Article
Recapturing the Power of Ritual to Enhance Community in Aging
Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Pages
153-167
Publisher Name
Taylor and Francis
Publisher Location
United Kingdom
Disciplines
Abstract
Ritual returns us to the center of who we are. In times of transition, loss, disconnection, and loneliness, ritual offers transformative power. It can provide a language for expression, stability, serve an integrating force in community, mediate tradition, and offer emotional support. This article explores the need for ritual in coping with late life changes, the relationship of ritual to suffering, value of ritual in storytelling and mourning, and explains the role of witness facilitated through community. Therapeutic functions of ritual are addressed and a framework for ritual design is suggested.
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Copyright Statement
© 2018 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Citation Information
Nelson-Becker, H. & Sangster, K. (2018). Recapturing the Power of Ritual to Enhance Community in Aging. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 31(2), 153-167. doi 10.1080/15528030.2018.1532858
Author Posting © The Authors, 2018. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The definitive version was published in Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, Volume 31, Issue 2, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2018.1532858