing concerns about adaptation to secular Western contexts. The final paper utilizes extensive ethnographic research into Rick Steves' group tours, as well as his books and broadcast media, to show the benefits of applying social performance theory in analyzing ritual action.
Our study draws upon 66 first-person accounts of women and men in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) who, only months after the denomination approved women’s ordination in 1984, reflected on how they came to support women’s ordination. The majority of these individuals were either neutral or opposed to women’s ordination before the 1984 conference. How then did they come to support women’s ordination? Ultimately, we argue that support for women’s ordination in the RLDS Church did not simply reflect how individuals wanted to position themselves in relation to ecumenical partners and the great project of “modernity,” as Mark Chaves might suggest, but that the experiences of ritual and its power to shape people after the fact, as described by Molly Farneth, and relationships with authority, as explained by Craig Harline, were key to individual church members changing their minds about women’s ordination.
The Young People and Christian Worship study listens deeply to how young people, including teenagers and emerging adults (aged 13-29), experience public Christian ritual in a range of liturgical expressions—Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical, and charismatic. This binational, multisite, mixed methods research is situated at the intersection of sociology of religion, ritual studies, and liturgical theology. Research at six field sites included focus groups (185 participants), individual interviews (69 participants), and participant observation (29 days), and is complemented by a survey (1000 respondents). This paper is focused on challenging transactional approaches to ritual and young people through (1) a robust description of the diversity of ways young people experience ritual, and (2) a clear conception of the formation of young people within distinct traditions. Attention to these dynamics frees young people to experience and value diverse dimensions of Christian ritual and illuminates what ritual is meaning and doing today.
This study examines the response of Japanese Buddhist monks to contemporary mindfulness programs, which have roots in Buddhist traditions but have evolved into secular practices in the West. While mindfulness has gained traction in Japan, the response among monks varies. Some reject its Western interpretations as distortions of Buddhist meditation, while others acknowledge its potential benefits, particularly in alleviating suffering. Concerns are raised regarding the lack of a holistic perspective in these programs, the failure to address underlying issues, and insufficient support for individuals facing challenges during practice. The research involves a questionnaire survey and interviews with Japanese monks from diverse sects to capture both vocal and non-vocal perspectives on mindfulness. The anticipated outcome is to highlight common concerns about the adaptation of mindfulness in Western contexts and its perceived impact on Buddhist philosophy, ultimately contributing to the ongoing dialogue about the intersection of traditional Buddhist practices and modern mindfulness.
Keywords: Mindfulness, Japan, Buddhism, monks, meditation
Over the last twenty years, challenges have been waged at the viability of ritual to capture the complexities and indeterminacies of late modern life: how can we prioritize symbolic meanings of the sacred and profane in analysis while also capturing interpretive agency and contingency? The analytic framework of social performance is a robust solution. I argue that social performance analysis is a valuable approach for scholars of religion, given the framework’s sensitivity to meaning, aesthetics, and audience agency in powering ritual action as well as the ways in which power—both material and symbolic—empowers and constrains ritual action. This framework also doubles as a strong methodological advocate for the importance of studying religion, given the ways it illuminates moral frameworks that undergird seemingly secular spaces. This paper explores these conceptual affordances through a multi-method qualitative study of American travel writer, PBS host, and Lutheran philanthropist Rick Steves.