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The thesis by William H. Jones examines the dual rituals of tevilah (Jewish ritual washing) and Christian baptism, especially in relation to the New Testament and Second Temple periods. The extent of Jewish ritual washing is apparent in the excavations at the Ophel since 1967 with the unearthing of numerous cisterns and mikve 'ot, the immersion vats used in traditional Judaism at that time as a preparation for entrance to the Temple. It also notes variances in the use of mikve'ot at Qumran among the sect living there and at Masada, the final retreat for some of the sect members. Many observant Jews continue to use mikve 'ot today as a purification ritual. Christian baptism developed in this same time period, introduced by John the Baptist as a proclamation of the arrival of the kingdom of God and as a means of introducing the atoning and eschatological work of Jesus. Jewish ritual washing provides both a backdrop and an analogy for Christian baptism, since it uses the same immersion procedure and some of the same language, i.e., "born anew," and "change of status." The differences, however, such as no "agent" in tevilah but clearly an "agent" in Christian baptism suggest that baptism is not an evolution from tevilah but a revolution. Tevilah is self-immersion; baptism requires a baptizer, a clear understanding that the one being baptized cannot cleanse him/herself but relies on the mediator Jesus Christ. Christian baptism implies a believer's identification in the Holy Spirit with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Moreover, it points to the eschatological hope of the completion of the kingdom of God which has come and is coming. / Thesis / Master of Theology (Th.M)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family of origin rituals and young adults' attachment style when controlling for parents' attachment style. The sample consisted of 222 paired young adults and one parent (representing 208 families) from 36 different states. Family of origin rituals were measured using the Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ) and attachment was measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (ECR-R) questionnaire. Results indicated a negative relationship between family of origin ritual meaning and young adult attachment anxiety. Results also indicated that family of origin ritual meaning significantly predicted young adult anxiety after controlling for parent attachment.

yes / The aim of this article is to give an overview of some of the key dimensions of variation in cultural and religious rituals during the immediate period after a death and in the longer term, in order to inform service delivery in multi-cultural societies. For each area we give examples of different customs, and consider their functions and possible impact. Dimensions considered in the immediate period after bereavement are: The time and space given to formal rituals, expression of feelings, assertion of status and disposal of the body. In the longer term, we look at variations in remembering the deceased and in continuing bonds. Throughout we consider the interplay between individual responses and the person¿s cultural and religious context. Our objective is to provide an accessible introduction for practitioners new to working with bereavement and provide a succinct reference point for more experienced bereavement workers. / Full text made available 1st May 2014 at the end of the publisher's embargo period.

No / This study explores the bereavement process and continuing bond in Pakistani Muslims with the focus on how culture and religion influence these processes. Ten participants were interviewed and their transcribed interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three main domains were identified from the narratives expressed by the participants: death and the process of grieving, continuing the link with the deceased, and influencing agents. The findings indicated that Pakistani Muslims maintained their link with the deceased through cultural and religious rituals, such as performing prayers, reciting holy verses, talking and dreaming about the deceased, doing charity, visiting graves, and arranging communal gatherings. The prime purpose of many of these practices was the forgiveness of the deceased. Grief reactions seemed to be determined by the nature of death, prior relationships with the deceased, reaction of society and gender of the bereaved. Religion provided a strong basis for coping and adjustment of the bereaved, through rationalizing and accepting the death. This study has important implications for counselors and family therapists who can use religious affiliations to reduce the impact of loss and complicated bereavement.This study explores the bereavement process and continuing bond in Pakistani Muslims with the focus on how culture and religion influence these processes. Ten participants were interviewed and their transcribed interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three main domains were identified from the narratives expressed by the participants: death and the process of grieving, continuing the link with the deceased, and influencing agents. The findings indicated that Pakistani Muslims maintained their link with the deceased through cultural and religious rituals, such as performing prayers, reciting holy verses, talking and dreaming about the deceased, doing charity, visiting graves, and arranging communal gatherings. The prime purpose of many of these practices was the forgiveness of the deceased. Grief reactions seemed to be determined by the nature of death, prior relationships with the deceased, reaction of society and gender of the bereaved. Religion provided a strong basis for coping and adjustment of the bereaved, through rationalizing and accepting the death. This study has important implications for counselors and family therapists who can use religious affiliations to reduce the impact of loss and complicated bereavement.

<p>[missing page V]</p> / <p>Japanese Esoteric Buddhism is characterized as a tradition with extensive use of complex rituals including elaborate rites of incantations, physical hand gestures, and sophisticated meditation techniques. Central to the performance of Esoteric rites is the invocation of a particular deity (or group of deities) accomplished in part through the use in ritual of an iconographic representation of the diety. One such ritual that epitomizes the Esoteric dynamic of art and ritual is the jūkyūkan, the "Nineteen Visualizations," part of ancient meditation rites performed in order to invoke and manipulate the powers of Fudō Myōō and accomplish the goals of the Esoteric practitioner.</p> <p>Fudō Myōō is one of the most important deities in the Esoteric pantheon whose presence permeated the religious culture of ancient and medieval Japan. In the ancient Heian and medieval Kamakura Periods (794-1185, 1185-1333), Fudō imagery saw great changes. These changes, pointing to a source beyond artistic or local variance, were not only modifications of existing features, but also included additional elements never seen before.</p> <p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine in detail the Nineteen Visualizations as they relate to both the art and ritual of Fudō. The objectives of this study are two: first, this study seeks to illustrate that the changes in Fudō's iconography were a direct result of the emergence of the Nineteen Visualizations in the Heian Period (the thesis of Part One); and second, it attempts to determine how, as a ritual performance, the Nineteen Visualizations provided the basis for these changes in the iconography that persist even today (the thesis of Part Two).</p> <p>This thesis will not only highlight the strong relationship between art and ritual in Esoteric Buddhism, but will also redress the Western treatment of Fudō as primarily an artistic icon. Studies of Fudō in the West have been predominately art historical, largely ignoring Fudo's vast scriptural and ritual dimensions, without which the iconography can never be fully understood.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

