Representing Group Rituals

Abstract

In Harvey Whitehouse’s book (2021), he argues that humans are ritual animals, and that rituals can be the glue shaping group bonds. Whitehouse argues further that rituals are embedded in our routines and have become habitual. In this article, I add the idea of embodiment and social representations as a supplement to Whitehouse’s studies of rituals, group identities, and their interactions in society. In my view, these ideas may answer the following questions: 1) why people still practice group rituals, even though they are not attached to the group; 2) why people are ready to die defending their group even though they are not active in the community and rarely practice group rituals; and 3) why people are so fanatical about their religion that they are ready to die defending it, and how to alleviate such fanaticism.