The purpose of this study was to identify specific cultural elements within one elementary school to provide information about the school's identity and functioning. These elements included values, beliefs, play, rituals, ceremonies, and cultural objects. Schools are distinct and unique cultures. The culture of each school building drives the daily happenings. The culture either enhances or stifles growth. By creating an awareness of school culture, educators can better understand the meaning of their day to day activities and how their school evolves towards continuous improvement. The aim of interpreting a school culture is thus to understand meaning and symbols as they have been created by the members of the culture (Schultz, 1995). This study uncovered evidence to demonstrate that the awareness of stakeholders of a school's culture influences how the culture works. Interviews, artifact collection, digital photographs, meeting analysis, and fieldnotes from observations comprise the data. The interviews were conducted with educators, staff, and parents to ascertain their perceptions of their culture. Artifacts include documents such as weekly bulletins and meeting agendas that reflect the cultural workings. These focus on personal and social aspects of the culture such a party invitation, which spoke of the members' personal and interpersonal connections. Digital photographs were taken of inanimate objects within the building that visually depicted the values of the culture. Meetings play a key role in cultivating and representing a culture's values and beliefs. Meeting analysis helped to emphasize how this culture made decisions and how the culture structured its daily rhythm. Fieldnotes based on direct observations of meetings an - 3 -d of key events within specific locations in and around the school building were taken. Data sources were analyzed across interconnected themes. These themes explain how the culture worked and why its members did the things they did. This study isolated specific cultural elements, specified the internal relationships among those elements, and then characterized the whole culture based on the current knowledge of the culture. / Ed. D.

The thesis in its first part describes the evolution of rituals in general from the anthropological point of view. The focal topic of the thesis is an attempt to explain the reasons for arising of other non-Christian rituals in the course of history, with special emphasis on rituals of the 2nd half of the 20th century in Czechoslovakia, mainly of the period of the totalitarian regime. The thesis aims to ask about legitimacy of substituting Christian rituals, whether they have been just mere substitution or whether we can regard them as complementary or paralel rituals. Last but not least the thesis inquires into specificity and irreplaceability of Christian rituals. Keywords Secular Rituals, Religious Rituals, Liturgy, Christianity, Comunism.

Beyond simple shopping needs, nowadays consumers are continuously looking for the consumption of new experiences. This contemporary consumer request also unveils inside shopping centers, which as scholars recognize, are shifting functionality towards becoming centers for customer engagement.Following this trend, marketers are continuously looking into new ways to increase offer attractivity and consequently spur customer engagement. Rituals represent a possible new lens to study consumer behaviour inside the mall landscape and disclose new hidden consumers' processes for value creation.By conducting a pre-study with two mall managers, we sensed their perspective of the mall and individuated the challenges of shopping centers future development and new consumer shopping trends. In a second phase, we focused on analysing the consumer perspective and utilization of the mall by observing their shopping rituals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 consumers constituting of both Young Professionals and families.In conclusion, different types of rituals were individualized and analysed. By applying rituals to the shopping behaviour of consumers inside shopping malls yielded several insights that resulted to be useful for managers and a valuable contribution to academic research. The results show that mall visitors consume specific rituals inside shopping malls depending on both the target groups (young professionals or families) of consumers as well as the mall experience type (seductive, functional, interactive museum or social). Young Professionals tended to be more spontaneous and socially oriented. However, families tended to shop for functional reasons and often have a planned script of their shopping ritual that they follow throughout their shopping journey at a shopping mall.

Tracing the treatment of the body before, during and after cremation, this thesis aims to reconstruct and theorise the mortuary rituals associated with urned cremation burial in Bronze Age Scotland. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between theoretical perspectives from funerary archaeology and up-to-date methods for understanding heat-related changes to bone from osteoarchaeology and forensic anthropology. As with other types of mortuary treatment, the physical aspects of cremation detected by osteological analysis are interconnected with the meaning and symbolism of the ritual. The research involved the osteological analysis of a sample of urned cremation burials from the collections of The National Museums of Scotland. The analysis aimed to estimate not only the age at death and sex of the remains, but also to investigate factors such as the number of individuals in an urn, the effectiveness of the cremation process, whether the bodies had been cremated as fresh corpses or dry bones, the position of the body on the pyre, the range of pyre goods and the selection of remains included in the urns. In total, 75 urned cremation burials from 50 sites were analysed, a significant addition to the corpus of osteologically analysed Bronze Age urned burials from the Scottish Mainland. The results suggested a significant discrepancy between how fleshed bodies and bodies which had been through the pyre were perceived. Whereas fresh corpses were not modified, the burnt remains could be extensively manipulated until their final deposition within the urn.